Report

THE PARIS PRINCIPLES

Principles and guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups (“Paris principles”)

Highlights

Hundreds of thousands of children are associated with armed forces and armed groups in conflicts around the world.

Author

UNICEF

Publication date

February 2007

Languages

English

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More to explore

Maïmouna Barry, 45, walks through what is left of the village of Ogossagou-Peulh with her daughter Hawa, 10. Maimouna lost her youngest daughter during the attack on the village. Seven-year-old Aminata died while trapped inside the family home when flames began to consume it. When Hawa heard the news, she screamed and threw herself on the ground. The village of Ogossagou-Peulh in Bankass, Mopti region, was attacked on the night of 23 March 2019, leaving over 150 people dead, one-third of which were children

Press release

Sharp increase in grave violations against children in Mali, warns UNICEF

Aminata, a displaced girl, was hit by a bullet as she tried to flee the village of Ogossagou when it was attacked in March 2019. "We started to run into the darkness and as we were running my mother was shot,” Aminata says. “I ran back to help her, and I was shot in the leg.” Aminata is now in a displacement camp in Sévaré, where UNICEF, local authorities and partners have set up clean water systems, tents for shelters and a temporary learning space where children can learn and play games.

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A shattered life, slowly on the mend

Escalating violence in Mali’s Mopti region has displaced tens of thousands of people. Children are becoming the primary victims

Hamadou drawing the horror he faces

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I just want to find my father

Like many children affected by the increase in violence in central Mali, Hamadou* had to flee from a raid on his village.

Leila, a girl from the volatile central region of Mopti, became one of the more than 70,000 children internally displaced in Mali when she had to flee her village during an attack. “We just heard men shouting and screaming and we heard lots of gunfire,” she says. “We ran, and as I looked back I saw everything burning.” UNICEF and the UN family are working with local authorities and NGOs to assist displaced children by providing shelter, temporary learning spaces, health services and psychosocial support.

Article

Far from home but ready for school

Leila’s village was attacked and her family fled for their lives, leaving behind everything she knew