UNITED NATIONS — Nearly 25,000 children caught in conflict were victims of a record number of violations last year, including killings, rape and recruitment to fight, and for the first time, government forces - not armed groups - were the main perpetrators, a new United Nations report says.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ annual report, released this week, has a blacklist of violators against children: government forces from eight nations and 67 armed groups from 16 countries and territories.
The number of violations - which also include abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access to help them - rose for a fourth straight year to 38,558, according to the report that is based on verified U.N. data. It said 24,174 children, a third of them girls, were affected, with several thousand subjected to multiple violations.
“The scale and persistence of these violations demand more than acknowledgment - they demand resolve,” the U.N. special representative for children in armed conflict, Vanessa Frazier, said in an analysis of the report.
She urged the 193 U.N. member nations to confront the findings and “recognize that protecting children is not an aspiration but an obligation, and that the decisions taken today will shape the futures they may or may not live to claim.”
For the first time since the U.N. authorized monitoring of abuses against children in conflict 30 years ago, the report said that “government forces were responsible for a majority of grave violations.”
Topping the 2025 list are the Israeli military and its security forces, with 12,445 violations. That is followed by Congo, with 4,114 violations, and Myanmar, Somalia and armed groups in Nigeria, all with over 2,000 violations. Government forces from Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine are also on the blacklist.
The report says government forces also were “the main perpetrators” of 6,266 killings of children - a 34% increase from last year - as well as 7,958 injuries.
The U.N. said it verified the killing of 2,668 Palestinian children by Israeli forces in Gaza and 55 Palestinian kids in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The U.N. received reports of the killing of an additional 4,588 children in Gaza and injuries to 346 Israeli children that it is in the process of verifying, the report said.
Israel’s U.N. Mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Guterres said he was “appalled by the magnitude of grave violations against children” in Palestinian territories and Israel, “gravely alarmed by the staggering increase in grave violations” perpetrated by Israeli forces, and “deeply alarmed at the staggering rise in attacks carried out by Israeli settlers” affecting children with no accountability.
The U.N. chief urged Israel to develop and sign a plan with the United Nations to end the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools and hospitals with time-bound commitments.
Frazier, the special representative for children in conflict, told reporters Thursday that there are a number of reasons government forces were responsible for more violations this year. That includes “the impunity that we are seeing towards international law” and changes in warfare from battlefields to densely populated places using new weapons like drones and explosives that cover a wide area, she said.
“Children were impacted while escaping fighting, seeking food, water or medical care, and navigating areas heavily contaminated by explosive remnants of war, often contributing to life-long disabilities,” she said in the analysis of the report.
The U.N. said it verified the recruitment and use of 6,607 children in conflict, with the highest numbers in Congo, Nigeria, Haiti, Somalia and Colombia. It said 5,129 youngsters were abducted, mainly in Nigeria, Congo, Somalia, Myanmar and Mozambique.
And it reported 1,783 child victims of rape and sexual violence, with the highest number in Congo, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Haiti.
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ABC News (US)IndependentCenter2 days agoA new United Nations report reveals that nearly 25,000 children were victims of record numbers of violations in conflicts last year, with government forces being the main perpetrators for the first time. The report includes violations such as killings, rape, recruitment into fighting, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian aid. The report was based on verified U.N. data and lists government forces from eight nations and 67 armed groups from 16 countries and territories as violators.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information from a United Nations report without apparent ideological framing. It does not take a stance on the issue, merely relays the findings and quotes officials. There is no indication of biased language, selective sourcing, or omission of context.
Official sources cited
- government United Nations Report on Children in Armed Conflict
The Washington TimesIndependentCenter2 days agoA United Nations report reveals that nearly 25,000 children were victims of record violations in conflicts last year, with government forces being the main perpetrators for the first time. The report lists government forces from eight nations and 67 armed groups from 16 countries and territories as violators. The total number of violations increased for the fourth consecutive year to 38,558, affecting 24,174 children, many of whom experienced multiple violations. The U.N. calls for stronger action to protect children in conflict.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information from a U.N. report without apparent ideological framing. It does not favor any political side, merely relays the findings and quotes U.N. officials calling for action. There is no evident slant in language, sourcing, or emphasis.
Official sources cited
- government United Nations Report on Children in Armed Conflict
Diário de NotíciasIndependentCenter3 days agoThe United Nations reported a 34% increase in killings and maimings of children in armed conflicts in 2025, according to the latest report by the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict. The report highlights that 38,558 serious violations against children were recorded last year, with 24,174 children affected, many suffering multiple violations. The most observed violations were killings and maimings. Other abuses included denial of humanitarian aid, recruitment and use of children, and sexual violence. The countries with the highest number of verified serious violations against儿童
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual data from the United Nations without apparent ideological framing. It reports on a global issue with no clear partisan emphasis, using neutral language and citing official sources.
