Wars to ‘Annihilate’ Devastate the Children

Images of child soldiers in war zones have shocked the world, yet the forcible recruitment of under-age combatants is just one example of the many ways in which children suffer appalling hardships as a result of conflict in their countries. We are witnessing unspeakable abominations being committed against children in the context of armed conflict and its aftermath in 50 countries around the globe.

In these conflicts, we see a free-for-all in which children have become fair game in the single-minded struggle for power in an attempt not just to prevail but to humiliate, not just to subdue but to annihilate the enemy.

Two million children have been killed and 6 million maimed in conflicts over the past decade. In addition, children in war zones are subjected to systematic sexual abuse. Orphaned or separated from their parents, they are profoundly traumatized by the struggle for simple survival. More than 20 million children have been displaced by war, uprooted from homes and community, often within their own countries.

In Sierra Leone, 90% of girls seized by rebel forces during the war were raped or sexually abused. Children as young as 18 months had their arms and legs amputated by machete. In Colombia, chronic violence has given rise to alarming rates of child prostitution and growing numbers of street children who are often victims of “social cleansing.”

Several key actions are vital if children are to be protected from the devastating effects of conflict. The protection and welfare of children must be on peace agendas such as the one underway in Colombia, and the needs of children must be put at the center of post-conflict recovery programs.

For even when fighting has stopped, children continue to bear physical and psychological scars and suffer the long-term consequences of displacement, family dislocation, poor health care and interrupted education.

During the past year, I have traveled extensively, witnessing the plight of children in countries ranging from Rwanda to Colombia and from Sierra Leone to the Balkan camps sheltering the children who made up 70% of the refugees fleeing from Kosovo.

On each visit, I have urged all parties to make and adhere to a commitment to the security, rights and welfare of children, both during conflicts and in their aftermath.

I have urged warring parties not to target civilian sites such as schools and hospitals and to stop recruiting children under 18. In countries recovering from conflict, my recommendations include the promotion and strengthening of local value systems, rehabilitation of medical and education facilities and integration of child protection into every aspect of U.N. peace operations.

My second annual report to the General Assembly, delivered Wednesday, also calls for an “era of application,” in which the impressive body of existing international treaties and conventions, including the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, soon to mark its 10th anniversary, can be put in force in all armed conflicts. Indeed, underpinning diplomatic activity must be real development at the grass-roots level. That is why I have proposed to develop a worldwide “Voice of Children” project to provide information, recreation and entertainment for children in conflict and its aftermath. I would like to see local radio stations established, with the backing of international networks broadcasting in the relevant languages, to produce programs for children.

Above all, we must create a political and social climate in which abuse and brutalization of children is unacceptable.