On 25 June 2025, the Security Council held its annual open debate on children and armed conflict.
The Secretary-General’s annual report covers the period from January to December 2024 and provides information on the six grave violations against children in situations on the children and armed conflict agenda, which include 25 country situations and one regional monitoring arrangement covering the Lake Chad Basin region. The six grave violations, as determined by the Security Council, are: child recruitment and use; killing and maiming; abductions; rape and other forms of sexual violence; attacks on schools and hospitals; and the denial of humanitarian access.
The report stresses that violence against children in armed conflict situations reached “unprecedented levels” in 2024; the UN verified 41,370 grave violations, of which 36,221 were committed in 2024 and 5,149 were committed earlier but verified in 2024. It notes that this represents a “staggering” 25 percent increase compared with the previous reporting period and the highest number recorded since the monitoring and reporting mechanism (MRM) on violations against children was established in 2005. This marks the third consecutive year where precipitous increases in violations were documented.
Several speakers are likely to emphasise the concrete impact of this agenda, including the release of over 200,000 children from armed forces and groups since 1999 through dialogue and advocacy efforts by the UN. According to the Secretary-General’s latest annual report, more than 16,000 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups received protection or reintegration support in 2024.
The Secretary-General’s report documents a 35 percent increase in cases of rape and sexual violence against children compared with the previous year. It also describes a “dramatic” increase in instances of gang rape, which “underlines the systematic use of sexual violence as a deliberate tactic of warfare”. Speakers at the open debate are likely to express alarm about these figures, particularly considering that cases of sexual violence are often underreported owing to factors such as stigmatisation and fear of reprisals. Some may also voice concern about the disproportionate effects of this violation on girls, who accounted for 95 percent of the cases documented in the Secretary-General’s latest report. Several speakers are expected to highlight the need for governments to provide specialised and gender-sensitive services—including psychosocial, health, legal and livelihood support—to survivors of sexual violence.
The briefers and Council members are also likely to reflect on other trends described in the report. There may be expressions of concern about the sharp increase in the number of children who were subjected to multiple violations—3,137 in 2024, up from 2,684 in 2023—due to the convergence of abduction, recruitment, and sexual violence, which the report describes as “an alarming escalation of brutality”. Speakers are expected to voice alarm about the increasingly shrinking space for humanitarian activity, especially considering that 2024 was the deadliest year ever recorded for aid workers. There may be reference in this regard to the recent guidance note on the denial of humanitarian access that the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict launched on 12 June. Several speakers are also likely to call on conflict parties to respect international humanitarian law, including the special protections afforded to children, and highlight the need for enhancing accountability for the commission of grave violations against children.
In addition to cross-cutting issues, several speakers are likely to highlight specific country and regional situations. The Secretary-General’s report notes that the highest number of grave violations were verified in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, Nigeria, and Haiti.
The Secretary-General’s report documents a 35 percent increase in cases of rape and sexual violence against children compared with the previous year. It also describes a “dramatic” increase in instances of gang rape, which “underlines the systematic use of sexual violence as a deliberate tactic of warfare”. Speakers at the open debate are likely to express alarm about these figures, particularly considering that cases of sexual violence are often underreported owing to factors such as stigmatisation and fear of reprisals. Some may also voice concern about the disproportionate effects of this violation on girls, who accounted for 95 percent of the cases documented in the Secretary-General’s latest report. Several speakers are expected to highlight the need for governments to provide specialised and gender-sensitive services—including psychosocial, health, legal and livelihood support—to survivors of sexual violence.
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SOURCE: What’s in Blue. Children and Armed Conflict: Annual Open Debate, UN Security Council, 24 June 2025. https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2025/06/children-and-armed-conflict-annual-open-debate-4.php