Armed conflict

In conflicts around the world, civilians continue to endure the devastating consequences of the use of explosive weapons. Every year, thousands of children are killed, seriously injured or have their lives severely altered – during armed conflict and long after hostilities have ended. As armed conflicts have increasingly been fought in cities,…, Why children are particularly vulnerable to explosive weapons, Child survivors of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) endure devastating physical injuries. Some lose their sight, hearing or limbs, while others lose the ability to speak. Children who have been injured, especially those left with disabilities, have different physical rehabilitation needs to adults and, in situations where resources are…, How UNICEF is responding, UNICEF and partners provide lifesaving aid during and after conflict erupts and work to strengthen systems to protect children and support their survival, health and development. This includes interventions to ensure access to food, shelter, social support and health care. UNICEF rehabilitates and upgrades destroyed water and sanitation systems,…, Political Declaration on the use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, The Political Declaration on the use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas , adopted in Dublin in November 2022, is a crucial opportunity to better protect children, their families and communities from armed conflict. The declaration sends a strong signal worldwide that harming civilians and damaging cities is not a reality we should accept by…, What UNICEF is calling for, All parties to conflict and those with influence over them, to protect and ensure respect for children’s rights including by ending the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. All member states to sign the EWIPA Declaration and to the member states that are already signatories, to identify and adopt military measures, policies, and practices…

Jump to: 1. What is UNICEF’s humanitarian role during armed conflict? 2. What are the universal humanitarian principles that guide UNICEF’s operations and advocacy? 3. Why does UNICEF refer to “parties to conflict” without calling them by name? 4. Does UNICEF’s commitment to neutrality and other humanitarian principles prevent it from speaking up…, 1. What is UNICEF’s humanitarian role during armed conflict? , UNICEF’s humanitarian mandate is to help alleviate the suffering of children, no matter who they are or where they live.   In certain situations, when resources are readily available to meet children’s needs during an emergency, we do this by offering guidance and support to decision-makers on the ground. In others, we mobilize UNICEF staff and…, 2. What are the universal humanitarian principles that guide UNICEF’s operations and advocacy?, As an operational humanitarian organization, UNICEF holds itself accountable to the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. We aim to uphold these universal principles in every context, by action and by word.  Humanity: Human suffering must be addressed wherever it is found. The purpose of humanitarian action is to save…, 3. Why does UNICEF refer to “parties to conflict” without calling them by name? , UNICEF’s mandate in any conflict is to help protect children’s rights and alleviate their suffering. This means calling on those involved in fighting to abide by their obligations under international law, in the manner experience has shown to serve the best interests of children caught in hostilities. It also means working to reach those children…, 4. Does UNICEF’s commitment to neutrality and other humanitarian principles prevent it from speaking up against violations of children’s rights? , No. UNICEF will continue to speak out against violations of children’s rights, including grave violations committed against children on every side of violence. Our mandate is to conduct humanitarian advocacy for sustained, unimpeded access to all children in need, and to do so in line with humanitarian principles . How and where we speak out is…, 5. Has UNICEF spoken out on the violations committed against children in Israel and the State of Palestine? , Yes. In public and behind closed doors, UNICEF has spoken out on the violations committed against children in Israel and the State of Palestine unequivocally, consistently and since the earliest days.    Even wars have rules. The killing and maiming of children is a grave violation condemned by the United Nations Security Council. Attacks on…, 6. How does UNICEF decide which images of children to publish online?, Reporting on children living through war, conflict and other forms of violence risks exposing them to further harm. When making decisions on if and how to share a child’s story or imagery, UNICEF prioritizes the safety, dignity and best interests of that child above all other considerations, including advocacy. Children in imminent danger,…, 7. How does UNICEF operate in Israel?, In high-income countries such as Israel, Governments generally have adequate capacity to respond to emergencies. Upon request from the Government, UNICEF can extend support, such as mental health and psychosocial support for children.  In over 30 countries where UNICEF does not perform programmatic activities, National Committees for UNICEF serve…, 8. How does UNICEF operate in the State of Palestine?, UNICEF has been supporting Palestinian children in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the early 1980’s. Following the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, UNICEF appointed its first Special Representative to serve Palestinian children.  With staff in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, we work to fulfil children’s rights and provide…, 9. What is UNICEF’s response to reports that aid is not reaching all those it intends to?, UNICEF aid is not reaching all the children who urgently need it. Getting humanitarian supplies into and through Gaza is an intensive effort, subjected to extensive constraints.  Trucks carrying relief must undergo multiple layers of inspection before entering the Strip, with cargo increasingly rejected on unpredictable grounds. Items needed to…, 10. What measures does UNICEF have in place to prevent aid diversion?, UNICEF’s primary focus is to ensure life-saving supplies reach children in need.   With decades of experience delivering aid in high-risk environments, we know that some proportion of relief items will inevitably be lost or damaged along the way. That’s why in Gaza, as in all emergency settings, we adopt a “no regrets” approach, adjusting…, 11. What is UNICEF’s humanitarian role within the wider United Nations system?, The United Nations was founded in the aftermath of World War II to bolster international peace and security and promote fundamental human rights. By mandate from the United Nations General Assembly, UNICEF works to protect the rights of children, in times of peace or crisis.   Our duty to protect underlies all others during armed conflict: UNICEF…, 12. How do UNICEF and UNWRA work together in Gaza?, Everywhere we operate, UNICEF partners with civil society organizations and other aid agencies to help deliver more relief to more children. In Gaza, we work with UNWRA – the UN agency responsible for providing vital assistance to Palestine refugees in the State of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria – to expand our reach.  UNICEF has long…, 13. What is UNICEF calling for?, UNICEF appeals for world leaders to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect children suffering through this unprecedented catastrophe. Children need a humanitarian ceasefire now. See all our calls for action here .     Learn more about UNICEF’s core commitments for children caught in conflict and…, Resources for media, Current issues Read about UNICEF’s position on current issues affecting children. Press centre Browse our extensive resources for journalists and media, showcasing UNICEF's efforts around the world. Media contacts See UNICEF's range media contacts, available as communications resources for press colleagues. Experts Talk to our leading experts,…

Jump to: Does UNICEF operate in the conflict zones the United Nations reports on? How does UNICEF differentiate between “reported” and “verified” child casualties and other grave violations? What about in the recent conflict in Gaza? How does UNICEF verify casualty figures? Why do UNICEF statements use neutral language to describe incidents and…, Does UNICEF operate in the conflict zones the United Nations reports on?, Yes, UNICEF operates in humanitarian settings worldwide, including in areas of armed conflict. When violence erupts, UNICEF staff on the ground, together with partners, mobilize to provide life-saving supplies – including clean water, nutrition supplements, vaccines, hygiene kits and more – to children and families caught in crisis. At the onset…, How does UNICEF differentiate between “reported” and “verified” child casualties and other grave violations?, While armed conflict is ongoing and in its immediate aftermath, relevant reporting from sources – including human rights and non-governmental organizations, health authorities, the media and survivors – alert the United Nations (UN) to possible deadly incidents, including those affecting children. Independent UN verification of child casualties in…, What about in the recent conflict in Gaza? How does UNICEF verify casualty figures?, In the case of Israel and the State of Palestine, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the UN tracks all relevant and available reports of incidents affecting children from various sources. These include UN personnel and other sources on the ground, human rights organizations, non-governmental organizations, health authorities and media. In…, Why do UNICEF statements use neutral language to describe incidents and parties to conflict?, UNICEF’s mandate in any emergency is to alleviate the suffering of children. This means reaching every child caught in conflict, no matter the child's family circumstances, background, beliefs or which party to conflict controls the area where the child lives. Neutral, impartial and independent, our humanitarian approach allows us to remain…, Resources for media, Current issues Read about UNICEF’s position on current issues affecting children. Press centre Browse our extensive resources for journalists and media, showcasing UNICEF's efforts around the world. Media contacts See UNICEF's range media contacts, available as communications resources for press colleagues. Experts Talk to our leading experts,…

Around the world, attacks on children continue unabated. The number of countries experiencing violent conflict is the highest it has been in the last 30 years. The result is that more than 30 million children have been displaced by conflict. Many of them are being enslaved, trafficked, abused and exploited. Many more are living in limbo, without…, Stop attacks on children, Ultimately children need peace to thrive. It is critical for children that efforts to end today’s seemingly endless armed conflicts are redoubled. But children cannot wait for protection – while wars continue, we must never accept attacks against children. More than 30 years since the adoption of the  Convention on the Rights of the Child , and…, What we can all do to make change happen, Citizens everywhere   can begin by not averting their gaze from children’s suffering, because it seems too distant or the politics of conflict too complex. We must insist to national and international leaders that protecting children during armed conflict is the cornerstone of our shared humanity. We must demand leadership which is prepared to act…, Recent news and features, Protecting children from explosive weapons in populated areas, Iraq. Two children walk to school past damaged buildings in the old city area of Mosul, Iraq. Two children walk to school in the old city area of Mosul, Iraq. In conflicts around the world, civilians continue to endure the devastating consequences of the use of  https://www.unicef.org/protection/protecting-children-from-explosive-weapons explosive…

We have a choice. It is not inevitable that children are direct targets in conflict, or that indiscriminate attacks against children are a by-product of conflict. Too often, warring parties block and deny life-saving assistance to children. Meanwhile, millions of children are left close to death due to severe acute malnutrition, being forced to…, Uphold children’s rights in conflict  , All warring parties must fulfil their obligations to protect children and  end grave violations  against children in times of war, and those with influence should use their power to support warring parties to take steps to do so.  This means: Stopping attacks on children and the services on which they rely. Parties to conflict must:  End …, Hold perpetrators of child rights violations to account , States, including UN Security Council Members and all with influence, must act to hold the perpetrators of crimes against children to account. Children have rights in conflict, and there are laws and norms that exist to protect them. Failing to uphold these duties is a failure of morality, humanity and leadership.  , Keep children and their communities safe and support recovery from the experiences of war , Humanitarian donors must increase their investments in protecting children in conflict; supporting survivors; and monitoring, reporting, and engaging with parties to conflict to end child rights violations. This includes prioritizing mental health and psychosocial support, reintegration, and taking action to prevent and respond to gender-based…, Work towards inclusive and lasting peace  , All parties to conflict should immediately put an end to fighting and work towards lasting and inclusive peace. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Secretary General called for a global ceasefire. The international community must support UN-led efforts to broker lasting peace. At a minimum, all parties to conflict must ensure a pause for…

Protecting children in the world’s most lethal conflict, The levels of violence that children in Afghanistan are subjected to, day after day, is shocking. The fact that this has been going on for so many years is a terrible indictment of the parties involved. The international community cannot stand by and let this continue. This can and must never be the norm. An average of nine children were killed or…, A deadly place for children, Afghanistan. A boy plays at a former military barrack. A boy plays by a former military barracks in southern Afghanistan. Every day, an average of nine children are killed or injured in Afghanistan, a country that has become the world’s most lethal war zone after forty years of conflict and turmoil. Between 2009 and 2018, armed conflict killed…, A place to learn even amid violence, Afghanistan. A boy studies in a classroom. A boy studies in a classroom at an orphanage in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Around 3.7 million school-age children are out of school, equaling 43 per cent of the primary-aged population, with those living in rural areas especially affected. Girls at all ages are less likely to attend school than boys. Some…, Polio’s front line, A child receives a vaccination against polio in a suburb of Kabul. A child receives a vaccination against polio in a suburb of Kabul. As one of three countries where the wild poliovirus is still found, Afghanistan is critical to the global struggle to eradicate the disease. After years of hard effort, 96 per cent of Afghanistan is polio-free.…, A sustainable answer to growing water needs, Afghanistan. Children collect water. Children collect water in the Argo district of Badakhshan Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. Afghanistan is becoming one of the world's most water-stressed nations. With the population growing, the needs are growing daily. At least 35 per cent of the population lack access to clean water. The lack of proper…, Malnutrition: A long-term crisis, Afghanistan. A child is screened for malnutrition. A baby is screened for malnutrition at a hospital in the Kishim district of Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan. Altogether, around 600,000 Afghan children under the age of five are affected by severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the extreme form of the condition which can kill a child.…, How UNICEF is helping, Afghanistan. UNICEF Afghanistan staff distribute new school bags and notebooks. UNICEF Afghanistan staff distribute new school bags and notebooks as the school year begins in Surkhrod district in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. For more than 65 years, UNICEF and its national and international partners have responded to the needs of Afghan…, A call to action, As long as the conflict in Afghanistan continues, the parties involved must protect children and safeguard their rights to education, health, water, sanitation, hygiene and other services. It is their obligation under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

Conflict is taking a devastating toll on education. This must not become a forgotten crisis, Thirty years after governments around the world adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child , the right to an education is being violated in communities hit by conflict in West and Central Africa. Right now, nearly two million children are being robbed of an education in the region due to violence and insecurity in and around their schools.…, West and Central Africa crisis at a glance, en child alert.png This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or area or the delimitation of any frontiers. The final boundary between the Sudan and South Sudan has not yet been determined. What’s happening? Many areas in West and Central Africa are witnessing increased…, Learning in peril, When education is under attack, safe schooling in the traditional sense becomes impossible to provide. The threat of attacks creates a sense of fear in local communities, forcing schools to close, teachers to flee and school children to remain at home, unable to learn in classrooms with their peers. Cameroon. A child stands in a classroom in…, Voices from the region, UNICEF UNICEF Display caption Show Original Caption Display caption Show Original Caption South Sudan. A girl completes school work in a classroom in Yambio, South Sudan. UNICEF/UN0272634/Holt Mary, who was once abducted by an armed group, completes school work in a classroom in Yambio, South Sudan. Nigeria. A girl pushes her hand against a screen…, How is UNICEF helping?, While a classroom is preferable, it is not the only place to provide learning activities. For example, UNICEF and the Children’s Radio Foundation have been collaborating since 2016 on designing and piloting the first-of-its-kind Radio Education in Emergencies programme. UNICEF has also been creating temporary learning centres, which provide a…, Call to action, UNICEF and partners call on governments, armed forces, other parties to conflict and the international community to take concerted action to stop attacks and threats against schools, students, teachers and other school personnel in West and Central Africa – and to support quality learning for every child in the region. To reach these goals: States…

Dear children of today and of tomorrow,  Thirty years ago, against the backdrop of a changing world order – the fall of the Berlin Wall, the decline of apartheid, the birth of the world wide web – the world united in defence of children and childhood. While most of the world’s parents at the time had grown up under dictatorships or failing…

The problem, Around the world, attacks on children continue unabated, as warring parties flout one of the most basic rules of war: the protection of children. The protracted nature of conflicts today is affecting the futures of entire generations of children. Without access to education, a generation of children living in conflict will grow up without the…, The solution, A child’s right to education cannot be safeguarded in conflict zones without education itself being protected. Education can be a life-saver. Out of school, children are easy targets of abuse, exploitation and recruitment by armed forces and groups. School should provide a safe space where children can be protected from threats and crises. It is…, What is the Safe Schools Declaration?, The Safe Schools Declaration was opened for state endorsement in Oslo, Norway, in May 2015. It is a political commitment to better protect students, teachers, schools and universities during armed conflict, to support the continuation of education during war, and to put in place concrete measures to deter the military use of schools. Today, 119…, Safe Schools Declaration: Who has endorsed, States, countries and territories that have endorsed the Declaration shown in blue. Source: GCPEA. Information accurate as of 7 February, 2024. This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or area or the delimitation of any frontiers. The dotted line represents approximately the…, What is UNICEF’s role?, UNICEF works with states who have endorsed the Declaration and other armed groups to protect education from attack. UNICEF is on the frontlines in conflict-affected countries to develop school safety plans, get children back to learning by providing psycho-social support and informal learning opportunities, training teachers, rehabilitating…

UNICEF launches its first children’s songs album to mark 8 years since the start of the Syrian war

Read the latest on the humanitarian situation in Syria

Children living in countries at war have come under direct attack, been killed, maimed or recruited to fight, and used as human shields. And world leaders are still failing to hold perpetrators to account for their actions. For the thousands of children killed or maimed in conflicts this year, the world’s failure is clear. Yet we are also failing…, UNICEF calls on all warring parties:, To abide by their obligations under international law to immediately end violations against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals and water infrastructure. UNICEF also calls on states with influence over parties to conflict to use that influence to protect children. UNICEF Today, conflicts are more…, How is UNICEF helping?, UNICEF is working with partners to provide the most vulnerable children with health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and child protection services. In October, UNICEF helped to secure the release of 833 children recruited into armed forces in north-east Nigeria, and are working to reintegrate them into their communities. Since…