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Editorial
A recent report by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General concludes that in as many as 50 countries around the world children are suffering in the midst of armed conflict. From 1986 to 1996, war killed more than two million children, injured or disabled more than six million and left more than one million orphaned. "At the present moment there are over 22 million children who have been displaced by war within and outside their countries. Increasingly, children are specifically targeted, recruited as combatants, or abducted to serve as sexual slaves. The number of child combatants under the age of 18 is estimated as 300,000. Each month, some 800 children are injured by land mines." The report points out that traditional authority figures and value systems, which have buffered children and women from harm in the past, are no longer respected. During fighting, little distinction is made between civilians and combatants. The vast majority of victims, up to 90%, are women and children. Rape appears to have been used as a political weapon and there has been soldier-on-civilian-violence on an unprecedented scale.
Articles in this newsletter tell some of the stories behind these statistics, giving glimpses of the horror. As one contributor points out, no one can (or should) remain unaffected. Nor can the West be complacent. A report from the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers singled out the UK for its use of 17 year olds in the regular armed forces and in hostilities. Although these are volunteers, the point was made that this weakens attempts to get an international agreement to raise the minimal age for recruitment into the armed forces to 18. There is now such an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but it applies only to participation in hostilities and compulsory recruitment. Nor has it been ratified by many Governments. Parties to armed conflict continue to violate such international standards with impunity.
The terror and fear caused by the forcible abduction of even young children in areas of Africa was made clear to the Archbishop of Canterbury when he visited Northern Uganda:
"When we travelled to Gulu in northern Uganda in 1998, the village we visited had been raided during the night by soldiers from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Some dozen or so children had been abducted, and my wife and I spoke to the numbed and crying mothers. But no amount of caring words and affirming prayers could take away from the reality that their children of eight to twelve years old were gone and were unlikely to be found. These are people who have more than enough grief in their lives � but what really causes them the greatest misery is to have their children violently wrenched from them." *
Archbishop Carey went on to argue that "Although we cannot � and should not � detach our concern for children from the rest of the human families we are reminded that, among suffering and marginalised peoples, children are the marginal of the marginal. Children are defenceless and vulnerable and therefore from the divine and human perspective deserve our particular attention."
Former child soldiers and child victims of war face an uncertain future. They have little or no skills, many can not read or write and some are traumatised by their experiences. Those who are disabled have even less chance of finding a job and supporting themselves. As a report from World Vision Cambodia states, "Across six continents such children have been robbed of their childhood and thrust into a nightmare world of conflict which even adults find terrifying. The message is clear: the only uniform suitable for children is a school uniform. "
There is hope: the newsletter tells stories of individual rescue and support for traumatised children by Christians and Church organisations. But the size of the task is immense. Let us all pray � and work � towards the goal of giving children protection, health, education and a peaceful environment.
*Extracts from Archbishop of Canterbury's address to World Vision Conference, 23rd May 2000.
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