More children than ever displaced and at risk of violence and exploitation, U.N. warns

United Nations — War, poverty and climate change have created a perfect storm for children around the world, a United Nations report warned Wednesday. The confluence of crises and disasters has driven the number of children currently displaced from their homes to an unprecedented 42 million, and it has left those young people vulnerable to criminal violence and exploitation.

The report, Protecting the Rights of Children on the Move in Times of Crisis, compiled by seven separate U.N. agencies that deal with children, concludes that of the "staggering" 100 million civilians forcibly displaced around the world by the middle of last year, 41% of those "on the move" were children — more than ever previously documented.

"These children are exposed to heightened risk of violence," warns the U.N.'s Office of Drugs and Crime, one of the contributing agencies. "This includes sexual abuse and exploitation, forced labor, trafficking, child marriage, illegal/illicit adoption, recruitment by criminal and armed groups (including terrorist groups) and deprivation of liberty."