Children, the most vulnerable members of societies, are most affected by the consequences of war. During conflict situations, children face the threat of killings, abuse, sexual violence, abductions, and much more. Furthermore, children fleeing conflict are at high risk of family separation, abuse (including sexual exploitation), and trafficking. In November 2021, Save the Children reported that in 2020, nearly 200 million children were living in the world’s most lethal war zones, the highest number in over a decade. The 2020 data suggested an increase of 20% from 2019. As recent months have seen new conflicts, it is expected that the number is even higher now.
Indeed, Putin’s war has a devastating impact upon children in Ukraine. As Ambassador Barbara Woodward, British Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, noted in her statement at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, there is already evidence that Russia is committing four of the U.N. Security Council’s six Grave Violations Against Children in Times of War, including of children being killed and maimed, schools and nurseries being targeted across Ukraine, sexual violence against children by Russian forces (and forced mass displacement exposing children to human trafficking and sexual exploitation), and forced deportations of children to Russia. Evidence of these grave violations continues to resurface. As Ambassador Woodward stressed, “There is now a very real risk of a lost generation, and the continuation of a cycle of violence, caused by Russia’s invasion and the devastation it has created.”
A car with the words "Children" written on it is seen with bullet holes in the windscreen on April ... [+]
On May 31, 2022, UNICEF reported that at least 262 children have been killed and 415 injured in attacks since the beginning of the war. This means that more than two children are killed and more than four injured each day in Ukraine. The majority of the causalities are attributed to attacks using explosive weapons in populated areas. Furthermore, three million children inside Ukraine and over 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting countries are now in need of humanitarian assistance. UNICEF warns that Putin’s war has caused an acute child protection crisis. According to the Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, at least 1,888 schools have been damaged and destroyed by shelling and bombing since February 24, 2022. The situation will only deteriorate as the war continues.
On June 4, the United Nations marks the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. The aim of the day is to “acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse.” The day was established by the U.N. General Assembly in 1982 in response to “the great number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel’s acts of aggression.” Despite the great ambitions behind the day, in the four decades that have followed, the situation faced by children in conflict has only deteriorated.
Children continue to pay the price for wars waged by others, often the ultimate price. As Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized, “We must do everything we can to protect children from the chaos and madness of wars that have nothing to do with them.” Steps need to be taken to ensure the protection of children in conflict, whenever and wherever it occurs. We cannot afford to lose more generations of children to wars and the effects of wars.
