UNICEF
How children have become frontline targets in armed conflicts.
From widespread killing, maiming, abduction and sexual violence to recruitment into armed groups and strikes on schools and hospitals, as well as essential water facilities – children living in conflict zones around the world continue to come under attack at a shocking scale.Today, one in four children live in a country affected by conflict or disaster, and 2017 saw a large increase in the number of documented violations against children in these areas.Armed forces and armed groups are required by international humanitarian law to take measures to protect civilians, including children who are particularly vulnerable during times of war. Civilians must never be the target of attacks.
1. Killing and maiming of children
Since 2010, the number of UN-verified cases of children being killed and maimed has increased significantly. In 2017 alone, the UN verified more than 10,000 cases of children who were killed or maimed in conflict. Maiming includes any serious, permanent, or disabling injury to a child.These violations contributed to the overall rise in the number of children globally affected by fighting in 2017, fueled by a growing disregard for the rules of war amidst indiscriminate violence in countries like Syria, South Sudan, Yemen and Afghanistan.
2. Recruitment and use of children by armed forces or armed groups
Tens of thousands of girls and boys are estimated to be recruited and used in conflicts worldwide. Many have been taken by force, while others join due to economic or social pressure. Children who are displaced or living in poverty are even more vulnerable to recruitment.
Children are recruited or used for various functions by armed forces and groups, including as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers and spies, or they are subjected to sexual exploitation.
3. Attacks on schools or hospitals
Schools and hospitals should be protected spaces, where children are safe even in times of conflict. Yet, attacks against schools and hospitals during conflict have become a growing, and alarming, trend. These attacks range from partial or total destruction of schools or medical facilities, to the military use of buildings and attacks against staff.
4. Rape or other sexual violence against children
Millions of children and women around the globe live with the terrifying threat of sexual violence in conflict every day. In times of war, they are subjected to rape, sexual slavery or trafficking, forced marriage/pregnancy, or enforced sterilization. In some cases, sexual violence is used to intentionally humiliate a population or to force people from their homes.
Some armed groups, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, often specifically target girls, who are raped, forced to become wives of fighters or used to perpetrate suicide attacks. In February 2018, for instance, the group abducted 110 girls and one boy from a technical college in Dapchi, Yobe State, the majority of whom have since been released.The widespread stigma around rape and sexual violence means it is a particularly under-reported issue affecting children in conflict, but it is clear that this violation remains all too common and that both girls and boys are at risk.
5. Abduction of children
In areas affected by armed conflict, children are often captured or taken against their will, either temporarily or permanently, and subjected to exploitation or abuse.
In many cases, children who are abducted are also victims of other grave violations, like killing, maiming, sexual violence or recruitment into armed groups. They might also be held hostage or arbitrarily detained.
Parties to conflict also abduct children as an intentional act of violence or retaliation against civilian populations.
6. Denial of humanitarian access to children
In conflicts around the world, armed forces and armed groups block humanitarian aid from reaching millions of people – many of them children – in desperate need of help. Warring parties often deny humanitarian actors access to those in need or prevent assistance from reaching civilian populations. Civilians are also denied aid when humanitarian workers are targeted and treated as threats.In Syria, for example, the removal of medical kits and surgical supplies from aid convoys, restrictions on medical evacuations, and killing of medical personnel, mean that access to critical and lifesaving healthcare for many civilians is diminishing day by day.Since 2010, documented incidents of denial of humanitarian access have increased by more than 1,500 per cent, according to a Save the Children analysis of UN figures.