On June 19, 2022, children belonging to Afghan refugees living in Pakistan get water from a tap on the outskirts of Lahore, between 2005 and 2020, according to the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, on the eve of World Refugee Day.
The report revealed that children were being held by parties to conflict in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
The report found that between 2005 and 2020 more than 104,100 children were verified as being killed or maimed in situations of conflict, over 93,000 children were verified as being recruited and used by parties to conflict, and at least 25,700 children were verified as abducted by parties to conflict.
The report, 25 years of children and armed conflict: Taking action to protect children in war, illustrated the impact of armed conflicts on children, while presenting trends of grave violations across the world and over time.
The report found that the daily global average for verified grave violations stood at an alarming 71 between 2016 and 2020, increasing the number of verified violations since 2005.
In a press release, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said the world's failure to protect children from serious violations during times of armed conflict.
Grave violations devastate children, families, and communities, making it harder to restore and sustain peace, security, and stability. Russell said that we must not accept violations against children as an unavoidable outcome of war.
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The UNICEF report includes recommendations on how to provide adequate care and response services to children affected by conflict, as well as ways to improve data disaggregation and analysis for better response and prevention.
The report called on parties to conflict, and states, to abide by their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law.