A/78/842 S/2024/384 community and civic leaders, on human rights defenders and on monitors of violations against children are a cause for concern and a strain on the monitoring capacity. 3. Pursuant to Security Council resolution 1612 (2005), my Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict adopted a pragmatic approach to promote broad and effective protection for children. Reference to a situation does not seek to make any legal determination as to whether situations which are referred to in the present report constitute armed conflicts within the context of the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols thereto, nor does it prejudge the legal status of the non -State parties involved in these situations. Accordingly, the report documents situations in which apparent violations of international norms and standards are of such gravity as to warrant international concern, given their impact on children. My Special Representative brings these situations to the attention of Government s, which bear the primary responsibility for protecting children, in order to encourage them to take remedial measures. II. Situation of children and armed conflict A. Overview of trends and patterns 4. In 2023, violence against children in armed conflict reached extreme levels, with a shocking 21 per cent increase in grave violations. Children bore the brunt of multiplying and escalating crises that were marked by a complete disregard for child rights, notably the inherent right to life. The number of instances of killing and maiming increased by a staggering 35 per cent. Children were killed and maimed in unprecedented numbers in devastating crises in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably in the Gaza Strip, in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Ukraine, among many other situations. 5. The United Nations verified 32,990 grave violations, of which 30,705 were committed in 2023 and 2,285 were committed earlier but verified in 2023. Violations affected 22,557 children (15,847 boys, 6,252 girls, 458 sex unknown) in 25 situations and one regional monitoring arrangement covering the Lake Chad basin region. 6. The highest numbers of violations were the killing (5,301) and maiming (6,348) of 11,649 children, followed by the recruitment and use of 8,655 children, 5,205 verified incidents of the denial of humanitarian access and the abduction of 4,356 children. Children were detained for actual or alleged association with armed groups (2,491), including those designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations, or for national security reasons. 7. The United Nations made progress in engaging with parties to protect children in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria , the Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine and Yemen. More than 10,600 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups received protection or reintegration support during 2023. 8. The changing nature, complexity, expansion and intensification of armed conflict, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including infrastructure, and the advent of new armed groups, alongside acute humanitarian emergencies and blatant disregard for international humanitarian law and severe violations of international human rights law, have led to alarming increases in grave violations. The conflict in 2/49 24-06292