Here you can find an overview of issues relating to children in war, offering useful links to background information, organizations and stories related to the issues around children in conflict areas . Please browse through the following categories:

Information and Web Links
Special Features
Articles and Analysis
Country/Region specific information
International law and United Nations
Other links and resources

Information and Web Links

• Reliefweb - serving the information needs of the humanitarian relief community
• Alertnet - (Reuters) alerting humanitarians to emergencies
• IrinNews.org - news and analysis for the humanitarian community - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs
• UNHCR News - The UN Refugee Agency News Service
• Save The Children
• Unicef
• European Centre for Conflict Prevention - promotes effective conflict prevention and peacebuilding strategies, and actively supports and connects people working for peace worldwide.
• Canadian Consortium on Human Security (An academic-based network promoting policy-relevant research on human security)
• Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict - working together to protect and the security and rights of children
• Promoting Psychosocial Well- Being Among Children Affected by Armed Conflict and Displacement: Principles and Approaches - from The International Save the Children Alliance, (October 1996)
• Children and War: Impact, Protection and Rehabilitation Conference (University of Alberta) (April 2004)
• The psychosocial impact of war - EPals Classroom Exchange, information by Department of Foreign Affairs Canada
• The Psychosocial aspects of children exposed to war: practice and policy initiatives - (PDF) Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, by Joshua Barenbaum, Vladislav Ruchkin, and Mary Schwab-Stone
• Psychosocial Concepts in Humanitarian Work with Children: A Review of the Concepts and Related Literature. E-book. Nat Academies Press, Committee on Population, (2003)
• The World Revolution - an idea for a new, global activist social movement for progressive social change.
• Children and War: Impact, Protection and Rehabilitation Conference (University of Alberta) (April 2004)
• Children in war (ICRC In-Depth on children in war)
• Human Development Report 2001 (UNDP)
• International Humanitarian Law Research Initiative (A searchable database of links to current research, reference materials, and regional and international news on International Humanitarian Law - IHL)
• Protecting Children in Situations of Armed Conflict - Humanitarian Principles Training: A Child Rights Protection Approach to Complex Emergencies
• Update on Children and Armed Conflict (World Vision) (2002)
• The State of the World's Children (Annual Reports) (UNICEF)
• Worldwide Peace Agreements overview (INCORE)
• Discussion on Peace Agreements and Cease-fires (INCORE)
• Europa World (Peacekeeping Page)
• OMCT - Human Rights NGO, World Organisation against Torture
• Peace and Conflict 2001: A Global Survey of Armed Conflicts, Self-Determination Movements, and Democracy (PDF)
• Peacekeeping Best Practices Unit -assists in the planning, conduct, management and support of peacekeeping operations by learning from experience, problem solving and transferring best practices in United Nations peacekeeping.
• War-torn Societies Project - WSP International - overcoming conflict, building lasting peace 

Special Features

• Children of War - A one-hour radio documentary focusing on current events and issues involving children and military conflict. KQED Radio (2003)
• A World for Children (BBC In-Depth on Children's Rights)
• The Strange War: Stories for a Culture of Peace by Martin Auer (Peace education materials for children)
• One Day of War - The BBC programme One Day of War follows individual fighters in 16 of these wars, over the same 24 hour period
• One Day of War - The BBC programme One Day of War follows individual fighters in 16 of these wars, over the same 24 hour period
• In pictures: Struggle for children's rights (BBC) (November 2002)
• Graca Machel: Children's champion (BBC) (August 2001)
• Mandela's mission for children (BBC) (August 2001)
• The slave children (BBC) (October 2001) 

Articles and Analysis 

• The Psychological Effects of War and Violence on Children - Book by Nathan A. Fox, Lewis A. Leavitt. 374 pgs (1993) Full book at Questia Online Library.
• War is not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things - Deborah Du Nann Winter Peace and Conflict; Journal of Peace Psychology (1998) - at Questia Online Library
• Mental Health for Children and Youth in Communities After Armed Conflict by M.J.Trapman
• Indigenous Healing of War Affected Children in Africa - Africa Action, Edward Green and Alcinda Honwana - reports on the effective involvement of traditional healers and customs in coping with the trauma of child soldiers and other children subjected to violence.
• Helping Children Outgrow War - (PDF) USAID Technical Paper, Edited by Vachel W. Miller and Friedrich W. Affolter (June 2002)
• Medicine and Global Survival " Psychosocial Interventions for Children of War: The Value of a Model of Resiliency" Roberta J. Apfel, M.D., M.P.H.; Bennett Simon, M.D.
• Children at War - The Commitment of the European Commission- (PDF) Flyer by ECHO (European Union’s Humanitarian Aid Office) (2001)
• Social healing in war-affected and displaced children - Dr Jo Boyden, Senior Research Officer, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
• Centre Based and Community Based Psychosocial Projects for War Affected Children- Steps In The Development of a monitoring and Evaluation System - (PDF)  RedBarnet - Elizabeth Jareg, Lehnart Falk,
• Children in the heat of war - Monitor on Psychology (2001)
• Psychological Evaluation of Refugee Children in Relation to War Experiences and Social Network - (PDF) Department of Health and Environment, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic, University Hospital Linkoping, Sweden
• Protecting Children in Emergencies: Escalating Threats to Children Must be Addressed - Save The Children - Fall 2005 (PDF)
• After the Conflict: A Review of Selected Sources on Rebuilding War-torn Societies  (Patricia Weiss Fagen, UNRISD/PSIS, War-torn Societies Project, Occasional Paper 1, November 1994)
• Reader on Children and Armed Conflict (Word.doc )(IRIN) (March, 2005)
• Protecting Children in Armed Conflict: Blueprints for Compliance (Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict) (January 2004) (Word.doc )
• The teenagers traded for slave labour and sex (The Guardian) (July 30, 2003)
• The role of independent national human rights institutions in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. Human Rights Library General Comment No. 2 (2002) University of Minnesota.
• Humanitarian action does not depend on media coverage (AlertNet) (October 2002)
• Helping Children Outgrow War - (PDF) Edited by Vachel W. Miller and Friedrich W. Affolter (June 2002)
• War In My Backyard (Word doc) World Vision) (April 2002)
• "Child Victims of Armed Conflict" the view of the International Committee of the Red Cross (by Jakob Kellenberger) (May 23, 2000)
• OSCE Human Dimension Commitments: A Reference Guide (Warsaw, 2001) (PDF)
• Untapped Potential: Adolescents Affected by Armed Conflict - A review of programmes and policies (Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children) (January 2000)
• Amnesty International Report 2001- Globalization is no excuse for states to shirk their human rights responsibilities (Amnesty International) (May 30, 2001)
• The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children - A review by Graça Machel (September 2000, Winnipeg, Canada)
• Amnesty: ''Breaking God's commands'' - A report by Amnesty on "The destruction of childhood by the Lord's Resistance Army" in Uganda (1997)
• Children in A World of Violence (Children in Need Magazine)
• Protection of Children and Adolescents in Complex Emergencies- (Oslo/Hadeland November 1998, Conference Report)
• Protecting Children from the Scourge of War - The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development (October 1991)  (PDF)

Country/Region Specific Information

 

Bosnia Herzegovina

• Psychological Status of Sarajevo Children after War: 1999-2000 Survey - (PDF) Croatian medical Journal (2002)

Colombia

• Colombia's War on Children- Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (February 2004) (PDF)

Democratic Republic of Congo

• Struggling to Survive: Children in Armed Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (April 2006)- Children in the DRC continue to endure some of the most inhumane treatment found anywhere in the world.   (PDF)

Palestine

• A psychosocial assessment of Palestinian Children - Dr. Cairo Arafat, Director of The Secretariat for the National Plan of Action for Palestinian Children in consultation with Dr. Neil Boothby

Liberia

Nothing Left to Lose: The Legacy of Armed Conflict and Liberia's Children  - Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict  (June 2004)

Nepal

• Caught in the Middle: Mounting Violations Against Children in Nepal's Armed Conflict, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (January 2005) (PDF)

Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka's rivals tackle child trauma (BBC) (February 9, 2003)

Uganda

• War Affected Children in Northern Uganda, 2005 - (PDF) Coalition To Stop The Use Of Child Soldiers, by Castelli, Locatelli and Canavera)

 

                           

International Law and United Nations

                           

• 'Era of Application' - Instituting a Compliance and Enforcement Regime for CAAC (Word.doc )Statement before the Security Council by Olara A. Otunnu Under-Secretary-General Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (United Nations) (February 2005)
• EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict (Council of the European Union) (December 4, 2003)
• Human Development Report 2003: Millennium Development Goals: A compact among nations to end human poverty (Complete Report here) (UNDP) (2003)
• Children and Armed Conflict - A guide to international humanitarian and human rights law by Rachel Harvey, Children and Armed Conflict Unit, published by the International Bureau for Children's Rights, June 2003
• On The Record (Coverage of the UN Special Session) (NGO Committee on Unicef)
• Children and Armed Conflict Report of the Secretary-General (General Assembly Security Council) (October 30, 2003) [PDF]
• A World Fit for Children- ‘An agenda both visionary and concrete’ (Official text of the outcome document approved at the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children, May 2002)
• United Nations Special Session on Children May 2002 (Key documents of the Special Session) (CRIN)
• NGOs Helping to Make A World Fit for Children (DOC) A Report of NGO Activities at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children May 8-10, 2002
• Summary and Analysis of the Country Statements Presented at the Special Session (CRIN)
• Young General Assembly Statement to the Special Session on Children (September 2001)
• A World Fit for Us(Message from the Children's Forum, delivered to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children by child delegates, Gabriela Azurduy Arrieta, 13, from Bolivia and Audrey Cheynut, 17, from Monaco on 8 May 2002)
• U.N.: Progress On Disappearances Pact Hailed (Human Rights Watch) (April 2001)
• We the Children: Meeting the Promises of the World Summit for Children (Report issued by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, assessing the progress made in meeting the commitments made to the children around the globe at the 1990 World Summit for Children)
• Statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, commenting on the UN Special Session on Children (June 3, 2002)

PLEASE NOTE: War Child is not responsible for the content of external websites. Links are for informational purposes only. A link does not imply an endorsement of the linked site or its contents.

Other links and resources to issues that matter:
 Children and Conflict
 Child Soldiers
 Education
 Human Rights
 Landmines
 Refugees/Displaced

Back