A new United Nations report has revealed a staggering 25 percent rise in grave violations against children in conflict zones in 2024, underscoring the devastating toll of ongoing wars and humanitarian crises worldwide.
The report, presented to the UN General Assembly by Virginia Gamba, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, described how children continue to bear the heaviest cost of hostilities, with widespread disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law by warring parties.
“Children have paid a heavy price as a result of hostilities and the disregard of international norms,” Gamba told member states, warning that the lives of millions remain at risk.
According to the findings, the largest number of documented violations occurred in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Haiti. However, some of the steepest year-on-year increases were recorded in Mozambique, Haiti, Ethiopia, and Ukraine, where violence has escalated or intensified over the past year.
The report named the ongoing conflicts in the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan, Myanmar, and Burkina Faso as among the deadliest for children. Violations ranged from the killing and maiming of minors to the denial of humanitarian access and the recruitment and use of children by armed groups.
One of the gravest concerns highlighted in the report is the sharp expansion in the denial of humanitarian access. The UN noted that 2024 saw the largest number of humanitarian workers killed in recent years—including UN personnel—while unprecedented numbers of children were deprived of access to food, medicine, and other basic services.
The findings come amid mounting global concern about the protection of children in war zones. International aid groups have long warned that children are increasingly caught in the crossfire of modern conflicts, not only as collateral victims but also as deliberate targets for recruitment or intimidation.
The UN’s annual report aims to hold governments and armed groups accountable for violations, which include six categories recognized under international law: killing and maiming, recruitment and use of children, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction, and denial of humanitarian access.
Gamba called on all parties to conflicts to honor their obligations under international law and to ensure that children are shielded from violence and exploitation. “The protection of children must remain at the center of all peace and security efforts,” she emphasized.
The report is expected to fuel debate among UN member states on how to strengthen monitoring mechanisms and improve accountability, as the global community grapples with what experts describe as one of the most alarming setbacks for child protection in decades.
