United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, has revealed that attacks on schools worldwide increased by 166 per cent between 2021 and 2024.
She highlighted that the attacks were particularly widespread in Sudan, Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, Myanmar, and Ethiopia.
Al-Nashif made the statement on Monday during the annual meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the rights of the child. She called for stronger measures to protect children in conflict zones. The meeting focused on the theme, “Mainstreaming the Rights of Children in Armed Conflict: Prevention and Protection.”
She noted that, in recent weeks, the council had received distressing accounts of some of the gravest violations occurring in more than 60 armed conflicts worldwide. According to her, children are far too often among the primary victims, paying a terrible and unacceptable price.
In 2024, she reported, armed conflict directly affected nearly one in six children globally, about 470 million. Al-Nashif cited devastating consequences in regions such as Gaza, where the territory now has the world’s highest number of amputee children per capita, stressing that war’s impact extends beyond immediate violence.
“Years of lost education, trauma and lasting mental scars shape societies for generations to come. Long after the fighting subsides, children will continue to face deadly risks in their daily lives,” she added.
In Lebanon, government figures show that in less than a week, more than 450,000 people were registered as displaced, and at least 394 were killed, including 83 children, following the 2024 conflict with Israel.
She also pointed out that forced displacement disproportionately affects children, who are more likely to die from disease linked to unsafe water and sanitation than from direct violence. She highlighted the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a cholera outbreak killed 340 children in 2025, emphasizing the need for urgent action.
Al-Nashif stressed that children’s rights are comprehensively protected under international human rights law, humanitarian law and international criminal law.
“States have a clear obligation to protect all children under their jurisdiction without discrimination based on age, gender, disability or other status. When these obligations are not met, international law requires prompt and independent investigations, accountability for violations and reparations for victims,” she said.
She further noted that children are not only victims but also contribute to peacebuilding, promote dialogue, help build bridges and seek common ground. She urged states, national human rights institutions, international organisations, and civil society to work together to prevent the erosion of laws intended to reduce risks to children.
Al-Nashif also called for mechanisms that allow children to participate in shaping measures intended to protect them.
“Protecting children is not a luxury. It is both a legal obligation and a humanitarian moral imperative, and it is clear that we can, together, do much better,” she emphasized.
Additionally, Ms Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said that violence against children in armed conflict continued in 2025 at extreme levels. She stressed that mainstreaming the children and armed conflict agenda across peace and security, humanitarian, human rights and development pillars is a pathway to prevention and protection, but noted that this requires ongoing cooperation and strengthened coordination among all actors.
“It is crucial to ensure the mainstreaming of children and armed conflict in peace and security efforts at all stages of the conflict cycle. These include conflict prevention, early warning, mediation, response, and post-conflict reconstruction and development. Child participation in peace and security processes can contribute to the sustainability of peace efforts if done safely and inclusively. My office is committed to elevating the voices of children, including through our global campaign, ‘Prove It Matters’,” Frazier said.
