News & Events
2023/06/06
No child should suffer the consequences of armed conflict
ICRC President speaks at the conference /ICRC
ICRC President, Mirjana Spoljaric asks at Oslo Conference for the protection of children in armed conflict:
1. Accede to treaties that prohibit child recruitment;
2. Step up efforts for their release and reintegration;
3. Protect children from urban warfare & explosive weapons in populated areas.
The international conference Protecting Children in Armed Conflict in Oslo 5-6 June is hosted by the government of Norway, ICRC, UNICEF, and diverse partners. It aims to increase awareness of decision-makers on the greatest protection challenges that children face and to get commitments to:
- Better respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Human Rights
- Prevent violations against children
- Hold perpetrators against children to account
- Prioritize children in humanitarian work
According to the UN, between 2005 and 2020, armed conflicting parties perpetrated more than 266,000 severe breaches against children. ICRC also mentioned that children in armed conflicts are at risk of being wounded, killed, or exposed to sexual violence, being unlawfully recruited, being separated from their families, and being deprived of education. Today, ICRC President, Mirjana Spoljaric states in the conference, “No child should suffer the consequences of armed conflict.”
So far, members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have been working hard to promote the International Humanity Law (IHL), to reconnect families, to provide humanity assistance including protection, psychosocial support, and subsidies for education, and to ensure the Protection, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI) policy can be implemented in all services.
Meanwhile, ICRC has published the report named “Childhood in Rubble: The Humanitarian Consequences of Urban Warfare for Children” responding to the deteriorating situations that children face. To prevent and minimize harm to children, the ICRC offers advice to the parties to the conflict, relevant authorities, and those delivering a humanitarian response.
Childhood in Rubble/ ICRC