In both Africa and Gaza, children bear the devastating consequences of armed conflict—threatening their lives, safety, and right to education. Urgent and coordinated action is needed to uphold justice, protect children, and turn international commitments into tangible results.
More than thirty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), children continue to be the primary victims of war. From Africa to Gaza, they suffer fear, loss of life, physical and psychological violence, and the destruction of their future prospects.
Recent data from the UN and UNICEF reveal an alarming situation: in 2024 and early 2025, 33,000 grave violations of children’s rights were verified, affecting more than 22,500 children in 26 conflict contexts. Africa: A Continent Where Growing Up Becomes a Struggle
Africa is home to some of the most serious violations. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Nigeria, children are forcibly recruited by armed groups, abducted, subjected to sexual violence, or deprived of healthcare and education. Attacks on schools and hospitals are on the rise, compromising the most fundamental rights.
This violence takes place in a context of chronic instability, extreme poverty, and institutional weakness, exacerbating children’s vulnerability. Its consequences are far-reaching: psychological trauma, educational delays, increased risks of marginalization, and the repetition of cycles of violence. On September 3, 2025, UNICEF warned that global cuts in education funding could lead to an additional 6 million children being excluded from school by the end of 2026. Of these, approximately 1.9 million children in West and Central Africa are at risk of dropping out of school as early as next year due to cuts in official development assistance. In Côte d’Ivoire and Mali, the drop in school enrollment could reach 4%, leaving hundreds of thousands of students excluded from the education system. For a continent where youth represent the majority of the population, this is a major threat to future development…