UN denounces that 11,900 children have been mutilated or killed in armed conflicts

The annual report of It has brought to light an alarming reality: violence against children in armed conflicts has increased significantly in the last year. In 2024, at least 11,967 children were victims of serious human rights violations, representing a 25% increase compared to 2023. This significant increase is a reflection of the increasingly hostile conditions in war zones, where 4,676 children were murdered and 7,291 mutilated in wars and territorial disputes. Attacks to civil institutions such as hospitals and schools are pointed out as the main factor for increasing these alarming numbers.

The report also highlights other forms of violence that affect children in areas of conflict. The denial of humanitarian access impacted almost 8,000 children, while the recruitment and use of minors in conflicts totaled about 7,500 cases. In addition, kidnapping of children remains a significant concern, with 4,500 recorded occurrences. These numbers reveal the extension of the crisis and the urgent need for intervention.

“Children have been killed and mutilated, often resulting in permanent disabilities, in alarming numbers, the use of explosive ammunition, including explosive war waste, makeshifts and makeshift explosive devices, and the cross -parts of conflict. Civil facilities, including schools and hospitals, increased the vulnerability of children,” says the report. Although non -state armed groups were responsible for almost 50% of violations, government forces were the main perpetrators of the death and mutilation of children, attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian access.

Territories with the highest incidence of violence against children include the occupied Palestinian territory, especially the with more than 8,500 cases. The Democratic Republic of Congo also recorded more than 4,000 cases, followed by Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti, with numbers ranging from 2,000 to 2,500 cases each. These data highlight the most affected regions and the urgency of specific actions for each context

Sexual violence

The number of cases of sexual violence grew 35%, with a “drastic increase” of cases of collective rape, which highlights the systematic use of sexual violence as a deliberate war tactic, while children were associated with conflict parts or to increase territorial control, move populations and attack the specific ethnicity or gender of children, among other goals, says the report. The document reports that girls were kidnapped for recruitment and use purposes, and for sexual slavery.

“Sexual violence is still widely underreported due to stigmatization, fear of reprisals, harmful social rules, absence or lack of access to services, impunity and concerns about security, as reported in my report on conflict -related sexual violence.”

Humanitarian negation

The denial of humanitarian access has reached “alarming scale,” says the UN, with more humanitarian workers killed in 2024 than ever, including many officials from the organization itself. “Conflict parts attacked humanitarian aid trains and personnel, arbitrarily detained humanitarian personal, restricted humanitarian activities and movements, adopted bureaucratic and administrative barriers, and interfered with humanitarian operations, resulting in children without access to health care, education, protection and vital needs,” the report says.

Palestine and Israel

The United Nations found 8,554 serious violations against 2,959 children in Israel, with an overwhelming majority of Palestinians and 15 of Israeli nationality. In occupied Palestinian territories, including West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, there were 8,544 violations, 4,856 in Gaza, which suffers a siege of the military forces of the State of Israel.

“In addition, the United Nations received reports of the murder of 4,470 children in the Gaza Strip in 2024, which await verification. Severe violations were attributed to the Israeli Armed and Security Forces (7,188), Unidentified perpetrators (43), Israeli settlers (42), individual Palestinian perpetrators (11), Palestinian Authority Security Forces (7), Hezbollah (3) and Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1), ”adds the report.

The United Nations also found the detention of 951 Palestinian children (940 boys, 11 girls) for alleged security infractions committed by the Israeli armed and security forces in the West Bank (602), East Jerusalem (259) and in the Gaza Strip (90), including the armed and Israeli safety forces of a Palestine Girl whose toer. unknown. A total of 1,561 Palestinian children (1,131 boys and 430 girls) were confirmed as mutilated in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (620) and Gaza Strip (941).

Democratic Republic of Congo

In Congo, the United Nations found 4,043 serious violations against 3,418 children (2,217 boys, 1.201 girls) and 453 violations in previous years have been confirmed. In this African country, 2,365 children were recruited and used by the Raia militia by non -state armed groups. The east region of the country has been the scene of conflicts for decades, with several armed groups, which has intensified its actions since 2022. The region is rich in minerals, which has attracted armed groups and foreign powers, generating disputes for control of areas and resources.

The conflict has led to mass movement of civilians, with thousands of people seeking refuge in internal displaced fields, facing precarious conditions and safety risks, including sexual violence and forced recruitment. Death (190) and mutilation (248) of 438 children (317 boys and 121 girls) were attributed to M23 (244), Codeco (47), ADF (38), Nyatura (17), APCLs (12), Unidentified Authors (10), Raia Mutomboki (8), Mai-Mai Zaïre Développement pour la nation (MCDPin) (7), FDLR-FOCA (5), 15 other armed groups (29), the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (12) and the Congolese National Police (2). The casualties mainly resulted from the direct impact of military operations (250).

Somalia

In Somalia, which is experiencing a situation of permanent instability, caused by a civil war, the strong presence of insurgent armed groups, such as Al-Shabaab, contributes to insecurity and make it difficult for the country to reconstruction. The United Nations found 2,568 serious violations against 1,992 children and 50 violations in previous years. In all, 595 children were killed (141) or mutilated (454), mostly by unidentified authors (296), but also by Al-Shabaab (119) and government security forces (70). Sexual violence and recruitment of children to armed groups were also recorded.

Nigeria

In the most populous country in Africa, with about 200 million, chronic social inequality, social violence and acting of armed groups led to 2,436 serious violations against 1,037 children (386 boys, 651 girls) and 269 serious violations in previous years. About 974 children were recruited and used, especially after kidnapping, by Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), the Islamic State Province of West Africa (ISWAP), Bakura (7) and Nigerian security forces (3).

A total of 732 children were arrested by Nigerian security forces by alleged association or their parents with armed groups. All were released. Death (29) and mutilation (20) of 49 children were attributed to JAS (19), ISWAP (19), unidentified perpetrators (10) and Nigerian security forces (1), including cases caused by explosive ammunition (33). There were cases of sexual violence, all involving forced marriage, against 419 children (7 boys and 412 girls) by JAS (304), Iswap (114) and Bakura (1).

Haiti

In Haiti, the Caribbean island country who has been experiencing political and social instability for decades, with armed gang actions, the United Nations found 2,269 serious violations against 1,373 children last year. In previous years, 24 violations were recorded. The murder (213) and the mutilation (138) of 351 children were attributed to several gangs and also to the Haitian National Police. Cases of sexual violence victimized 566 children (523 girls and 43 boys). Detention of dozens of children by security and recruitment forces of minors by armed groups were also recorded in the report.

*With information from Beatriz Manfredini and Agência Brasil

*Report produced with the aid of AI