Children are often being subjected to unprecedented situations in this new era of crisis which has seen a grim rise in armed conflicts, both in frequency and in intensity. Amidst growing geopolitical rivalries, the erosion of efforts to safeguard civilians is taking a toll on children. Be it in Ukraine, Occupied Palestinian Territories, or Gaza and elsewhere in the world, children are not mere bystanders. They have become soft targets. Over half a billion children are now living in conflict zones worldwide and are exposed to severe human rights violations. UNICEF recently released the report, Global Outlook: Prospects for Children in 2025: Building Resilient Systems for Children’s Futures. It reported that over 473 million children — more than one in six globally — were estimated to be living in areas affected by conflict in 2023. The percentage of children affected in armed conflict has almost doubled to 19% from around 10% in the 1990s. The United Nations also has verifiable data on a record 32,990 grave violations against 22,557 children, of whom one third were girls, in 26 conflict zones in 2023. Further, a staggering 5,301 children were killed and another 6,348 maimed and injured, representing a shocking 35% rise over previous years. In comparison to 2023, the total number of children displaced by conflict and violence rose to 48.8 million by the end of 2024. It is apprehended that the number of children living in conflict zones or forcibly displaced by conflict and violence is going to see an upsurge in 2025 amidst intensifying conflicts in many parts of the world.
Since World War II, war tactics and strategies have changed. Once confined to battlefields and soldiers, wars in recent decades have become increasingly deadly for civilians, particularly for children. The urbanisation of conflicts and their intensification across borders and regional insecurity have increased the vulnerabilities of children. The deliberate targeting of, and indiscriminate damage to, civilian infrastructure on which children depend, such as schools, hospitals, water facilities, and residential areas, has become a hallmark of contemporary conflicts. In recent years, civilian casualties have outnumbered battlefield deaths during World War II. In his book, Targeting Civilians in War, Alexander B. Downes argued that civilian victimisation is a military strategy. It is the desperation to win the battle and to conquer and annex territory from another state that leads to civilian victimisation in protracted wars of attrition. It is also the result of a settler-colonialism attitude that views the indigenous people as a threat. Such ‘enemy’ populations tend to be viewed as a fifth column capable of rebelling at any moment in the future. In today’s armed conflicts, the strategy adopted by armed groups is to “seek to bring the battle more immediately, systematically, and more massively to the core of the civilian population.” According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the trend of armed conflict is towards “further fragmentation of violence”.
Despite being protected by international law, children are vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and trafficking during armed conflicts. They are exposed to death, physical injury, psychological trauma, displacement, epidemics, and malnutrition, among other things. They are also more likely to be forced into armed groups and military forces, as well as labour, child marriages, sexual abuse and gender-based violence. Both during and after armed conflicts, children who have not suffered the direct results of conflicts suffer indirectly but equally devastating consequences, including inadequate and unsafe living conditions, separation from family, displacement-related health risks.
Concurrently, the devastating impact of conflicts on children’s mental health, causing life-long trauma and susceptibility to radicalisation have increased manifold. Some children fall victim to a general onslaught against civilians, while others die as part of a calculated genocide. They grow up deprived of their social and cultural life and emotional needs. Additionally, millions of children worldwide also lack legal identity, leaving them invisible to governments and denied access to essential services like education, healthcare, and social protection. This makes children vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking, and other forms of abuse. Despite being protected by international law, schools and students are targeted in armed conflicts. The powers that be need to ensure child protection and guarantee their rights. But the paralysis of multilateral institutions, both State and non-State actors, exacerbates their vulnerability. Perpetrators are rarely held accountable for the killing, maiming, sexual violence, abductions and armed recruitment of children, or for attacks on schools and hospitals.
Civilian victimisation violates the fundamental principles of non-combatant immunity and discrimination as enshrined in the Geneva Conventions 1949. All such principles require that belligerents must distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and refrain from aiming at the latter. International humanitarian law seeks to minimise human sufferings and protect civilians as well as prisoners of war. States can also use the principle of universal jurisdiction to pursue their own prosecutions of perpetrators of war crimes and other crimes under international law. Attacks on civilians and infrastructure underscore the critical role of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems in safeguarding children’s rights and well-being.
Recent armed conflicts have exposed seismic power shifts at the global level. Parties involved in the conflict appear to increasingly ignore the principles enshrined in the Geneva Conventions and additional protocols and are contributing to the levels of ‘norm slippage’. The World Justice Project in its 2025 Rule of Law Index found that the rule of law weakened in 96 countries. The 2025 Index demonstrated that the recession in global rule of law is accelerating. Since last year, the share of countries experiencing a deterioration in their rule of law scores increased sharply. Against this backdrop, investigations and prosecutions of war crimes, whether conducted by national courts or the International Criminal Court, have faced ongoing political and logistical barriers. These challenges have encouraged a range of perpetrators to innovate and explore alternatives to secure compliance with international law and accountability for violations through “humanitarian camouflage”.
Armed conflicts undermine nearly all protections guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 38 and 39 of the CRC stipulate the rights of the conflict-affected children. Moreover, the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1261 (1999), supported by the International Humanitarian Law, Criminal Law, Refugee Law and Labour Standards, aims to shield children from the impacts of war and ensure that their rights are upheld. The multilateral system needs to respond more effectively to child rights violations in armed conflicts and to strengthen accountability and ensure non-negotiable compliance with international laws. There is a need for stronger alignment between global and national laws. Such alignment can promote resilience, develop shock-response systems, strengthen financing, and build public-private collaboration. To stop the victimisation of children in armed conflicts, it is indispensable to translate international standards into enforceable national law, policy and security sector practice.
Joydeep Biswas is Principal Secretary, Faculty Council for Post Graduate Studies in Science, University of North Bengal