DaysofPal — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that Israeli settler groups could be added to the UN’s blacklist of parties violating children’s rights if grave abuses against Palestinian children continue at current levels.
The warning came in the UN’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, which documented a record 38,558 grave violations against 24,174 children worldwide in 2025, the highest number since the monitoring mechanism was established in 1996.
The report also recorded a 34 percent increase in child fatalities compared to 2024, documenting the deaths of 6,266 children and the injury or maiming of 14,224 others globally. Among them, 2,668 children were killed in the Gaza Strip and 57 in the West Bank.
According to the report, the occupied Palestinian territories and Israeli occupation ranked among the areas with the highest levels of violations against children, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Somalia.
Guterres noted that Israeli occupation is already listed on the UN’s “list of shame” for grave violations against children. However, the latest report highlights, for the first time, the possibility of adding Israeli settler groups if violations continue at similarly high rates.
The Secretary-General expressed alarm over the scale of abuses, particularly the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and the rise in settler attacks, which have resulted in serious violations against Palestinian children.
The report attributed 9,465 grave violations to Israeli forces and 326 additional violations to settlers, including killing and maiming, sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Guterres also voiced deep concern over the treatment of Palestinian children detained by Israeli authorities, citing reports of severe physical violence and poor detention conditions that may amount to inhumane or degrading treatment.
The report’s release comes weeks after tensions escalated between the United Nations and Israeli occupation, following Israeli inclusion on a separate UN list of parties accused of committing sexual violence in Israeli war.
In response, Israeli Foreign Ministry announced it would cut ties with the Secretary-General.
The report clarified that inclusion on the UN blacklist does not automatically trigger sanctions. However, it carries significant reputational consequences and obliges listed parties to engage with the United Nations to develop action plans aimed at ending violations and eventually being removed from the list.
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