NEW YORK, October 26, 2026 — The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2832 (2026) on 19 October, marking the 30th anniversary of the children and armed conflict mandate and introducing new measures to address violations facilitated by digital technologies. The resolution was co-sponsored by 93 member states, including Greece during its Council presidency.
< h2> A 30-Year Mandate and a Surge in Violations
The Security Council added children and armed conflict to its agenda in 1996 and established a monitoring mechanism in 2005 to track six grave violations, from child recruitment into armed groups to targeting schools and hospitals. Since the mandate’s establishment, over 220,000 children have been released from armed forces and groups. Conflict parties have signed 38 action plans to end and prevent grave violations since the establishment of the children and armed conflict mandate, 12 of which were fully implemented and led to the de-listing of the relevant parties from the annexes in the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict.
Despite this progress, violations against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels in 2025, with 38,558 cases affecting 24,174 children, according to the UN Secretary-General’s latest annual report. The highest numbers of violations were verified in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (12,445), Democratic Republic of the Congo (4,114), Nigeria (2,560), Myanmar (2,203) and Somalia (2,195). The six specific grave violations tracked include child recruitment, killing, rape, attacks on schools, abductions, and denial of humanitarian access.
< h2> Digital Risks and the New Resolution
The Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2832 (2026) to address violations facilitated by digital technologies. The resolution calls upon Member States to take measures to protect children affected by armed conflict from violations and abuses committed, facilitated or amplified by digital technologies, including at national and regional levels. It further encourages the UN system to gather information and collect emerging lessons learned and best practices on the risks and benefits of digital technologies for the protection of children affected by armed conflict.
Under-Secretary-General Vanessa Frazier, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, welcomed the adoption of the resolution. She stressed that the resolution comes at a crucial time, as the full extent of the risks arising from the use of digital technologies is still being established. She highlighted the importance of ensuring that the children and armed conflict mandate is responsive to emerging risks and emphasized that the resolution echoes the Secretary-General’s calls for a more secure environment for children online.
< h2> Accountability and Enforcement Challenges
The mandate provides concrete tools like the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism to compel behavioral change. Through the adoption of 15 resolutions and 13 presidential statements to date, the Council established such tools as the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM), which collects and verifies information on grave violations committed against children, and the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict. Greece served as the chair of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in 2025, but has yet to be reappointed this year due to the ongoing delays in the allocation of subsidiary body chairs. It has nonetheless continued to prioritise the agenda, including by promoting a resolution addressing the impact of digital technologies on the perpetration of violations and abuses against children.
The resolution further encourages the UN system to gather information and collect emerging lessons learned and best practices on the risks and benefits of digital technologies. Many speakers at tomorrow’s meeting are expected to highlight the unique nature of the children and armed conflict agenda—one of the Security Council’s most developed thematic issues—which provides the Council with concrete measures to compel behavioural change from conflict parties.
Digital Risks and the New Resolution
The Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2832 (2026) to address violations facilitated by digital technologies. The resolution calls upon Member States to take measures to protect children affected by armed conflict from violations and abuses committed, facilitated or amplified by digital technologies, including at national and regional levels. It further encourages the UN system to gather information and collect emerging lessons learned and best practices on the risks and benefits of digital technologies for the protection of children affected by armed conflict.
Under-Secretary-General Vanessa Frazier, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, welcomed the adoption of the resolution. She stressed that the resolution comes at a crucial time, as the full extent of the risks arising from the use of digital technologies is still being established. She highlighted the importance of ensuring that the children and armed conflict mandate is responsive to emerging risks and emphasized that the resolution echoes the Secretary-General’s calls for a more secure environment for children online. “By coming together around this shared priority, Council members demonstrate that, even in the most challenging circumstances, the protection of children remains an issue that can inspire collective action and tangible results on the ground,” she added.
Verification of Grave Violations in 2025
The Secretary-General’s latest annual report documented a stark escalation in harm, recording 38,558 verified grave violations against children in 2025, affecting 24,174 individual children. These figures represent the highest annual tally since the monitoring mechanism’s inception. The five countries recording the highest numbers of verified violations were Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory with 12,445 cases, the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 4,114, Nigeria with 2,560, Myanmar with 2,203, and Somalia with 2,195. The six specific grave violations tracked by the mandate include child recruitment, killing, rape, attacks on schools, abductions, and denial of humanitarian access, with the data confirming that no region has remained unaffected by this surge in violence.
Despite the establishment of the children and armed conflict mandate in 1996 and the subsequent creation of a monitoring mechanism in 2005, the volume of violations has grown exponentially. Over 220,000 children have been released from armed forces and groups since the mandate’s establishment, and 38 action plans have been signed to end and prevent grave violations, though only 12 were fully implemented. The 2025 figures underscore a worrying trend where the absolute number of violations continues to climb, even as institutional mechanisms mature. The Security Council’s Resolution 2832 (2026) was adopted against this backdrop of record-breaking violations, aiming to introduce new safeguards against the digital amplification of these abuses.
Sources
- UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Welcomes New Security Council Resolution on Impact of Digital Technologies | Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
- UN Security Council will discuss "Children and Armed Conflict" on Monday
- Security Council LIVE: Children and war, ‘each one is a life’
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland (CC BY 3.0 pl)
