(DW) – The right to education, care and protection – for children growing up in war zones these are little more than empty promises. Currently, in the world’s five most conflicted countries – Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Yemen – some 21 million children are directly affected by violence. Terror groups such as “Islamic State” (IS) and Boko Haram intentionally disregard the principles of international humanitarian law in order to generate a maximum of attention. “Children are subjected to bomb attacks in their homes and in their schools; they are kidnapped, killed, sexually abused and recruited as child soldiers,” says Ted Chaiban of UNICEF International. One in ten children worldwide lives in a country or region that is defined by armed conflict. That means that an unfathomable 230 million children grow up caught in the middle of conflicts.
