Children and Drones: The Expansion of Unmanned and AI-Enabled Warfare and the Threat to Children’s Survival, Protection and Recovery

As drones and AI-enabled technologies become increasingly central to modern warfare, children are being exposed to new and intensifying forms of harm. This policy brief examines how armed drones, loitering munitions, first-person-view drones, persistent surveillance and AI-supported targeting affect children’s survival, protection and recovery.

Drawing on evidence and case studies from conflicts including Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere, it highlights rising child casualties, psychological harm, disruption to education and healthcare, threats to humanitarian operations, and major gaps in drone-specific casualty data. The brief argues that international humanitarian law must be effectively applied to rapidly evolving technologies and calls for meaningful human control, stronger safeguards for children, responsible arms-transfer policies, and sustained investment in protection, rehabilitation and recovery.