UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres’ latest report on Children and Armed Conflict has documented grave violations against children caught in war, which has been termed “a moral failure”.

The report documented a 25 per cent increase in grave violations against children in 2024, the largest number ever recorded in its 20-year history.

Sheema Sen Gupta, UNICEF child protection director, told the Security Council that the world was failing to protect children.

“This year’s report from the secretary-general once again confirms what too many children already know – that the world is failing to protect them from the horrors of war.

“Each violation against children in every country around the globe represents a moral failure,” she stressed.

In 2024, the report documented a record 41,370 grave violations, including killing and maiming, rape, abduction and the targeting of infrastructure such as schools which supports children.

She said many of these violations occurred during times of conflict, especially as urban warfare is on the rise, while grave violations can persist even after a conflict ends.

“Every unexploded shell left in a field, schoolyard, or alley is a death sentence waiting to be triggered,” the UNICEF official said. “They persist in the spaces which remain destroyed, impeding children from accessing healthcare and education. And they persist in the trauma and injuries which never fully leave a child.”

She noted the current funding cuts to humanitarian aid were impeding the work of UN agencies and partners to document and respond to grave violations against children.

Mr Gupta appealed to the Security Council, reminding the members that children were not and should never be “collateral damage.”

Virginia Gamba, the secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, said the trauma of armed conflicts remained with children even if they were not injured.

“Each child struck by these attacks carries a story, a stolen life, a dream interrupted, a future obscured by senseless violence and protracted conflict,” said Ms Gamba.

She called for “unwavering condemnation and urgent action” from the international community to reverse the worrying trends detailed in the report.

(NAN)