War-Affected Children
Caught in the cross-fire
Where is it happening?
Why is it happening?
How is CIDA helping?
Ten things you can do
Links to organizations working for war-affected children
To learn more about child soldiers, visit these sites:
Every day, there are 10 to 15 mine victims
in Afghanistan. Most of them are children
like this boy in Kabul.
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As he walks along rocky terrain to attend school in a nearby village, a 10-year-old Afghan boy steps on a landmine and loses a limb.
In the Congolese night, a girl wielding an AK-47 attacks her neighbours. She has to, because if she doesn't, she'll be tortured by the rebel group that kidnapped her just months ago and forced her to do this. She is 11 years old.
"War is the most evil of birds, turning streets red with blood and the world into an inferno," writes a teenage survivor of the Bosnian war.
These children share one thing in common: war has affected them all.
 Caught in the cross-fire
Imagine waking up to absolute uncertainty. War has broken out in your town.
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Child soldiers
More than 300,000 girls and boys under 18 are fighting in armed conflicts worldwide.
Most are 15 to 18 years old. Some are as young as seven. Armed conflicts commonly target schools, clinics and hospitals, village markets, and other community structures where children gather. Many children are kidnapped. Others join because they see it as their only option for a livelihood, safety and companionship. Warring factions also often use the media to create distrust and hostility among people. Impressionable children are often confused and even swayed by messages against friends and neighbours. These children become callous and untrusting.
Child soldiers are being used all over the world.
International law recognizes the use of child soldiers as a war crime. The minimum age for recruitment into armed forces was recently raised from 15 to 18. Still, the problem persists. Few peace treaties recognize the existence of child soldiers. Because of this, when war finally does end, not enough effort is made to return these children to society.
Stay tuned to CIDA's Youth Zone for more on child soldiers.
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Perhaps your entire family was forced to flee the chaotic violence. The houses and stores in your neighbourhood have been burned. Gunfire is random. You can trust no one. You may have lost your parents or your brothers and sisters. You can’t go to school any more. You may be living with no roof over your head, no food and no clean water. Perhaps you are injured and without medical care.
There are more than 30 wars in the world today. In the last decade, two million children have died in wars, six million children have been disabled, 12 million children have been left homeless, and one million children have been orphaned. Countless children have been psychologically scarred. Girls experience conflict differently than boys. The many threats to the security of girls are often overlooked. Girls face a variety of threats, including rape and forced prostitution.
Despite these distressing statistics, children have played important roles in keeping communities together and in helping to build peace. For example, with Canadian International Development Agency 's (CIDA) support, war-affected youth are designing, organizing and participating in community-based projects to prevent conflict and build peace. They are doing this in nine countries in Africa, the Americas and Southeast Asia. They are developing a global network that includes Canadian youth. This network promotes the rights of war-affected children. It also raises support for engaging young people in peacebuilding.
Where is it happening?
As you read this from the safety of your home or school, children are experiencing terrifying wars in 50 countries throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
In the past, conflict was usually between countries. Today, most major conflicts are internal, occurring within a country.
Why is it happening?
Wars happen over and over for the same reasons.
This girl(right) in northern
Uganda escaped from captivity
in the Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA), a brutal rebel
force that abducted children
and made them fight,
carry supplies or become
sex slaves.
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People fight over resources. They also fight because the rights of women, men, girls and boys are violated. This includes discrimination based on gender, race or ethnic origin.
What is new is how widespread war has become, and who is most affected by war. New stresses are fuelling violence throughout the world. The natural environment is rapidly being degraded. This means there are fewer resources for more people. Economic globalization is increasing opportunities. But it can also increase the gap between the rich and poor.
A century ago, the vast majority of those killed or injured by war were soldiers. Today, 90 percent are civilians. Close to half are children.
People can choose to resolve tensions in many ways. But tensions are mounting worldwide. Weapons are becoming more readily available. More people are thus resorting to violence. More and more weapons are small, light and easy to use. This has made it easier for children to take part in violence and conflicts.
How is CIDA helping?
Through CIDA, the Government of Canada is working on many levels to improve the lives of war-affected children and their communities. The Government is doing this through its Childrens' Rights and Protection strategy.
For example in the West African country of Sierra Leone, CIDA is helping to reunite families torn apart during almost a decade of civil war. In Northern Uganda, CIDA provides food aid, basic health care, clean water and sanitation for 800,000 displaced people many of them children. CIDA also provides counselling and vocational training to help former child soldiers return to their communities.
Elsewhere, CIDA supports Defence for Children International (DCI) Canada. This organization works with war-affected youth in developing countries around the world. It examines how they can help to build peace in their communities.
Ten things you can do
Links to organizations working for war-affected children
Goverment of Canada site on War-Affected Children
Canada Fund for Africa
UNICEF
United Nations Youth Zone on Children and Armed Conflict
BBC's Children of Conflict Multimedia Initiative
War Child
To learn more about child soldiers, visit these sites:
Human Rights Watch
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
United Nations CyberSchoolBus
Center for Defense Information
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