"Today, more than 12 million children across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Burundi depend on humanitarian aid simply to survive. In the DRC alone, over 5 million people are internally displaced, while more than half a million refugees from neighbouring countries seek safety within its borders.
"Despite tireless regional and international peace efforts, fighting continues, and with devastating impacts on civilians - especially children and women.
"Nearly 1,200 schools in eastern DRC lie in ruins or have become shelters, leaving 1.6 million children out of school and vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and recruitment.
"Diseases such as cholera, mpox, and Ebola are resurging, while acute malnutrition is spiraling - pushing already fragile systems to the brink.
"Grave violations against children are rampant. Globally, the DRC recorded the second highest number of grave violations, recording over 4,000 in 2024.
"The brutality of sexual violence is worsening - children account for over 40 per cent of the nearly 10,000 reported cases in early 2025.
"Yet even as needs grow, humanitarian access is shrinking. The closure of key infrastructure, including airports, has particularly disrupted humanitarian supply chains and emergency response capacity.
"UNICEF calls on all parties and partners to:
"Put child protection at the center of all response and peace efforts
"Grave violations against children are defining this crisis. Ceasefire negotiations, disarmament, and reintegration processes must explicitly prioritize the protection of children. Parties to the conflict must uphold international humanitarian law obligations and:
- Immediately cease all grave violations and attacks on civilians, schools, hospitals, and other protected facilities.
- The Government of DRC to fully implement the 2012 Children and Armed Conflict Action Plan and commitments to prevent sexual violence against children.
- Guarantee safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to all children and families in need.
"Respond through a regional and child-sensitive lens
"This is a cross-border crisis that demands coordinated regional action, rooted in regional solidarity. Governments, regional organizations, and humanitarian partners should:
- Strengthen joint cross-border child protection mechanisms to prevent recruitment, trafficking, and family separation.
- Ensure access to education, healthcare, and psychosocial support for displaced children across DRC, Uganda, and Burundi.
- Anchor regional peacebuilding and return processes in children's rights and long-term stability.
"Invest in children's resilience - not just emergency relief
"Children need more than survival. To thrive, they need:
- An expansion of basic service provision to build back communities and restore dignity, including structures that empower children - especially girls - such as schools and community-based programmes.
- Support recovery and reintegration for children formerly associated with armed groups and survivors of sexual violence.
"This is not only a humanitarian emergency - it is a child rights crisis. Protecting children must remain our collective moral compass. The future of the region is at stake."
