One killed every two hours: Why is violence against children rising in armed conflicts?

SBS Australia

21-06-2025

The violence against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels in 2024, with children bearing the brunt of relentless hostilities, indiscriminate attacks, disregard for ceasefires and peace agreements, and deepening humanitarian crises, according to a new UN report. Source: Getty / Global Images Ukraine This article contains references to abuses against children. Violence against children caught up in wars and conflicts hit "unprecedented levels" last year, according to a new United Nations report. The Children and Armed Conflict report shows that with a 25 per cent increase, there were 41,370 grave violations incidents in 2024 — the highest number reported since the inception of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate almost 30 years ago. Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, notably the Gaza Strip, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Nigeria, and Haiti were cited as experiencing the highest numbers of child deaths.
The UN has identified six grave violations against children in conflict, which it monitors and reports on: killing and maiming, recruitment or use of children as soldiers, sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools or hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. Most of these violations rose in 2024, including attacks on schools (44 per cent), and rape and other forms of sexual violence (34 per cent). In total, 22,495 children were affected by recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and abduction.
Special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, said this "should keep all of us awake at night'. 'This must serve as a wake-up call. We are at the point of no return." According to the report, 4,676 children lost their lives in armed conflicts in 2024, equivalent to one child being killed every two hours. It also shows that 7,291 children were maimed, 7,402 were recruited and used in armed conflicts, 4,573 were abducted, and 1,982 were victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence. There were also 2,374 attacks on schools and hospitals, mostly in "Ukraine, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Afghanistan and Myanmar".
According to the report, warfare strategies in 2024 "included targeted attacks on children, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, and the systematic exploitation of children in hostilities and for military and sexual purposes". "Heavy bombardments, missile strikes, and the relentless use of explosive weapons in urban areas have turned homes and neighbourhoods into battlefields," Gamba said. She said that the "widespread deployment of landmines" had "dire consequences" for children.
"These weapons alone account for one-quarter of all those killed or injured in hostilities," she said. The report says armed forces respecting international law, protecting hospitals, and refraining from using explosive weapons in populated areas were among measures that would prevent grave violations against children. "The best way to protect children from hostilities is to eliminate the push and pull factors leading to their involvement in armed conflict," it stated.