Wars and conflicts have taken many children's lives and limbs, deprived them of education and basic health care services, and aggravated poverty, hunger and disease. At the same time, conflicts force children to be separated from their parents, or leave their homes to witness war crimes or become war criminals.
When war breaks out, children often become the first victims directly or indirectly. The war changed their lives in many ways. Even if they are not dead or disabled, they may become orphans, be kidnapped and raped, witness the death of their loved ones, or suffer from violence and vagrancy, and eventually leave unhealed physical and emotional wounds.
At the same time, the social destruction caused by the war means the loss of basic services such as children's education and medical care. In the state of war, the phenomenon of dropping out of school caused by the loss of teachers and the destruction of roads can be seen everywhere. Sometimes, schools may become targets. In September this year, more than 65,438+050 children were killed in hostage incidents in North Ossetia and Beslan No.1 Middle School in the Russian Federation. In Aceh, Indonesia, the conflict between government forces and separatist forces continues, affecting local schools and children. In May 2003 alone, 460 local schools were razed to the ground in the war. In Nepal, schools have become places for anti-government armed forces to carry out propaganda and recruit new recruits, and attacks and kidnappings of school teachers and students have occurred from time to time.
In the past 10 years, the number of children suffering from war has increased. Although the international community has paid more and more attention to this problem and taken relevant rescue measures, the situation is still very grim and new conflicts are still taking place.
About nine years ago, UNICEF issued a ten-point plan against war, urging the whole world to pay attention to and solve the problem of children suffering from war. Nowadays, it has become global common sense to prohibit children from acting as "cannon fodder". The optional draft of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, formulated in 2000, raised the upper age limit of conscripts from 15 to 18, and called on relevant countries to raise the upper age limit of volunteers. Thanks to the efforts of the international community, truth and reconciliation commissions established in Sierra Leone and other countries after the war helped child soldiers confess their war experiences and participate in projects to treat physical and mental trauma. As an emergency measure, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has also launched a psychotherapy project for children injured by war.
The promulgation of international legal documents cannot completely solve the problem of child soldiers. Although the parties concerned in the war-torn areas promised not to recruit children as soldiers, there are still great problems in the actual implementation of international conventions. At the same time, new challenges are constantly emerging. In recent years, the kidnapping of children in the war is on the rise, which deserves the vigilance of relevant parties.
In addition, disarmed child soldiers need continuous help and attention to prevent them from returning to their old jobs and smoothly reintegrating into their families, communities and society. Promoting the reintegration of child soldiers at the grassroots level is as important as launching a global campaign against the recruitment of child soldiers.
Children who have served in military service are often rejected by their families and formal educational institutions, especially if they are forced to commit violence against their relatives and neighbors. In addition, relevant parties need to educate relevant communities and families so that they can create conditions for the return of child soldiers and provide psychological and physical medical services. It is also important to provide training for reintegrated child soldiers, including literacy, survival skills and labor skills.