Summary

According to the United Nations, during the last decade 2 million children have been killed in situations of armed conflict, more than 1 million have been orphaned, and over 6 million have been seriously injured or permanently disabled. Around 300,000 young people under the age of 18 are actively engaged with military forces, and approximately 800 children are killed or seriously injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) every month. UNHCR currently offers support to 7.7 million refugee children, whilst over 1.5 million Palestinian refugee children are registered with UNRWA. In addition, around 25 million people are believed to be internally displaced, of whom 40–50 per cent are likely to be under the age of 18.

Given the considerable obstacles to the collection of data in conflict settings, such figures should be taken as rough guides. Nevertheless, they do point to the massive impact of conflict on children and adolescents. Long after the end of the Cold War, the scale of casualty, displacement, and other consequences of conflict seems to be growing, principally due to changes in the nature of war itself. These changes have resulted in a dramatic increase in the percentages of civilians killed in warfare. In the 1890s civilian fatalities constituted 5 per cent of total deaths. A century later they had reached an estimated 90 per cent. Over this period all-out warfare between nations has gradually given way to long-term, low-intensity conflict involving rival groups within national boundaries. The site of battle has accordingly moved from relatively uninhabited border areas to the very heart of civilian life in villages, towns, and cities: a process aided by developments in weaponry which put lightweight small arms literally within reach of ordinary citizens, including children. In addition, the young are vulnerable to death and injury as the result of so-called ‘collateral damage’ caused by ‘smart’ bombs and missiles intended to hit specific sites, often within heavily populated areas.

Children are affected not only as community members, alongside adults, but may also be the deliberate targets of military forces. This has been notably the case, for example, in Sierra Leone and in Rwanda. Furthermore, the diversion of national resources from the provision of basic services to the purchase of arms, and the destruction of health facilities by warring parties, leaves children especially vulnerable. According to WHO estimates under-18-year-olds are twenty-four times more likely to die during periods of conflict from illnesses and injuries that in peacetime would be treated routinely.