For a printable version of Watchlist’s October 2025 Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update, click here.

In his 2025 annual report (S/2025/247) on children and armed conflict (CAAC), the Secretary-General (SG) newly listed the Clan del Golfo (also known as Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia), alongside the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) and Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) dissident groups, all for the recruitment and use of children. In 2024, the UN verified 646 grave violations against 513 children (317 boys, 189 girls, 7 sex unknown), a 50 percent increase from 2023. Recruitment and use was the most prominent violation, with 450 children affected, followed by the killing and maiming of 78 children, 33 cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence, 42 attacks on schools and hospitals, 16 abductions, and 24 incidents of the denial of humanitarian access. Indigenous and Afro-descendant children were disproportionately impacted, with 195 Indigenous children and 47 children of African among the victims, as well as 13 Venezuelan children. In October, the SG will report on the Verification Mission’s implementation per SCR 2761. The Security Council should: 

• Demand that all parties uphold their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law (IHRL), including respecting the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution; 
• Demand that all armed groups immediately release all children under 18 from their ranks and prevent and end all child recruitment and use, the killing and maiming of children, their abductions, as well as take concrete steps to end rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, including in the context of recruitment and use; 
• Call on all armed groups to adopt action plans with the United Nations to end and prevent grave violations against children; 
• Call on all armed groups to immediately cease the use of explosive ordnance and encourage the government to scale up demining and explosive ordnance risk education; 
• Call on all parties to allow and facilitate the safe, timely, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations, especially children; 
• Encourage the Government to continue strengthening efforts to prevent the recruitment and use of children, as well as other grave violations, and to sustain and improve reintegration services, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable, including girls, Indigenous children, and children of African descent, while noting the heightened risk of recruitment at informal border crossings. 

THE UNITED KINGDOM IS THE SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON COLOMBIA. 

In the SG’s 2025 annual report on CAAC, Viv Ansanm was listed for the recruitment and use and the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, and attacks on schools and hospitals. According to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) latest quarterly report, between 1 April and 30 June 2025, at least 26 children were killed (16 boys, ten girls) and seven others were injured (five boys and two girls) in gang attacks and police operations and children continue to be recruited into gangs and “self defense” groups. During this period, at least three boys were kidnapped by gangs. On 14 July, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2785, renewing the mandate of BINUH until 31 January 2026. In October, the Security Council is expected to receive its regular report on the implementation of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti, per SCR 2751 (2024).  The Security Council should:  

• Call on all parties to take immediate and concrete steps to end and prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, ensure survivors have access to comprehensive, gender-sensitive, and age-appropriate response systems and services, and strengthen preventive measures; 
• Urge all armed groups to immediately release all children under 18 from their ranks and end and prevent all child recruitment and use, the killing and maiming of children, their abductions; reiterate that children associated with armed forces and groups should be treated primarily as victims, and their reintegration should be prioritized; encourage the Government of Haiti to fully and consistently implement its 2024 handover protocol on the transfer and reintegration of children allegedly associated with armed gangs and the release of detained children to civilian actors, including through sufficient child protection capacities; 
• Call on the Viv Ansanm coalition to adopt action plans with the United Nations to end and prevent grave violations against children; 
• Call on all parties to allow and facilitate the safe, timely, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations, especially children; 
• Ensure that the national police and the MSS prioritizes and mainstreams the protection of children during all operations, including through capacity-building; supports the release and recovery of children from armed groups and their immediate handover to civilian child protection actors; provides protection to and facilitates access for child protection actors to affected children; and shares with the UN Working Group on CAAC in Haiti information on grave violations against children, as appropriate; 
• Urge donors to swiftly mobilize additional flexible funds to support the humanitarian response in Haiti, including resources for child protection and reintegration programs. 

PANAMA AND THE UNITED STATES ARE CO-PENHOLDERS ON HAITI.

In the SG’s 2025 annual report on CAAC, Al-Shabaab continues to be listed for all listable grave violations against children and Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama’a (ASWJ) for recruitment and use of children. The Somali National Army (SNA) and the Somali Police Force (SPF) were delisted this year for recruitment and use and remain listed for killing and maiming and rape and other forms of sexual violence. The delisting is conditional upon the continued implementation of the 2012 action plans and 2019 road map on the recruitment and use of children, and the continued decrease in such violations. Between January and June 2025, more than 870 grave violations against children were documented. At least 220 children were killed or maimed in armed conflict, including during clashes between state forces, non-state armed groups, and inter-clan violence. More than 14 schools were either attacked or occupied by armed groups disrupting learning for over 150,000 children and depriving them of safe spaces. In October, per SCR 2753 (2024), the United Nations Transition Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) will report on the first phase of its transition. The Security Council should: 

• Demand that all parties fully uphold their obligations under IHL and IHRL, immediately cease all grave violations against children; and call on the Federal Government of Somalia to strengthen accountability for all grave violations committed against children, including on killing and maiming and rape and other forms of sexual violence;  
• Call on the Federal Government and regional authorities to treat children allegedly associated with armed forces or groups primarily as victims, in line with the Paris Principles and Commitments; and end the prosecution of children in military courts;  
• Welcome the close collaboration of the Federal Government and the United Nations to advance the implementation of the 2012 action plans and 2019 roadmap; including to institutionalization human rights and protection training in the Somali security forces; and the rollout of the age verification guidelines and its standardized checklist endorsed by the Federal Government in July 2023;  
• Call on the Federal Government to strengthen its commitments to end and prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence against children; and to consistently apply the 2014 Standard Operating Procedures for the reception and handover of children separated from armed groups to civilian child protection actors for reintegration purposes;   
• Emphasize the need to maintain resources up until the exit of UNTMIS in October 2026, including those related to children and armed conflict and monitoring and reporting on grave violations against children, prioritize measures to address conflict-related impact on children during ongoing and future military operations in light of the phased drawdown of African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia; and reiterate that joint commitments on CAAC are critical mitigation measures for UN support to non-UN security forces per the United Nations Human Rights Due Diligence Policy. 

THE UNITED KINGDOM IS THE SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON SOMALIA. 

The Working Group has received the following reports of the SG on children and armed conflict and conclusions remain pending: Syria (S/2023/805), the Democratic Republic of Congo (S/2024/705), and Mali (S/2024/883), Burkina Faso (S/2025/101), Myanmar (S/2025/81), Yemen (S/2025/113), and South Sudan (S/2025/317). For targeted recommendations, see Watchlist’s Monthly CAAC updates from December 2023, December 2024, March 2025, May 2025, June 2025, and September 2025 respectively.