Protecting children in conflict: Progress amid persistent challenges.




While 2024 marked the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2025 commemorates 25 years of OPAC—the protocol banning the recruitment of children under 18 into armed forces—and 20 years of UN Security Council Resolution 1612, which created mechanisms to monitor and report on violations against children in conflict.

Despite worsening conditions in countries like Lebanon, Mozambique, and Haiti, where grave violations surged, nearly 16,500 children formerly associated with armed groups received protection or reintegration support in 2024, an increase from the previous year. Since 2005, over 200,000 children have been released from conflict parties.

Progress was also made through around 40 new commitments by conflict parties, including action plans, training initiatives, and bilateral dialogues—such as the agreement signed with the Syrian National Army in June 2024.

Positive developments were also seen in Iraq, Pakistan, and the Philippines, where preventive measures led to their upcoming removal from the Children and Armed Conflict agenda.

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