War-Affected Children

An international conference on war-affected children was held last week in Paris (February 5 and 6). The aim was to highlight the "illegal and unacceptable use of children in armed conflict." Participants endorsed two texts, 1) The Paris Commitments to Protect Children Unlawfully Recruited or Used by Armed Forces or Armed Groups (“The Paris Commitments”), and 2) The Paris Principles: Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups ("The Paris Principles"). The latter text "provides more detailed guidance for those who are implementing programmes," and it includes a section on refugee and internally displaced children.

One of the speakers at the conference was the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, formerly the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. The web site for the Special Representative has been re-organized and provides access to background information, key documents and country profiles.

Each year, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers commemorates February 12 as the anniversary of the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on children in armed conflict. Recently added to the Coalition web site's psychosocial section are three articles that discuss "child trauma, resilience and cultural healing" (Jan. 2007).

More information about the impact of humanitarian crises on children can be found in UNICEF's 2007 edition of the Humanitarian Action Report.

Posted in Publications and Events.