Recommitting to Compliance and Restraint to Reverse the Unprecedented Trends of Harm and Need Experienced by Children in Armed Conflict

19 June 2025
Authors: Bethany Ellis and Patrick Kumi

As the UN Security Council prepares for its annual debate on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), the global community is witnessing a second consecutive year of record-breaking violations against children in war zones. These atrocities include recruitment and use of children, killings, sexual violence, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian aid, with state forces increasingly responsible. Beyond the numbers, these harms devastate local communities, erode prospects for peace, and expose the collapse of international norms meant to protect civilians. Yet amid this crisis, local and youth-led groups, like Uganda’s Similar Ground, are responding where formal systems fail—leading campaigns to prevent child recruitment, supporting trauma recovery, and building peace from the ground up. But they cannot do this alone. The authors argue that the international community should act with integrity and urgency to reverse this trend: uphold international law without exception, restrict arms transfers to abusive actors, invest in education and protection systems, and ensure impacted communities shape the response. The CAAC agenda is more than a political framework—it is a lifeline. Protecting children in conflict is not just a humanitarian concern; it is central to global peace and security.