(The New York Times) – In wars around the globe, thousands of children were front-line targets, used as human shields and recruited to fight this year on “a shocking scale,” Unicef said on Thursday. The United Nations agency warned against normalizing the brutality, a sentiment it has echoed in reports year after year. Link
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(CNN) – They have been killed, recruited to fight, used as human shields, forced into marriage and enslaved. 2017 has been a “nightmare year” for children caught in the crosshairs of conflict, the UN’s agency for children has said. Link
(The New York Times) – Zakirullah, a 9-year-old boy, is one of hundreds of Afghan children in prison because their mothers are. Even his dreams seem bound to the cellblock. Link
(Huffington Post) – On the commemoration of the Human Rights Day on 10 December, let us remember the 75 million children whose humanity is challenged in crisis-affected countries around the globe. These children have a face, an identity and a name. Farida in Afghanistan, Akello in Uganda, Sara in Gaza and Aida in Ethiopia, are among […]
(NATO) – The effective implementation of the Alliance’s Children and Armed Conflict policy remains an ongoing priority for RS. The train, advise, and assist mission provides valuable insight into the structures and networks within the Afghan defense and interior ministries, and helps to support UN, international community and Afghan efforts to further implementation of the Child […]
(HRW) – “How old are you?” the interviewer asks. “Thirteen,” replies the boy, in uniform. “Thirteen years – thirteen years old!” the interviewer repeats, proudly, as the camera pans upward to the grinning, bearded faces of uniformed men, apparently Iranian soldiers, who pat their young recruit on the back. On November 25, a video with the logo of […]
(UNAMA) – The critical importance of protecting the rights and well-being of children in armed conflict was brought to life during two UN-backed theatre performances by the Kandahar Theatre and Film Group in the Afghanistan’s southern region last week. Facilitated by the Kandahar regional office of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and performed in […]
(HRW) – “There were two bombs in the school,” said 16-year-old Malalai, describing an attack in January 2016 against her girls’ school in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. She said the Taliban had left a letter in the schoolyard: “They said they put the bombs because you have to stop sending your girls to school.” Acid attacks. Kidnapping. […]
(NBC) – More than 15,200 children arrived alone in Europe this year after completing dangerous migrant journeys, according to the United Nations. A total of almost 150,000 people entered Europe seeking new lives during the first nine months of 2017, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said in a quarterly update titled “Desperate Journeys.” That’s under half […]
(Theirnews) – In the struggle to get Afghan girls into school, changing deeply-held beliefs is one of the major challenges. Two-thirds of girls aren’t getting an education, according to a Human Rights Watch report. Now an annual survey of attitudes has revealed that support for equal access to education has actually fallen since 2006. Link
