Record number of minors killed in war zones in 2024. Many children are malnourished, out of school or lack basic health care. More children than ever live in conflict zones or have been forcibly displaced, the United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, said on Saturday. . He estimated that more than 473 million children worldwide – one in six – live in conflict-affected areas.

This has resulted in record numbers of children being killed, injured or having their rights violated. “By any measure of comparison, 2024 was one of the worst years in UNICEF’s history for children living in conflict – both in terms of the number of those affected and the level of impact on their lives” , said UNICEF Executive Director Kathryn Russell.

“A child growing up in a conflict zone is much more likely to be out of school, malnourished or forced to leave their home – quite often repeatedly – compared to a child living in peaceful areas.”

Where do children suffer the most?

The UN verified 32,990 serious rights violations against 22,557 children in 2023 and expects the number to be even higher in 2024. Thousands of children have been killed in Gaza this year amid Israel’s continued shelling of the enclave. Israel says it is fighting the militant group Hamas there. In Ukraine, the United Nations verified more child deaths in the first nine months of 2024 than in all of 2023.

The Agency also reported that in Haiti there was a 1,000% increase in reported incidents of sexual violence against children this year. In Sudan, as in Gaza, a significant proportion of children have missed more than one school year.

No health care

Children also miss out on vital vaccinations and are deprived of other health care services because of the wars. UNICEF reports that around 40% of unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children live in conflict-affected countries, making them vulnerable to disease outbreaks such as measles or polio, which was recently detected in Gaza for the first time in 25 years .

“Children in war zones face a daily struggle for survival that robs them of their childhood,” said Russell. “Their schools are being bombed, their homes are being destroyed and their families are being torn apart. They lose not only their safety and their access to basic life needs, but also the opportunity to play, to learn, to just be children.”

Children should not be ‘collateral losses’

UNICEF also highlighted the large number of children who are killed, injured or otherwise have their rights violated by conflicts in Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.

He reiterated the call to all parties to the conflicts to end the suffering of children and ensure that their rights are respected, in accordance with international humanitarian obligations. “We cannot allow an entire generation of children to become collateral damage in the world’s uncontrollable wars,” said Russell.

Edited by: Kostas Argyros