CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN IN CONFLICT SURGED 30% IN 2024 TO WORST EVER LEVEL

 Toronto, November 12, 2025 – Children are being killed, maimed, sexually assaulted and abducted in record numbers in conflict zones, with a new Save the Children report revealing a 30% jump in verified grave violations against children in conflict in 2024 [1]. 

The report showed an unprecedented 41,763 such abuses against children in conflict last year, a 30% increase from 2023 – the previous highest year since records began – and about 70% more than in 2022 [2]. 

More than half of the violations occurred in four places – the occupied Palestinian territory, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Somalia. 

This surge in violations is unfolding against a backdrop of unprecedented conflict exposure, with record number of 520 million children living in active conflict zones in 2024 – or over one in five globally –and the largest number of state-based conflicts since the end of World War II [3].  While the number of children living in conflict zones has grown by 60% since 2010, the number of verified grave violations has surged by 373%, showing that conflicts are not only more frequent, they are also far deadlier and more brutal for children, said Save the Children 

The report questions the world’s approach to security, highlighting that less than 2% of global security spending goes to peacebuilding or peacekeeping, despite record-high military budgets. These damning figures show that global focus on military and state security has failed to protect children from the gravest forms of harm, said Save the Children. 

More than 11% of the earth’s land surface was within a 50 km radius of a conflict event – the highest share ever recorded – with the number of recorded conflict events globally rising to nearly 27,000 in 2024 from 24,000 in 2023. Africa now has both the highest number and share of children living in conflict zones, with 218 million affected – 32.6% of the region’s child population – the share surpassing the Middle East for the first time since 2007 [3].  

On average, 78 children a day in conflict zones faced grave violations – or more than 7 soccer teams worth of children – as well as being exposed to attacks on schools, hospitals, and with armed forces and groups blocking humanitarian assistance [4].  

The report  Stop the War on Children: Security for Whom? analyzed the number of verified grave violations against children in conflict since such records began, with the crimes including killing, maiming and abduction, sexual violence, recruitment into armed groups, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access to children. Since reporting started in 2005, more than 400,000 grave violations against children in conflict in 33 countries around the world have been verified, with almost 160,000 children killed or maimed, and more than 100,000 children recruited and used by armed forces and groups.   

A companion report released today, Stop the War on Children: A Spotlight on Canada, examines how well Canada is living up to its promises to protect children caught in armed conflict.  

The report recognizes Canada’s leadership on issues affecting children, having spearheaded key international agreements like the Ottawa Treaty and the Vancouver Principles and playing a key role in the Group of Friends of Children in Armed Conflict, but also highlights that its actions don’t always live up to its commitments. It identifies room for improvement in Canada’s enforcement of the Arms Trade Treaty, its inconsistent prioritization of children and their rights across different conflicts. 

The report urges Canada to match its global leadership with stronger domestic implementation, greater financial commitment, and a consistently child-focused approach across all areas of its foreign policy. 

Danny Glenwright, President and CEO of Save the Children Canada, said: 

“This devastating report is about more than facts and figures. It’s about girls and boys around the world living in terror, not knowing if they will ever be safe again. It’s about 12-year-old Amir*, who lives with his mother and four siblings in a tent in Gaza, whose feet were broken in an explosion.  And it’s about Mira*, a 10-year-old girl whose home was bombed, killing her mother, while her father has been missing ever since.  

While Canada has demonstrated strong leadership in protecting children from the impact of war through past initiatives such as the Ottawa Treaty and the Vancouver Principles, the same level of commitment is now needed to ensure children remain a priority in the government’s new Foreign Policy and International Assistance strategies and they are not put at greater risk by cuts to our longstanding global commitments. 

At a time when grave violations against children are at record highs, our elected representatives need to step up and turn our Canadian values into action – the government must ensure that our foreign and defence policies uphold international law, including children’s rights, and that our aid first and foremost protects and supports children in the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. Lasting peace and security can only be achieved through global cooperation that puts children at its heart. 

True security isn’t measured by military might or territorial control alone – it’s measured by whether children are safe, healthy, and able to learn and thrive. Standing up for children in conflict is the kind of compassion and leadership that once defined Canada on the world stage, and renewing that commitment is how we stay true to the Canada we know and believe in.” 

Gudrun Østby, Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said:  

“Our estimates show that the number of children living in conflict zones reached a record high last year: 520 million – more than one in five worldwide. With unprecedented numbers of children at risk – and aid budgets under severe pressure – the need to protect children caught in conflict has never been more urgent. Behind every number is a child whose safety, education and future are at risk.” 

“Africa is now the continent with both the highest number and the highest share of children living in conflict zones. We must ensure that children everywhere – no matter where they are born – are protected from the devastating impacts of war.” 

Save the Children is calling on states to uphold international humanitarian law, ensure safe humanitarian access, scale up targeted funding for children in emergencies, and endorse and implement key treaties and declarations that safeguard children and education in war zones. 

They must develop national strategies for peace, integrate peace education, and address root causes of conflict. And they must urgently ensure accountability for violations against children by strengthening international and national accountability mechanisms, supporting the UN CAAC agenda, and advocating for impartial listing of perpetrators. Finally, children’s voices must be heard in the global, regional and national forums on issues shaping their futures.  

• NOTES:  

• [1] Read the full report: Stop the War on Children: Security for Whom?  

• [2] Analysis of the 2025 UN annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (CAAC), based on data reported and verified in 2024. The analysis also draws on previous Save the Children mapping of the number of grave violations in the 2005–24 CAAC reports. The CAAC report tracks military use of schools and hospitals, but does not record them as grave violations. In this report, military use of schools and hospitals are also considered grave violations. The verified incidents of use is therefore added to the ‘attacks on schools and hospitals’ category of grave violations. This methodology is chosen to give a fuller picture of the harm experienced by children in each country context.  

• [3] Updated analysis on the number and share of children living in conflict zones conducted by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). The core dataset used to map conflict patterns in this report is the Uppsala Conflict Data Program’s Georeferenced Event Data Set (UCDP GED) until 2024. To estimate the number of children living in conflict areas, and populations more generally, PRIO cross-referenced the conflict data with population data from the Gridded Population of the World (GPW) and from the UN World Population Prospects. PRIO uses UCDP’s definition of armed conflict: ‘armed force used by an organized actor against another organized actor, or against civilians, resulting in at least 25 battle-related deaths in one calendar year’. A ‘conflict zone’ is defined as an area within 50km of where one or more conflict incidents take place in a given year, within the borders of a country.   

• [4] The UN Security Council has identified six grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict: killing and maiming of children; recruitment or use of children by armed forces and groups; sexual violence against children; abduction of children; attacks against schools and hospitals; and denial of humanitarian access for children. These grave violations were defined on the basis of their egregious nature and their severe impact on children’s wellbeing. In addition to the six violations, the UN Special Rapporteur on Children and Armed Conflict has verified cases of detention of children since 2012 and presented them in their annual report.