Violations against children in conflict reach ‘extreme levels’, UN says

Violence in ‘escalating conflicts’, including Gaza, reach new heights in 2023, according to UN report.

Violence against children caught in multiplying and escalating conflicts reached “extreme levels” in 2023 with an unprecedented number of killings and injuries, including in the occupied Palestinian territory, a United Nations report has found.

Children were “killed and maimed in unprecedented numbers in devastating crises”, notably in the Gaza Strip, according to the report released by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday.

The annual Children and Armed Conflict report found “a shocking 21 percent increase in grave violations” against children under the age of 18 in an array of conflicts, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Syria.

The UN verified 30,705 violations against children in 2023, affecting more than 15,800 boys and 6,250 girls. Some were subjected to multiple violations, the report said.

While armed groups were responsible for almost 50 percent of the grave violations, it said, “government forces were the main perpetrator of the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access.”