Six grave violations against children in times of war

From widespread killing, maiming, abduction and sexual violence to recruitment into armed forces and groups and strikes on schools and hospitals, as well as essential water facilities – children living in conflict zones around the world continue to come under attack on a shocking scale. 

To better monitor, prevent, and end these attacks, the United Nations Security Council identified and condemned six grave violations against children in times of war: Killing and maiming of children; recruitment or use of children in armed forces and armed groups; attacks on schools or hospitals; rape or other grave sexual violence; abduction of children; and denial of humanitarian access for children. 

Armed forces and armed groups are required by international humanitarian law to take measures to protect civilians, including children, who are particularly vulnerable during times of war.

Read: 25 Years of Children and Armed Conflict: Taking Action to Protect Children in War 

1. Killing and maiming of children

Killing and maiming of children can be a result of direct targeting or indirect actions, including torture. Killing and maiming can occur through crossfire, landmines, cluster munitions, improvised or other indiscriminate explosive devices or even in the context of military operations, house demolitions, search-and-arrest campaigns, or suicide attacks.  

Harm to children is often caused by direct attacks or attacks in which there has not been adequate distinction between civilian and military objectives and where parties to conflict failed to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction and proportionality, and the requirement to take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event minimize, loss of civilian life. 

2. Recruitment or use of children in armed forces and armed groups

Recruitment or use of children in armed forces and armed groups refers to compulsory, forced, or voluntary conscription or enlistment of children into any kind of armed force or armed group. The use of boys and girls by armed forces or armed groups can be in any capacity, including as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers and spies, or when they are subjected to sexual exploitation. 

Verified cases represent merely a fraction of the total number of children, including girls, believed to be associated with armed forces and armed groups globally. Girls are less likely to be formally identified and released, and lessons learnt from demobilization programmes have shown that girls tend to exit armed forces and groups quietly and informally, and to conceal their experience from the community due to fear of stigmatization.

3. Attacks on schools or hospitals

Attacks on schools or hospitals include the targeting of schools or medical facilities that cause the total or partial destruction of such facilities. Schools and hospitals should be protected spaces, where children are safe even in times of conflict, yet continued attacks on such facilities have underscored the catastrophic impact of armed conflict on children’s rights, including rights to education and health.  

Attacks on schools and hospitals not only put children’s lives at risk, but also disrupt their learning and limit their access to medical assistance, which can have a lifelong impact on their education, economic opportunities and overall health. 

4. Rape or other grave sexual violence

Conflict-related sexual violence remains one of the most disturbing violation of children’s rights and has often been used as a tactic of war. Rape or other grave sexual violence includes acts of rape, other sexual violence, sexual slavery and/or trafficking, enforced prostitution, forced marriage or pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or sexual exploitation and/or abuse of children. In some cases, sexual violence is used to intentionally humiliate a population or to force people from their homes. 

Sexual violence disproportionately affects girls. Rape is the most prevalent form of sexual violence to be verified, but girls are also subjected to forced marriage and used for various other forms of sexual exploitation, including while associated with parties to conflict, after recruitment. The widespread stigma around rape and sexual violence means it is a particularly under-reported issue affecting children in conflict. Sexual violence disproportionately affects girls, who were victims in 97 per cent of cases from 2016 to 2020.  

5. Abduction of children

Abduction of children refers to the unlawful removal, seizure, capture, apprehension, or enforced disappearance of a child either temporarily or permanently. Whether it’s an intentional act of violence or retaliation, to instill fear among populations, or to forcibly recruit and/or sexually abuse children, abduction is one of the most pervasive violations committed against children in situations of armed conflict.  

Boys have accounted for around three quarters of verified instances of abducted children. However, girls remain at risk of being abducted, including for the purpose of sexual violence and exploitation. In many cases, children who are abducted are also victims of other grave violations, such as killing, maiming, sexual violence or recruitment into armed groups. They might also be held hostage or arbitrarily detained. 

6. Denial of humanitarian access for children

Denial of humanitarian access for children includes the intentional deprivation or impediment of humanitarian assistance essential for children’s survival by parties to the conflict, including willfully impeding the ability of humanitarian or other relevant actors to access and assist affected children in situations of armed conflict. 

Warring parties often deny humanitarian actors access to those in need or prevent assistance from reaching civilian populations. Civilians are also denied aid when humanitarian workers are targeted and treated as threats. 

Between 2005 and 2022, more than 315,000 grave violations were verified against children, committed by parties to conflict in more than 30 conflict situations across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. The actual number is undoubtedly far higher as access and security constraints, as well as the shame, pain and fear that survivors suffer often hamper the reporting, documentation and verification of these violations. 

>>> Read more about the monitoring and reporting on the six violations.

What UNICEF is doing 

UNICEF and partners are continuing to provide care and protection for children living through war, advocating on their behalf, and engaging with all parties to conflict to ensure their rights are upheld. In addition to providing emergency and longer-term assistance to children, UNICEF and its partners have also trained governmental officials and parties to conflict on child protection, and raised awareness with governments, communities, and families on the risks facing children in armed conflict. 

However, we need sustained public and political pressure to ensure children are no longer targets in war. That is why UNICEF has issued a call to action to protect children in war. Read UNICEF’s change agenda for protecting children in armed conflict.