UN SR on Children in Armed Conflict: shared by Niloufar

Title: A Year of Unthinkable Suffering: Record Number of Children in Conflict Victims of Grave Violations in 2025, With Government Forces as the Leading Perpetrator for the First Time
Author: Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
Publication: United Nations – Children and Armed Conflict
Date: 17 June 2026Click here for the article

Summary: The article reports that in 2025, the UN verified 38,558 grave violations against children in armed conflict, affecting 24,174 children and marking the highest number since the CAAC mandate began. Government forces were, for the first time, the main perpetrators of these violations, with the most affected contexts including the occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar and Somalia. The article highlights the widespread use of explosive weapons, high levels of killing and maiming, denial of humanitarian access, detention, and ongoing efforts toward reintegration and commitments by parties to conflict.

Quotes:
“2025 was without a doubt one of the darkest chapters for child protection since monitoring began.”
“A majority of child casualties in conflict zones resulted from the use of explosive ordnance — a toll that is as shocking as it is preventable.”
“Protecting children is not an aspiration — it is an obligation.”