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UN reports record-verified grave violations against children; urges protections amid new warfare risks
Summary
UN monitoring verified 38,558 grave violations affecting 24,174 children in 2025—the highest since the mandate began—UN officials said, warning that government forces are now the main perpetrators and that unmanned systems and AI risk increasing harm to children without human oversight.
UN monitoring and reporting verified 38,558 grave violations against children in 2025, affecting 24,174 children, the UN spokesperson said on June 22, citing the Secretary‑General’s summary of the report by the Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict.
"That is the highest verified number of children affected by violations in any year since the establishment of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate," the spokesperson said, reporting the Office’s findings that government forces were, for the first time, the main perpetrators of grave violations including killing, maiming, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access.
The Special Representative, Virginia Gamba, also warned that growing integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into warfare is transforming hostilities and, without meaningful human oversight, risks increasing harm to children and distancing decision-makers from human consequences.
Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, was cited as saying national efforts in countries such as Colombia, Haiti and Syria show that the children-in-armed-conflict framework can work when there is political will.
Why it matters: The briefing framed the record-verified violations as a significant and troubling escalation in the harm suffered by children worldwide and emphasized the need to protect schools, hospitals and humanitarian access. The UN called on states and parties to protect civilians and facilitate unhindered humanitarian assistance.
The briefing did not announce sanctions or judicial determinations; the spokesperson reiterated that legal questions await decisions by duly constituted courts.
