London, Dec. 14, (dpa/GNA) – The number of grave violations committed against children in times of war rose 13% in 2022, the highest level since reporting started in 2005, according to aid organization Save the Children.
A new report released on Thursday by the organization found 27,638 grave violations were committed against children during conflict in 2022, with the killing and maiming of children having the highest number of reported and verified cases at 8,647.
This was followed by cases of recruitment and use of children in conflict, which increased by 20% to 7,610 in 2022.
Save the Children International chief executive Inger Ashing warned the figures for 2023 were expected to be even higher, due to the conflict in Sudan and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
“It’s a terrible time to be a child in war. The global norms that were set up to protect children from the worst that could be committed against them are crumbling.”
Data for 2022 showed that there were 76 violations against children on average each day, although due to under-reporting it was likely to be “only the tip of the iceberg,” Ashing said.
Save the Children said the three worst conflict-affected countries to be a child were the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Myanmar.