According to Save the Children, 473 million – 19 percent of all children – almost 1 in 5 children lived in conflict areas in the planet last year. This means that this percent has almost doubled in 30 years. In the mid-1990s, about all tenth kid in the planet lived in conflict zones. The “War Against Children: Roads to Peace” study published the Children's Relief Organization on October 31.
According to the report, the recorded number of 59 armed conflicts in the planet has been highest since planet War II. The evidence level besides reached the number of serious crimes against children surviving in conflict regions. In 2023, 31,721 cases were confirmed, or about 15 percent more than a year earlier.
– Behind each number in our study there are many individual fates of children who want only 1 thing: surviving in peace said Lea Meyer, expert on humanitarian aid in the German section of Save the Children Germany. She pointed out: A kid who sees his loved ones dying and friends, or himself getting injured, lives in constant fear of bombs and fire, loses all sense of security. This has serious consequences, including for intellectual health.
At a time erstwhile wars in Ukraine and the mediate East dominate the front pages of newspapers, many another conflicts are going on far from the attention of planet media. According to the study, in absolute figures, most minors lived in conflict areas in Africa. Compared to the full population, the mediate East is the most dangerous: more than 1 in 3 children live in the immediate vicinity of the armed conflict.
According to Save the Children, the largest number of documented serious crimes against children were reported in Palestinian territories – 8434 cases. In Sudan, this figure increased 5 times to 1759 cases per year. Around the world, children are killed or mutilated in all 3rd reported case of serious crimes. The organisation of assistance to children besides complains that the attacks on schools have increased dramatically – especially on the Russian side in Ukraine and on hospitals – especially in the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, humanitarian organisations are increasingly struggling to supply assistance. The number of cases of refusal of access to persons in request increased in 2023 to the level 5158 not recorded in history. According to the study, more than 60 percent took place in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel.
The Save the Children organisation demands that states fulfil their obligations to defend children in conflict. – States are required to enforce global humanitarian law and to request this from the parties to the conflict said Lea Meyer and stressed: Those liable for crimes against children must be held liable.
The organisation's yearly study on "War Against Children" is based on data from the Peace investigation Institute Institute in Oslo, the Conflict Data Program Georeferenced Event Datasen in Uppsala, and on its own analysis of the UN Secretary-General's reports on children and armed conflicts from 2005 to 2024.
Source: KAI
Gaza Strip: The number of Palestinian war victims increased to 21.5 thousand
