UN Special Representative says 2025 saw record verified grave violations against children and urges urgent action

The Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict told the Security Council that United Nations monitoring verified 38,558 grave violations affecting 24,174 children in 2025, the highest annual total since the mandate was created, and urged immediate, pragmatic action to halt the harm.

The representative said that killing and maiming affected 14,224 children in 2025, including 6,266 killed and 7,958 maimed; denial of humanitarian access accounted for 8,322 incidents; 6,607 children were recruited and used; 5,129 were abducted; 1,783 suffered sexual violence; and 3,176 experienced multiple grave violations. A third of victims were girls, the briefing said.

“This report is not merely a record of violations. It is an indictment of inaction,” the representative said, urging member states and the Council to use existing diplomatic, political and financial levers to protect children. The briefing noted the verification process was undertaken in 2025 and included earlier incidents.

The speaker warned of a major shift in 2025: government forces were the main perpetrators overall, particularly for killing and maiming, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. “When states become the main violators of the rights of children, this signals a dramatic disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law,” the representative told the Council.

The statement included several verified, named incidents to illustrate the human cost. The speaker cited a United Nations-verified 9 April airstrike in Gaza City that killed 21 members of the same family, including 12 children, and damaged residential buildings housing families and internally displaced persons. The briefing also cited a 12 May airstrike in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region that struck a school during classes, killing at least 19 children, injuring dozens of pupils and two teachers, and a 11 March incident in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which three girls aged 14–16 were gang raped while cultivating land.

The representative said that the use of air strikes, artillery, drones and explosive weapons in populated areas produces foreseeable and avoidable harm and that modern precision capabilities create choices about restraint and targeting. She warned that the growing integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into warfare heightens the need for meaningful human oversight, transparency and accountability.

The briefing also highlighted denials of humanitarian access and restrictions on aid operations. The speaker cited a 18 February incident in Herat, Afghanistan, where local de facto authorities ordered a private hospital to stop treating women on the basis of dress and guardian requirements, and said more than 325 humanitarian workers, including United Nations personnel, were killed or detained as part of continued risks to aid delivery.

Noting progress where it exists, the representative said 13,112 children formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups received protection and reintegration support in 2025, and that parties to conflict made around 40 commitments, including handover protocols and capacity-building efforts. Action plans are being negotiated with listed parties in Colombia, Myanmar, Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic; the representative urged parties to sign and implement those plans without delay.

To address the crisis the speaker set out six priorities: an immediate end to grave violations and full compliance with the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols; guaranteed safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access; accountability through national or international mechanisms; treatment of children associated with armed forces first and foremost as victims with deprivation of liberty used only as a last resort; adequately funded, age-appropriate, gender-responsive and trauma-informed reintegration programs; and integration of child protection across peace, security and justice processes, citing Security Council resolution 2764.

The representative called for sustained, predictable multi-year funding for monitoring and reporting mechanisms and warned against efforts to undermine independent human rights monitoring or to intimidate civic leaders and monitors. She also commended regional engagement and congratulated Ambassador Jainaba Jain on her appointment as African Union Special Envoy for Children and Armed Conflict.

The address closed with a child’s message read from the representative’s office campaign saying, “Dear world leaders, I wish that you can open your eyes and see what is happening in the world. What is happening to the children in the world? If you really want to help, you don't need just talk. You also need to take action.” The representative urged the Council and UN membership to lead by example so that children can be protected and reintegrated rather than left as casualties of conflict.