“I believe the world is now a more dangerous place for children living in conflict zones than it was in 1945 [at the end of the Second World War]. And it is getting worse.” This quote from an opinion piece written by Henrietta Fore, the Executive Director of UNICEF, speaks to the terrible treatment of many children living in conflict zones. 426 million children are living in conflict zones today, and despite efforts to increase the monitoring and reporting of children’s rights violations, children continue to face grave rights violations in conflict zones. The United Nations Security Council has identified six grave violations against children in conflict zones: the killing and maiming of children, recruitment of children by armed groups, attacks on schools and hospitals, sexual violence, abduction, and the denial of humanitarian aid. In the past 16 years, the United Nations has identified 266,000 cases of grave violations against children in more than 30 conflict zones.

Organizations such as UNICEF and Save the Children are key actors in protecting children from these types of violations and helping children recover from the emotional damage caused by living in conflict zones. Despite their efforts, the rates of sexual violence and abductions of children in conflict zones increased in 2021. As said by Henrietta Fore, “each day, girls and boys living in areas under conflict endure unspeakable horrors that no one should ever experience.” Fore calls for the need for parties involved in conflict to be held responsible to protect the rights of children and to commit to action plans that will protect children. These plans would involve preventing violations in the first place, releasing children who have been abducted or recruited to armed forces, and stopping all attacks on schools and hospitals. Since 2005, 37 plans of this type have been signed; however, this is a very low number compared to the magnitude of this issue.

The work being done by UNICEF and Save the Children to protect and help children is some of the most important work that can be done towards this issue. However, Fore is right, that the only parties who can fully stop these violations from happening are those involved in the conflict. Although the proposal of having action plans signed to commit to protecting these rights, the low number of 37 signed since 2005 is discouraging. It is also not too surprising, as groups involved in conflict have historically ignored and abused the rights of children, so it is difficult to expect them to change that simply because they are asked to. Efforts to protect the rights of children and to limit their violations in conflict zones are essential and must continue, however, as long as children are living in conflict zones, children will continue to face the horrors they face today. While the efforts to protect children continue, other efforts to peacefully end conflicts in these areas might be the best way to protect children in the end.

The problem of children’s rights violation in conflict zones is not new and shows no signs of being solved easily. It is discouraging that instead of getting better, this issue appears to be getting worse. Protecting children is necessary to allow children to experience their childhood in an environment where they feel safe and can grow and learn; not in an environment of constant fear and under constant threat. Combining the efforts to help and protect children in conflict zones, the negotiations with conflict groups to increase their protection of children, and the negotiations with conflict groups to find alternative peaceful measures, are all essential to work towards the protection of the many children currently living in conflict zones.