Vanessa Frazier, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict, told Arab News that she carries the toll of her own report—38,558 grave violations against 24,174 children in 2025—into the Security Council chamber. Briefing the council on Wednesday, she highlighted that government forces, not armed terror groups, are now the leading perpetrators of grave violations against children for the first time in the three-decade history of the mandate.
Record High Violations and Shifting Patterns
The secretary-general's report verified 38,558 grave violations against 24,174 children in 2025, the highest figure since the mandate's creation in 1996. Killing and maiming topped the list, affecting 14,224 children, including 6,266 killed. Denial of humanitarian access was recorded in 8,322 incidents, while 6,607 children were recruited and used by parties to conflict, 5,129 were abducted, and 1,783 were raped or subjected to other sexual violence. Israel topped the list of violators.
Frazier emphasized that the report is not a wake-up call: “After decades of evidence, warnings and appeals, the international community can't claim ignorance of what's happening to children in armed conflict. If we're still not awake after all that millions of children have and continue to endure, then we must confront a far more troubling truth—that inaction isn't the result of ignorance. It's a conscious political choice.”
Impunity and Political Will
When asked why the situation keeps worsening, Frazier said: “There's this increased impunity toward international law, and there are many reasons for this happening … Children can be protected. Tools are there to enforce the protection.” She stressed that her office's role is not to assign blame but to get parties to change course: “We aren't an accountability mechanism. We're a protection-of-civilians mechanism. It's important that the actors that are listed on our report are forced, literally forced with the tools that are available, to enter into action plans with us, because through these action plans we protect children, and that's how we end and prevent grave violations.”
Frazier said half of the harm done to children in conflict today “could be avoided if member states were to act with resolve,” pressing the nine state-armed and security forces listed in her report's annexes to change how they wage war and to engage with her office on action plans.
Technology and Humanitarian Impact
Frazier warned of a “dangerous transformation” in warfare with the growing use of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence, risking greater harm to children unless paired with “meaningful human oversight.” She stated: “Technology mustn't outpace responsibility. No technological advancement can justify a retreat from our duty to protect children in armed conflict.”
In her interview, Frazier said what shocked her most was not the data but meeting victims on the ground: “What shocks me is when I actually go on the ground and meet with victims and with the children, with survivors. That's what shocks me, because it humanizes these numbers.”
Dispute with Israel's Ambassador
Frazier's briefing came against the backdrop of an escalating dispute with Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon. The dispute erupted when he criticized UN reports that blacklisted Israel, and when Frazier attempted to interject with a point of order, objecting to Danon's “personal attacks” and defending the findings as based on “verified evidence.” Danon shot back, telling her: “We're a member state, and you work for the UN, and you'll be quiet now.” He later accused Frazier on social media of engaging with an antisemitic account. Frazier told Arab News: “It's fake news. It's a manipulated photo. You can put it through your verifications and see. There's nothing that you'll find on me that's antisemitic.” Danon submitted a letter to the council calling for a review of her “continued tenure,” accusing her of advancing a political agenda. Frazier responded: “Unfortunately, this is to distract from what the aim of today is, and I don't want to give it too much attention, because the aim is to focus on protecting children, not on protecting myself or my dignity or my reputation, which is very much intact.”
Call to Action
Frazier noted that her office is negotiating action plans with parties in Colombia, Myanmar, Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic, and that roughly 40 commitments had been made by conflict parties over the past year, alongside the release or reintegration of 13,112 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups. She told the council: “Let me be clear: We don't face a vacuum of international humanitarian law. The rules exist. The principles are clear. What's missing is political will.” She closed her briefing by reading a message from a child: “Dear World Leaders, I wish that you can open your eyes and see what is happening in the world ... If you really want to help, you don't need to just talk, you also need to take action.” Her own message to world leaders, she told Arab News, is simpler still: “Do your duty.”
