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Children playing in Afghanistan: Adolescents are usually the hardest hit, according to aid organizations

Photo: Muhammed Abdullah Kurtar / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Every single day in the past 17 years, about 20 children have been killed or maimed worldwide – a total of at least 120,000 young people. This is the sober and sobering result of a study by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The data comes from over 30 conflict zones in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Over 32,500 children have been abducted in conflict zones

Unicef released the figures at an international conference in Oslo on the protection of children in war, which took place this week. The study identified a total of 315,000 serious violations of children's rights in the disputes examined. According to Unicef, at least 105,000 children were recruited as child soldiers, and more than 16,000 girls and boys were victims of sexual violence.

In addition, more than 32,500 children have been kidnapped by parties to the conflict, and schools and hospitals have been attacked more than 16,000 times. The figures are estimates, according to Unicef still rather cautious. In other words, significantly more adolescents around the world could be affected by wars and conflicts.

"Every war is ultimately a war on children," said Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell in view of the figures. Although solutions are known to better protect children in conflicts, not enough is being done, Russell said.

Unicef calls for more money – and political consequences

In view of this situation, the aid organization has made three central demands:

  • Existing international laws and norms for the protection of children in war must be better implemented by governments. This includes the protection of schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure from attacks. The recruitment of children by armed groups and armed forces must also be prevented more consistently.

  • Perpetrators responsible for crimes against children should be held accountable.

  • In order to protect children in conflict zones, more financial resources are needed to meet the growing needs.

According to Unicef analyses, $2025.1 billion is expected to be needed by 37 alone to reunite children with their families, provide psychological support and prevent the recruitment of children by armed groups.

The extent of the current need is shown, among other things, by the ongoing conflict in Sudan. According to UN estimates last week, at least 13.6 million children are currently dependent on vital humanitarian aid.

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