A/74/136 E. Armed conflict 66. International law prohibits the use of children in direct hostilities, and any recruitment of children by non-State armed groups. States parties shall, when necessary, accord to such persons all appropriate assistance for their physical and psychological recovery and their social reintegration. Yet in at least 16 countries where conflict pertains, Governments or armed groups detain childre n. 67. Children detained in the context of armed conflict often find themselves in a cycle of violence. First, armed groups illegally recruit them, usually through force, coercion or deception. Second, government authorities then detain them for suspected association with those very groups, often subjecting them to ill -treatment, which can make them susceptible to re-recruitment. 68. The study research is based on countries included in the Secretary-General’s annual reports to the Security Council on children and armed conflict. Data collected for the study indicate that, at a minimum, 35,000 children are deprived of liberty in the context of armed conflict. That figure includes an estimated 29,000 foreign children of alleged ISIS fighters detained in 2019 in camps in Iraq and the north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic. In particular in conflicts involving non -State armed groups designated as terrorist, Governments are more likely to detain children than to provide rehabilitation and reintegration, as requir ed under international law. 69. Many children are detained simply because they appear to be of fighting age or come from communities perceived to be sympathetic to opposition forces, or because their family members are suspected of involvement with such f orces. Although most children are detained by government forces, armed groups also detain children as punishment, for recruitment purposes, to extract ransom, for sexual exploitation or as bargaining chips for prisoner swaps. 70. The majority of children deprived of liberty in the context of armed conflict see their procedural rights violated, sometimes in contravention of explicit protocols mandating the handover of children associated with armed forces or groups to civilian authorities for rehabilitation. 71. Authorities often subject detained children to torture and ill -treatment, most often for intelligence gathering purposes or confessions of involvement with armed groups. Conditions are often extremely poor, with severe overcrowding and grossly inadequate sanitation, food, and health care. Children are frequently detained with adults and have no access to education, recreation or rehabilitation programmes. In several countries, children have died in custody owing to poor conditions or ill treatment. F. National security 72. In 2018, at least 1,500 children were detained in the context of national security in countries without conflicts on their territories. 73. During recent years, non-State armed groups designated as terrorist have recruited thousands of children, in some cases across borders, to carry out suicide and other attacks, and for various support roles. The Internet has also provided such groups with new avenues to recruit children, who are often particularly susceptible to propaganda and online exploitation. Although the recruitment of children into such groups is unlawful, and sometimes constitutes trafficking, the children are often treated as perpetrators rather than victims, contrary to Security Council resolution 2427 (2018). 14/23 19-11838