Syria ranked fourth in child recruitment globally, says the U.N. report

NEW YORK — On Monday, the United Nations reported that more than 8,500 children were recruited in 2020 in various conflicts around the world and approximately 2,700 children were killed in those conflicts, according to a statement made by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to the stated to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

The report on children and armed conflicts monitored the killing and wounding of children, sexual violations against them, their detention or recruitment, their deprivation of humanitarian aid, as well as the targeting of schools and hospitals.

The report detailed violations committed against 19,379 children in 21 conflicts in 2020. Most of the violations were committed in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen. It also verified the recruitment of 8,521 children, the deaths of 2,674 children, and the wounding of 5,748 others.