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 20241.
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 twice as many as in 20222.
More than half of the violations occurred in four places—the occupied Palestinian territory, the Democratic Republic of 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 II3. 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 20073.
On average, 78 children a day in conflict zones faced grave violations—or more than seven soccer teams' worth of children—as well as being exposed to attacks on schools, hospitals, and with armed forces and groups blocking humanitarian assistance4.
The report Stop the War on Children: Security for Whom? analysed 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.
Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said:
"This damning report is more than facts and figures. It's about Ali* who had to flee northern Gaza with his seven siblings and is so severely malnourished that he has developed osteomalacia or "soft bone disease", leaving him unable to move or walk. It's about Bahati*, 12, whose school in eastern DRC was attacked and he was forced to walk for two days with bullets flying overhead. It's about the girls and boys around the world who are living and breathing terror, pain, grief, hunger and suffering.
"The world is at a critical juncture. Armed conflict is surging, and grave violations against children have reached record highs. At the same time, the humanitarian system and the United Nations are on their knees. While the future shape of these institutions remains uncertain, one principle must guide their transformation: children must be at the centre.
"True security isn't about weapons or walls. It's about whether children are safe, learning, and free from fear.
"States must act decisively to prevent conflict and promote peace, protect children, ensure accountability and meaningfully listen to and involve children."
Mat Tinkler, CEO of Save the Children Australia said:
"This report verifies what we all are seeing played out in the news and on social media every day – conflict is escalating all over the world, and children are bearing the brunt of its horrific consequences. Children being killed, maimed, sexually assaulted and abducted is not acceptable in any quantity, let alone the scale which this report reveals.
"In the face of such dangerous global instability, prioritising militarisation over protection, security for states and armed actors over children is incomprehensible and we should all be demanding our governments do better.
"We urge the Australian Government to reject this dangerous new global norm and commit to real action to protect the world's most innocent and impacted, such as by increasing the Humanitarian Emergency Fund to $300m annually and ensuring foreign aid makes up at least 1% of the Federal Budget."
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.
