Published on: 2026-06-18
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
According to the new edition of the annual report of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, in 2025 the number of gross violations against minors reached an unprecedented level for the entire 30 years of this mandate’s existence.
According to confirmed UN data, last year 38,558 gross violations were committed against children. 24,174 children suffered, and many of them became victims of several types of crimes at once: from murders andrecruitmentRape and deprivation of humanitarian aid. One third of the victims are girls.
State structures – main offenders
For the first time in the history of observations, the main perpetrators of crimes against children became government forces, not non-governmental groups.
“The year 2025 has undoubtedly become one of the darkest pages in the history of child protection,” said the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Freizer. She emphasized that when states obligated to protect children themselves cause them suffering, it testifies todeep erosion of respect for international law.
The most critical situation in 2025 unfolded in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Israel, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Somalia. The most frequent violations remained killings (6,266) and infliction of injuries (7,958), with the number of killings increasing by 34 percent compared to 2024. Mass searches (5,129) and detentions of children (1,667 individuals) were also recorded. The UN urges treating such children solely as victims.
Rape and other forms of sexual violence remained widespread; meanwhile, confirmed cases of the use of group rapes as a tactic of warfare increased.
Nevertheless, the UN mandate on children and armed conflict, issued 30 years ago, has helped achieve some successes: by 2025, more than 13,000 former child soldiers will have received reintegration assistance, and the warring parties have accepted around 40 different obligations to protect minors.
Conflict on the territory of Ukraine
During the war in the territory of Ukraine, the UN confirmed 1,899 gross violations concerning 781 children. The majority of the victims were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a large impact area.
The death of 94 and injury of 659 children has been confirmed. Russian armed forces are attributed with 511 victims (62 killed, 449 wounded). Responsibility for 29 killed and 201 wounded lies with unidentified persons (including 173 children injured by fragments during the crossing of Russian missiles and drones by Ukrainian air defenses). Ukrainian armed forces are attributed with 12 victims (3 killed, 9 wounded). Also, 4 cases of sexual violence against girls by Russian military personnel have been recorded.
Read also:
Facts have been identified regarding the use of 24 children as informants and spotters or for the manufacture of explosives and committing arson against railway infrastructure and transport facilities. Also verified is the detention of 35 children (28 by the Ukrainian authorities, 6 by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and 1 by Russian authorities in temporarily occupied territories).
“I am deeply concerned about serious violations attributed to the Russian armed forces, including an increase in the number of cases of death and injury – primarily as a result of long-range strikes on settlements located far from the front line, – as well as continuing attacks on schools, hospitals, and places used for shelter,” said the UN Secretary-General.António Guterres. He also called on the RF to cooperate with the UN to clarify the whereabouts and return of deported Ukrainian children to their families and to prohibit the change of their legal status or citizenship. Guterres expressed concern about the use of children by the Russian Federation or entities associated with it for conducting surveillance, committing arson, and engaging in other activities related to the conflict, as well as about reports of attempted use of children for such purposes by Ukraine or entities associated with it.
The UN Secretary-General welcomed the reduction in violations by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the implementation of a joint preventive plan. At the same time, he called on Kyiv to repeal the decision to suspend the operation of the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines, to completely exclude the use of hospitals for military purposes (with 2 such cases recorded in 2025), and also expressed concern about the detention by the Ukrainian authorities of 28 children (including for activities on the internet) and the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the territory of the Russian Federation, urging that the safety of children be given the highest priority.
Situation in Israel and Palestine
In Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, the UN confirmed 12,445 gross violations against 5,663 children. The overwhelming majority of the victims are Palestinian children. Due to problems with access, these data do not reflect the full picture: at the verification stage, another 4,588 children in Gaza have died and 346 children have been injured in Israel.
The majority of violations (9,465) are attributed to the Israeli army and security forces. Among the perpetrators are also Israeli settlers (326), unidentified individuals (104), individual Palestinian persons (8), armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (7), security forces of the Palestinian Authority (5), Hamas (5), Palestinian armed persons (4), Palestinian armed groups (2), and the Hamas brigade (1). Responsibility for 2,518 confirmed cases of children’s deaths at the time of the report’s publication is still being established.
In the Gaza Strip, the deaths of 2,668 Palestinian children have been verified, mainly due to the use of explosive weapons in residential areas. On the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, 57 Palestinian children have been killed. In Israel, as a result of strikes by Iran, 3 Ukrainian and 2 Israeli children have died.
“I am deeply concerned by the surge of violence by Israeli settlers, often carried out with the support of security forces, and the complete lack of accountability,” said the UN Secretary-General. Guterres also highlighted the large number of children detained by Israel, as well as reports of violence during detention and unsatisfactory detention conditions.
He called on Israel, as well as the leadership of Hamas and the “Islamic Jihad,” to develop and sign official UN action plans with clear deadlines for stopping killings, injuries to children, and attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Please note; this information is raw content obtained directly from the source of information. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.