This paper analyzes child rights in conflict, with a particular focus on the ongoing war in Ukraine, where children face heightened vulnerabilities to trafficking and exploitation. It identifies the key impacts of contemporary conflicts on children and the role of social workers in these contexts. The analysis is guided by a child rights approach intersecting with a Critical Ecological Systems Perspective (CESP), which provides a layered understanding of children’s lived realities in conflict. Drawing on the precarity–vulnerability–harm continuum, the paper frames how structural insecurity escalates risk and deepens harm. The policy reports reviewed highlight critical gaps in child protection, from ineffective protective mechanisms to law enforcement challenges. To address these evident gaps, the academic literature underscores the urgent need to strengthen global child protection policies and practices, such as the implementation of child victim support and rehabilitation programs in conflict situations, where targeted social work interventions, including psychosocial support, play a critical role. While although enhanced international collaboration and cross-border cooperation are pivotal to safeguarding children’s rights during conflict, there remains a pressing need for robust child protection social work networks for holistic interventions, and responsive international legal frameworks are much needed to protect children in the face of conflict-driven exploitation.
