For a printable version of Watchlist’s February 2026 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 Azande Ani Kpi Gbe for recruitment and use of children in addition to the local militias known as anti-balaka, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC), Mouvement patriotique pour la Centrafrique (MPC), and Union pour la paix en Centrafrique (UPC) all of which are listed in the annex of the SG’s report for multiple grave violations against children. On 13 November 2025, the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) was extended for one year (S/RES/2800). According to the latest MINUSCA report on the Human Rights Situation, the UN Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (CTFMR) verified 77 grave violations against 40 children (29 boys and 11 girls) in November 2025, a sharp increase from October. The increase was primarily linked to the late verification of children associated with the UPC during a disarmament and demobilization operation, highlighting past abuses and ongoing verification challenges. Recruitment and use, abduction, rape and other forms of sexual violence accounted for most violations. In February, the SG will report on the situation in CAR and on the progress in implementing MINUSCA’s mandate pursuant to SCR 2800 (2025). The Security Council should:

• Condemn all continuing violations and abuses against children in CAR and express grave concern at the increase in verified grave violations;
• Demand that all parties uphold their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL);
• Call on all parties to end and prevent grave violations against children, including by engaging with the UN to sign and implement action plans; urge the MPC, FPRC, and UPC to fully and swiftly implement their action plans and release all children still in their ranks;
• Call on the Government to fully implement all aspects of the Child Protection Code, ensure accountability for perpetrators of grave violations and guarantee child survivors of sexual violence access to comprehensive, gender-sensitive, and age-appropriate services, including preventive measures;
• Urge the Government to appoint child protection focal points within deployed units of the national defense and security forces;
• Urge the Government and pro-government forces to operationalize the 2024 Handover Protocol on the protection and transfer of children associated with armed forces and groups to civilian authorities, in collaboration with the UN.

FRANCE IS THE SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON CAR. 

In his 2025 annual report, the SG continued to list the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) for recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and abduction as well as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) for recruitment and use, killing and maiming, and abduction. According to the UN Mission in South Sudan’s (UNMISS) latest quarterly human rights brief, UNMISS documented 93 children affected by grave violations during the reporting period (46 boys and 47 girls). The primary violations were abduction (39 percent), CRSV (27 percent), injuries (20 percent), and killings (14 percent). Abduction was the leading grave violation against boys, whereas sexual violence was the leading one against girls. On 19 January, UNMISS raised concerns over significant military confrontations between forces aligned with the main parties to the peace agreement in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria which included aerial bombardments of civilian areas. This surge followed efforts to diverge from the peace framework established by the Revitalized Peace Agreement. In February, the SG will report on implementation of the UNMISS mandate and obstructions per SCR 2779 (2025). The Security Council should:

• Condemn all continuing violations and abuses committed against children in South Sudan and express grave concern at the increase in verified grave violations;
• Demand that all parties uphold their obligations under IHL and IHRL, and engage with the UN to end and prevent grave violations against children;
• Call on all parties to take immediate steps to end and prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, ensure survivors’ access to comprehensive, gender-sensitive, and age-appropriate services, and strengthen preventive measures;
• Urge the Government and parties that have endorsed the 2020 Comprehensive Action Plan to fully and swiftly implement their commitments;
• Urge all parties to immediately cease all grave violations against children, and to release and hand over all children from their ranks to child protection actors and prioritize their reintegration; with detention used only as last resort and for the shortest appropriate time;
• Urge the Government to end impunity for grave violations against children; allocate adequate resources to ensure survivors’ access to justice, including for sexual violence; and designate a CAAC focal point in the Ministry of Justice;
• Urge all parties to end attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to allow and facilitate the safe, timely, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations, especially children.

THE UNITED STATES SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON SOUTH SUDAN.

The Working Group continues to negotiate conclusions in response to the following reports of the SG on children and armed conflict: Myanmar (S/2020/1243), Syria (S/2021/398), Afghanistan (S/2021/662), Somalia (S/2022/397). For targeted recommendations, see Watchlist’s Monthly CAAC updates from February 2021, June 2021, September 2021, and July 2022, respectively.

In November 2025, the SG submitted to the Security Council and its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict his seventh report on the situation of children and armed conflict in Somalia (S/2025/735), covering 1 October 2021 – 31 December 2024. During this period, the UN verified 8,493 grave violations against 6,801 children (5,142 boys and 1,659 girls), including 1,481 children subjected to multiple violations. The most prevalent violations were recruitment and use (2,821), abduction (2,556), and killing and maiming (2,143) accounting for 89% of all grave violations. The UN also verified 762 cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence, 145 attacks on schools and hospitals, 15 cases of military use of schools, and 66 incidents of denial of humanitarian access. The SG noted progress in engagement with national authorities, including continued implementation of action plans and roadmaps to strengthen child protection and the screening and separation of children from security forces. He also expressed concern over the persistently high number of grave violations, including mass abductions for recruitment and sexual violence, as well as the continued detention and prosecution of children for alleged association with armed groups, including through military courts. The Working Group Should:

• Strongly condemn the alarming scale of violations and abuses against children in Somalia;
• Demand that all parties uphold their obligations under IHL and IHRL, immediately cease grave violations, release all children from their ranks and ensure their social and economic reintegration;
• Call on the Federal Government of Somalia to strengthen accountability for grave violations against children; enact the child rights bill; adopt the 2018 Sexual Offences Bill; and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC);
• Urge the Federal Government to enact legislation prohibiting sexual violence in line with its human rights commitments and to expand access to holistic services, reparations and redress for survivors;
• Call on the Federal Government and federal member states to treat children allegedly associated with armed forces or groups primarily as victims, in line with the Paris Principles and Commitments and juvenile justice standards and ensure timely handover to civilian authorities for reintegration ;
• Encourage the Federal Government to implement its commitments under the Safe Schools Declaration, including risk assessments and risk reduction strategies to prevent and respond to attacks, child recruitment and sexual violence at or on the way to and from school;
• Urge the Federal Government to fully implement its 2012 action plans on recruitment and use and killing and maiming, as well as its 2019 roadmap; to swiftly engage with the UN to strengthen commitments to end and prevent sexual violence against children; and to consistently comply with the 2014 Standard Operating Procedure on the handover of children to civilian child protection actors;
• Call on donors to support and ensure predictable funding for child protection efforts, including the monitoring and reporting mechanism and comprehensive reintegration programs for children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups.