“I left my home because of the war,” says Malaz, a 14 year old, interviewed by UNICEF. Malaz and her mother fled their home after war broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force. The two became separated. They were initially informed of each other’s deaths, but were eventually reunited. Malaz and her mother now remain in a camp in Chad where children are offered places to draw and relax.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a child faces similar violations of their rights. “We cried and trembled begging them to let us go,” says a 16 year old boy who testified to the UN Security Council about being abducted by an armed group. He and other children were heavily guarded. The boy was forced to steal food and vehicles, while girls were taken as “wives” by soldiers. After three years of camping out, the young boy escaped and returned to school. He now works “with the children’s parliament to raise awareness about children’s rights,” according to the United Nations.
Millions of children around the world face these same experiences. How is it possible that, despite the United Nation Convention of the rights of children being ratified by 195 countries, children’s rights continue to be violated every day? Children should enjoy their childhood. Instead, they are constantly worrying about if they will survive to see another day.
As of 2024, around “400 million children are living or fleeing from war conflict zones, according to UNICEF data. Due to these extreme living conditions, children are exposed to several harmful experiences, including, exposure to violence, displacement, limited access to education and healthcare, sexual violence, and more.
Constantly on the move, children are not only burdened with the uncertainty of where they stay, but also with the struggle to obtain food and other basic necessities. “Catastrophic hunger doubles in 2023; Gaza and Sudan worst hit,” a 2024 United Nation article says, with both countries suffering from a blockade, millions of children in these locations are faced with malnutrition.
Innocent children have endured so much violence that having waking up unharmed feels worth celebrating. Yet the world has returned their cries for help with bombs and aggression, their voices falling silent as children are orphaned and murdered daily.
Despite everything, these resilient children have found a way to love life, even though the world has given them no reason to. The time has come to hold those who are complicit in the violation of children’s rights accountable. To remain silent in a time where children’s lives and futures are in danger, is to become an accomplice in these massacres. We must demand a world where every child is safe, and free to live the childhood they deserve.
“We want this war to be the last war”, said Palestinian children in Gaza.