UN: Violence Against Children in Armed Conflicts Reaches Record Levels
According to United Nations data, violence against children in armed conflict reached its highest level ever in 2025. Speaking in New York, Vanessa Frazier, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, described 2025 as “without doubt one of the darkest chapters for the protection of children since records began.”
According to the UN’s annual Children and Armed Conflict Report, more than 14,000 children were killed or maimed in 2025. The report stated that 6,266 children lost their lives, while 7,958 were injured or permanently harmed. Most of these cases occurred in the Palestinian territories, Sudan, Myanmar, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Among the children killed were at least 2,725 Palestinian children.In total, the report recorded more than 38,000 cases of violations, affecting more than 24,000 children. One-third of the affected children were girls. According to UN data, this represents a 7.5 percent increase compared to the previous year. As a result, 2025 became the year with the highest number of recorded violations in the field of children and armed conflict since records began.