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Convention bans use of children as soldiers - common in wars of recent years. |
Most of the casualties of modern wars are not soldiers but civilians - a high proportion of them children. In the last decade, an estimated 2 million children have been killed in armed conflicts. Perhaps 4 to 5 million more have been disabled, and more than 12 million made homeless.
Many more millions have been traumatized by the atrocities they have been forced to witness or take part in.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child calls on governments to take special measures to protect children in the event of armed conflict. It also bans the use of children as soldiers - common practice in several of the wars of recent years including those in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Mozambique.
Statistics on children affected by war are scarce. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that approximately 23 million men, women, and children across the world have left their homelands to escape persecution and violence.
In addition, there are an estimated 26 million `internal refugees' who have been forced to leave their homes but who have not crossed national boundaries.
In the refugee populations for which relevant data are available, the proportion of under-18s is regularly more than 50%.
To and from Nearly half of the world's estimated 23 million refugees have fled from just five countries. Other UNHCR surveys of refugee and displaced populations in 13 countries show that half or more are under 18.
From: Afghanistan 2,800,000 ----------------------------------- To: Iran 1,600,000 Pakistan 1,200,000 From: Rwanda 2,000,000 ----------------------------------- To: Zaire 1,100,000 Tanzania 600,000 Burundi & others 300,000 From: Liberia 846,000 ----------------------------------- To: Guinea 450,000 Côte d'Ivoire 360,000 Ghana 16,000 Sierra Leone 16,000 Nigeria 4,000 From: Somalia 510,000 ----------------------------------- To: Ethiopia 240,000 Kenya 170,000 Yemen & others 80,000 Djibouti 20,000 From: Former Yugoslavia 3,700,000 ----------------------------------- To: Bosnia 2,700,000 Serbia 405,000 Croatia 380,000 UN protected areas 122,000 Macedonia & Slovenia 49,000 Montenegro 44,000
Source: UNHCR, A monthly digest of UNHCR activities, March 1995.