Since 2000, thanks to the efforts of the UN, more than 210 thousand children and adolescents have been released from armies and armed groups. Cases of sexual violence against children nearly doubled globally between 2021 and 2024 Human rights
UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif warned of a rapid increase in violations of children’s rights in conflict zones and called on states to take urgent action to protect and rehabilitate victims.
Al-Nashif spoke at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She said the harm that wars have on children – “physical, mental, social and developmental” – is exacerbated by gross violations of international humanitarian law. Parties to armed conflicts are increasingly using explosive weapons in densely populated areas, forcibly recruiting children, and resorting to sexual violence as a tactic of war.
The UN has recorded a sharp increase in cases of sexual violence against children, with the number of such incidents nearly doubling between 2021 and 2024. In Sudan alone, at least 223 child victims were documented in 2025. At the same time, the real numbers, according to Al-Nashif, are much higher.
The UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized that child survivors of violence have the right to support and justice. Some States have already enacted laws aimed at providing assistance to victims or created reintegration programs for children previously detained for their association with armed groups. Since 2000, thanks to the efforts of the UN, more than 210 thousand children and adolescents have been released from armies and armed groups. underfunded.
In her speech, Al-Nashif outlined four key areas of action: conducting independent investigations of all violations; recognizing children associated with armed groups as victims and ending their arbitrary detention; allocation of resources for long-term rehabilitation, education and medical care; participation of children in justice processes.
“Children are not only victims. They should have a voice in building their own lives,” she emphasized.
Concluding her speech, Al-Nashif said that war is “the highest form of violation of children’s rights”: “We are abandoning children to their fate instead of helping them. We need to change this.”