UN Security Council Marks 30 Years of Children and Armed Conflict Mandate: Record 38,558 Grave Violations Verified in 2025, Government Forces Lead Perpetrators for First Time
The UN Security Council met at UN Headquarters in New York on October 26 for a briefing (its 10251st meeting) marking 30 years since the United Nations established its children and armed conflict mandate. According to the United Nations, the UN verified 38,558 grave violations against children in 2025, affecting 24,174 children — the highest number since the mandate was created — and government forces were the main perpetrators of grave violations for the first time.
The meeting was chaired by Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis of Greece, the Council's president for October, as a signature event of the Greek presidency. The General Assembly created the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict in 1996 through resolution 51/77, and in 2005 the Council set up a monitoring and reporting mechanism tracking six grave violations: recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming, rape and other sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abductions, and denial of humanitarian access.
According to the UN, the verified 2025 figures include 6,266 children killed and 7,958 maimed, with killings up 34 percent from 2024; 8,322 incidents of denial of humanitarian access; 6,607 cases of recruitment and use; and 5,129 abductions, while 1,667 children were detained for their actual or alleged association with parties to conflict. About a third of the victims were girls. The highest numbers were verified in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (12,445), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4,114), Nigeria (2,560), Myanmar (2,203) and Somalia (2,195).
Vanessa Frazier, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, told the Council that more than 40 action plans signed with parties to conflict have contributed to the release of over 220,000 children from armed forces and groups. "More than 220,000 children. Think about this number: each one is a life," she said. She added that the current scale of violations remains stark and urged all parties to allow monitors to work safely and without obstruction. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell reported that the UN has verified more than 430,000 grave violations since 2005, and that these are only the violations the UN was able to verify, with the true scale undoubtedly greater; she also warned that digital technologies are creating new avenues for recruitment, exploitation and abuse.
On October 19, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2832, sponsored by Greece and co-sponsored by 93 member states, addressing the impact of digital technologies on violations against children. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Gerapetritis said: "The international community cannot, must not accept grave violations against children as an inevitable consequence of war."
According to the UN, 13,112 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups received protection or reintegration support in 2025, and parties to conflict made some 40 commitments to protect children during the year. The briefing concluded without a new resolution.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：联合国秘书长儿童与武装冲突问题特别代表弗雷泽（Vanessa Frazier）10月26日在联合国安理会会议上发言，席位名牌写着「儿童与武装冲突」。图片：联合国网络电视官方视频截图。/ Photo: Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, addresses the Security Council on October 26. Still from the official UN Web TV video.
