Category: Children and Wellbeing

Source: Save The Children

NEW YORK, 12 JUNE 2024 – The reported decision by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to include the Israeli security forces, Qassam Brigades (Hamas) and Al-Quds Brigades (Islamic Jihad) in this year’s UN report on Children and Armed Conflict is a vital step towards holding these actors to account for devastating children’s lives, said Save the Children.

By listing these groups, Guterres sends the message that politics should not be prioritized ahead of children’s lives.

While it is the responsibility of the UN to verify all reported grave violations, the ongoing violence and lack of access for monitors in Gaza mean that any verified grave violations are likely to be a fraction of the true number. A formal mechanism for monitoring and reporting violations against children must now be established, said the child rights agency.

Inger Ashing, CEO for Save the Children, said in response to the annual report:

“We are relieved by the decision of the Secretary General to add these actors to this milestone report. Even in 2022 alone, 3,133 verified grave violations were committed against children in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, the second highest verified rate of any country that year.

Every time perpetrators are shielded from accountability, it fuels a climate of impunity. While we commend the Secretary General’s decision, it should not have taken a child rights catastrophe of the scale we have seen in Gaza to make it happen.

A formal mechanism for monitoring and reporting violations against children must now be established. To enable this, there must be assurance that aid workers, journalists and civil rights organizations will be protected and their work facilitated. All states must do everything in their power to protect children from further grave violations, including by halting transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups.  

In war zones across the world, children are living through unspeakable horrors. About 468 million children globally are currently living in conflict zones. Many are experiencing the worst crimes that can be committed against children in conflict, from killing, maiming and abduction to sexual violence, recruitment into armed groups, and strikes on schools and hospitals. 

Children are not small adults – they have a special status in conflict, specific vulnerabilities, an additional set of rights afforded to them, and distinct obligations owed to them.

“The establishment of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate in 1997 was an inspiring example of what the international community is able to do when politics is set aside. It is one of the most powerful tools to hold accountable parties to conflict who destroy children’s lives, and ultimately protect children in conflict. By maintaining the credibility of this mandate, the UN is defending the rights of children everywhere”.

Notes:

Source for 2022 figures: https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n23/144/96/pdf/n2314496.pdf?token=4MM3hfTsiSeVDCqgLW&fe=true

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For further enquiries please contact:

Daphnee.cook@savethechildren.org .

Source: Save The Children

Muntosh*(12), in the middle, with other students at the catchup class, DRC. Credit: Save the Children

KINSHASA, 12 June 2024 – Children working in some of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) cobalt mines are getting support to trade their tools for textbooks to escape from dangerous and even fatal worker exploitation, Save the Children said on World Day Against Child Labour.  

Home to the world’s largest cobalt reserves, the DRC sees tens of thousands of children toiling in mines daily to meet growing global demand for the mineral that powers lithium-ion batteries in electric cars and electronic devices.

These children face deadly landslides, hazardous conditions, and diseases but continue to abandon school and work due to poverty and hunger in a country facing the worst global hunger crisis, with an estimated 25.4 million people – or one quarter of the population – facing crisis levels of hunger or worse.

This means many children working in DRC’s mines fall behind academically, making it difficult to return to the classroom.

To tackle this learning crisis, Save the Children, with the support of the German non-profit foundation Stiftung Kinderförderung von Playmobil, is helping vulnerable children in mining communities in DRC access the support they need to stay in school or successfully return to the classroom.  

Catch-up Clubs – an innovative approach to accelerate the recovery of lost learning – assess children and teach them at the required level to help them regain literacy and other learning. The clubs include Socio-Emotional Learning activities to help children learn and thrive despite the challenges they face.  In addition, Save the Children provides students with learning materials, ensures teachers receive training to build their skills, and provides schools with support to strengthen child protection mechanisms.   

Faustin*, 11, worked in a cobalt mine in southwestern DRC with his mother for two years after his father died in 2019, leaving the family with no income or means to pay his school fees.  

“I am still a child. This job doesn’t deserve me. I’d like us all to be able to study and put an end to these mining stories,” said Faustin. “I regret the time I spent in the mines. I missed out on a lot of subjects. Because my friends were going to school, and I was working. Those who were at the same level as me when I started mining, completely passed me by. That’s what I regret.” 

Older children in the DRC tend to work to pay for their education, while the younger primary school aged children in the mines are forced to drop out of school completely. 

Muntosh*, 12, was aged about six when he witnessed his brother being killed while working in a cobalt mine. As his family needed the income he continued to turn up to work and spent six years in the mines before joining Save the Children’s Catch-up Clubs. He is now receiving the learning boost he needs to avoid having to drop out of school completely. The toil on his body from mine work, however, still impacts him daily.

“One day I found a large block of cobalt in one of the holes and removed it. From that day on my body has hurt a lot. There are also landslides that kill. There was a landslide right next to where we were toiling for cobalt when the earth slipped and buried my brother and he died. I was in the first grade at the time,” said Muntosh.  

But when it comes to his education, he added that he now “feels great because my intelligence is coming back. I’m trying to take care of my life.” 

Save the Children first launched its innovative Catch-up Clubs in 2021 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic and has since expanded the programme to 10 countries around the world, including the DRC. The Clubs are specifically geared towards children falling behind in Grades 3-5, when their learning can be accelerated relatively easily. The aim is that after 12 weeks, 80% of participants can read and write to a standard that allows them to learn independently.   

Greg Ramm, Country Director for Save the Children in the DRC, said: 

“We’re seeing a huge need for green energy solutions globally, which heavily relies on cobalt – but it is imperative that what fuels our smartphones, computers, and electric cars doesn’t also fuel child rights violations.  

“Growing up in the DRC is incredibly tough for children – with widespread hunger, escalating conflict and the risk of exploitation and abuse. Education is a lifeline for children and a gateway to a better future.  However, many children here have fallen behind in school due to the need to work to be able to afford to even go to school. 

“The Catch-up Clubs is a holistic approach to education that benefits all levels of the mining community.  Without the clubs, some of these children may not be returning to school today. Being able to access quality education shouldn’t be a privilege, it is a right.” 

Between 15–30% of the DRC’s cobalt is produced in Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) sites which are less capital intensive and more labour intensive than large-scale mining but tend to be linked to environmental harm and human rights abuses such as child labour. 

Save the Children is calling for greater investment in cobalt ASM communities that enables parents to support their children without the necessity of child labor. These investments can range from supporting the formalisation of the artisanal mining sector – including case management for children in child labour – to improving access to education and health systems, both crucial in preventing child labour and other child rights violations. 

Save the Children has worked in the DRC since 1994 to meet humanitarian needs linked to the arrival of refugees and the displacement of populations due to armed conflict in eastern provinces. Save the Children has scaled up its humanitarian response to support existing care systems, training local leaders and communities to prevent and respond to exploitation and abuse and ensuring access to healthcare through mobile clinics. 

ENDS 

*Names changed to protect anonymity

Media spokespeople available. Please contact:

Samantha Halyk, Senior Global Media Manager, samantha.halyk@savethechildren.org 

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409   

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements, and location Vlogs. 

Source: Save The Children

A boy and girl play with with LEGO in an air raid shelter in Dnipro, Ukraine. Credit: oleksandr khomenko

LONDON/GENEVA, 11 June 2024 – Today marks the first-ever International Day of Play, which has been declared by the United Nations General Assembly to champion and protect children’s right to play.  

The Day of Play on 11 June was added to the list of global annual observances recognised by the United Nations, following a successful campaign by Save the Children, the LEGO Group and the LEGO Foundation and other partners, to recognise play as a critical developmental activity for children.   

Play is crucial for children’s learning, well-being, and development. Through play children practice roles and build skills such as concentration, learning, memory, and language, said Save the Children. Play also helps children explore and understand the world around them – it sparks creativity and can inspire a life-long love of learning. 

Children have a right to play under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, yet around 70% of adults aren’t aware of this right, according to toy manufacturer LEGO’s global Play Well Study 2024, underscoring the need for an international day.  

Anne Filorizzo Pla, Save the Children’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Global Lead, said:  

“Save the Children is proud to have been part of the movement calling for an International Day of Play. Children everywhere have the right to play. It is essential for their development, well-being, and learning, yet all too often it is undervalued and deprioritised. 

“Play is particularly important for children who have experienced distressing events, such as violence and loss of loved ones. Through play children can explore their emotions and experiences and regain some normalcy.”  

“As adults, it’s our responsibility to carve out time and space for children to play, whether it’s at home, school, or in the community. International Day of Play serves as a reminder that engaging in play with children doesn’t make us less of an adult, it demonstrates our serious care and commitment to their healthy development and helps us to understand their world and what makes them tick.” 

A child’s opportunity to play is influenced by factors such as gender, age, family income, and disability. For example, global data indicates that girls often bear a disproportionate burden of household chores, which limits their time for play and creative activities, and affects their self-confidence and aspirations for the future, according to Save the Children analysis June 2023.   

Children living in areas affected by conflict or natural disasters are significantly less likely to have safe places to play – 44% of children in conflict-affected countries and 38% in areas hit by natural disasters reported that they have no safe places to play, compared to the global average of 22%, according to the Child and Youth Advisory Group’s consultations with more than 10,000 children and young people across the world. 

Play is a key component of Save the Children’s work. During a crisis, the organisation’s Child-Friendly Spaces offer a safe place for children to play and recover from distressing experiences. Save the Children and LEGO’s ‘Girls Unstoppable’ programme, frees up girls from household chores, so they can play and campaign about issues which matter to them. 

Notes 

For more information regarding Save the Children’s approach to play: Let’s Play! Save the Children and Play: Guidance Note 

We have media spokespeople available

For interview requests and further information, please contact:

Ruby Wright, Global Media Manager, ruby.wright@savethechildren.org, +44(0)7969983222

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409   

Source: Save The Children

NEW YORK, 10 June 2024 – The UN Security Council’s decision today on a peace plan has the potential to be a welcome and long overdue lifeline for children in Gaza, said Save the Children. This resolution calls for a full and immediate ceasefire, safe and effective distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout the Gaza Strip, and the release of hostages.  

It is the obligation of all Member States to now turn these words into action, said the aid agency . 

Tamer Kirolos, Save the Children Regional Advocacy Director for the Middle East, said:  

“The resolution voted on today at the UN Security Council is a step in the right direction – the bare minimum children in Gaza expect from an institution that has fundamentally let them down.  

“If today’s proposal is not immediately accepted, the international community – the UN Security Council, General Assembly, and all its Member States – should take swift and robust and urgent action to ensure that a definitive ceasefire is implemented, and humanitarian access finally granted.  

“It will still be too late for the tens of thousands of children who have been killed, maimed, abducted, displaced and starved, but it will save hundreds of thousands more.” 

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409 

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs. 

Source: Save The Children

A Save the Children clinic in Al Gezira State, Sudan, providing vital healthcare for children and their families.Mosaab Hassouna / Save the Childre

Dr Ali*, 42, has been working with Save the Children in North Darfur as a health worker for six years. He has been living with his family in El Fasher since the war broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum in April 2023. On 25 May 2023, he was forced to evacuate his family to safety after an explosive device fell into their house, injuring five of his family members. He speaks about how the conflict is impacting people in North Darfur.

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“I’ve been working and volunteering as a doctor in El Fasher in Sudan for the last six months, working nights, during weekends and holidays.

As a father, seeing mothers clutching onto their injured children, breaks my heart. Last month, I treated a six-year-old girl after an explosive device fell into her house and the shells landed on her small tummy. She was in so much pain and her parents were in deep agony. My colleague doctors and I managed to perform an emergency operation to remove the shells and after one week in the ward, she had recovered enough to be discharged.

The girl’s horrendous experience reminded me of my own experience when an explosive device fell into our compound, putting the lives of my close relatives and children at risk. Sadly, across El Fasher such incidents are happening daily, flooding hospitals with injured patients many of them children.

I thought the conflict would not last long. I hoped things would return to normal and that my family and I would be safe. Then one evening, barely a month into the conflict, an explosive device fell into our house during one of the battles and injured five of my family members, including my father, mother, sisters, and a cousin. I was horrified, sad and angry.

Luckily, I managed to find treatment for my injured family members and begun working on a plan to get them out of the country. They are now in a safe location outside the country. The whole experience was extremely traumatizing for me and my family and I am glad I received support from Save the Children’s psychologist, which has helped me overcome the trauma and I now in a state where I can continue with my work and help other people including children fleeing the conflict in Sudan.

My work as a health worker at Save the Children involves implementing and managing health programmes aimed at providing primary healthcare services to the most vulnerable families and children. We run a mobile health clinic for internally displaced people within El Fasher and support seven health facilities with free medicine, health and nutrition services.

However, extreme fighting in the city for the last two months has seen hospitals and health facilities shut down one after the other, due to lack of medical supplies, departure of health care workers, artillery shelling and extensive looting of ambulances and medical supplies including from maternity and pediatric hospitals.

As the fighting escalates, movement in the city has become difficult and dangerous, with roads cut off. Additionally, government entities and banks have been shut down and evening curfews have been introduced, leaving El Fasher isolated.  People are trying to flee to safe areas as they fear being arrested, harassed, and robbed.

Tawila, one of the areas where Save the Children has been providing humanitarian aid, has been particularly affected by the fighting, with several schools and health facilities looted and houses burnt to the ground. This has forced many families out of their homes and into camps for displaced people.

El Fasher is a vital hub for humanitarian operations throughout Darfur, central to supply routes, and further escalation in violence will have catastrophic consequences for families in dire need of food, water and health services. We need peace in El Fasher, and Sudan.”

*name has been changed to protect anonymity 

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Source: Save The Children

BRUSSELS, 10 June 2024 – The results of the European Union (EU) elections this weekend will make or break the future of children’s rights in the EU, said Save the Children calling on newly elected decision-makers to keep the unique needs of children at the centre of their policy agendas.  

The election results show that the shift in power and fragmentation in the European Parliament may affect the EU political system, particularly in areas like immigration, climate action, and the rights of vulnerable groups. Such polarisation may also negatively impact the European Commission’s agenda and ultimately undermine the prioritisation of children, their needs and rights in EU policies and funding. 

Willy Bergogné, Save the Children Europe’s Director and EU representative, said:  

“Children’s rights are at risk due to multiple and compounding crises. Children are among the most impacted by economic downturns, conflicts, the rolling back of social policies, and delays in climate action.   

“Working in more than 100 countries, we see firsthand the transformative impact of EU policies and initiatives on the lives of children, both within Europe and across the globe. The incoming EU leaders must keep in mind their unique role and responsibility to protect all children. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and the future European Commission must mainstream children’s rights in their agenda, invest time and resources to ensure meaningful, inclusive, and safe participation of children, and engage with civil society organisations working for and with them. 

“As a principled aid donor, defender of rights and champion of sustainable development and climate action, the EU must continue this legacy now and uphold progress on children’s rights at home and abroad.”

To address this new political scenario, Save the Children has launched its own guide for EU policy-makers, showcasing why it is fundamental to prioritise children’s rights, what are the key issues to focus on, and what are the political milestones that should be achieved throughout the next legislature.   

Save the Children will engage with all the European institutions to influence their agenda and ensure children’s rights are at its centre. The goal is to continue the progress made for children over the last five years, such as the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, the European Child Guarantee and the EU Child Participation Platform, be prepared to face the challenges ahead and ensure a fairer and greener world for every child. 

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

A 19-months old child sleeps in a tent in an informal camp in Rafah. [Sacha Myers/ Save the Children]

GAZA, 04 June 2024 – At least 20,000¹ children are estimated to be missing in the chaos of the war in Gaza, many trapped beneath rubble, detained, buried in unmarked graves, or lost from their families, said Save the Children. The agency’s child protection teams are reporting that the latest displacements caused by the offensive in Rafah have separated more children and further increased the strain on families and communities caring for them. 

It is nearly impossible to collect and verify information under the current conditions in Gaza, but at least 17,000 children are believed to be unaccompanied and separated and approximately 4,000 children are likely missing under the rubble, with an unknown number also in mass graves. Others have been forcibly disappeared, including an unknown number detained and forcibly transferred out of Gaza, their whereabouts unknown to their families amidst reports of ill-treatment and torture. 

Meanwhile, the aid agency’s child protection teams warn of the urgent action needed to protect separated and unaccompanied children – action that is severely undermined by the deteriorating security situation. 

A Save the Children Child Protection Specialist in Gaza said:  

“Every day we find more unaccompanied children and every day it is harder to support them. We work through partners to identify separated and unaccompanied children and trace their families, but there are no safe facilities for them – there is no safe place in Gaza. Besides, reuniting them with family members is difficult when ongoing hostilities restrict our access to communities, and constantly force families to move.  

“Neighbours and extended family members who have taken in lone children are struggling to meet their basic needs, such as shelter, food, and water. Many are with strangers – or completely alone – increasing the risk of violence, abuse exploitation and neglect.”

Mass casualties were reported following the latest attacks by Israeli forces in Rafah. After one attack, UN experts said that reports emerged of ‘people trapped inside burning plastic tents’ and ‘burnt alive’, and the Gaza Ministry of Health reported ‘bodies burned beyond recognition’. Save the Children warned that confirming identification of a body by the next of kin is almost impossible when whole families have been wiped out and entry restrictions mean the equipment and experts needed cannot get in. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 14,000 children have been killed since 7 October, roughly half of whom have not yet been fully identified, partially due to their bodies being harmed beyond recognition². Children are also among those recently found in mass graves, according to UN experts, with many showing signs of torture and summary executions, as well as potential instances of people buried alive³. 

At least 33 Israeli children have been killed since October, while it is unclear if any children are among those still being held hostage in Gaza. As of 14 May, around 250 Palestinian children from the West Bank are missing in the Israeli military detention system, their families unable to physically confirm their whereabouts and wellbeing due to additional restrictions on visits introduced since October. 

The UN has received numerous reports of mass detentions, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of possibly thousands of people, including children⁴. 

Save the Children’s Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory, Xavier Joubert, said:   

“Families are tortured by the uncertainty of the whereabouts of their loved ones. No parent should have to dig through rubble or mass graves to try and find their child’s body. No child should be alone, unprotected in a war zone. No child should be detained or held hostage.

Children who are missing but living are vulnerable, face grave protection risks and must be found. They must be protected and reunited with their families. For the children who have been killed, their deaths must be formally marked, their families informed, burial rites respected, and accountability sought. As many have pointed out, Gaza has become a graveyard for children, with thousands of others missing, their fates unknown. There must be an independent investigation and those responsible must be held accountable. We desperately need a ceasefire to find and support the missing children who have survived, and to prevent more families from being destroyed.” 

Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children since 1953. Save the Children teams in Gaza work with local partners to identify and support unaccompanied children. This includes providing individual child protection case management, cash for caregivers looking after separated children, psychosocial support, and community monitoring and engagement. Save the Children also provides access to services such as child friendly spaces and nutrition and health support.  

Notes 

[1] On average, children are reported to constitute 43% of total casualties in the war. 10,000 people are reported missing under the rubble, so 40% of them are likely children. This would amount to approximately 4,000 children estimated buried under the rubble, which added to 17,000 unaccompanied and separated children equals 21,000 children missing.

[2] The Ministry of Health documents the full identification details of casualties and has recently published the breakdown of 24,790 out of 36,100 fatalities for whom full details have been collected by MoH as of 20 May 2024; according to MoH, these reportedly include 7,823 children, 4,980 women, 1,926 elderly. The Ministry categorizes an individual as dead only when their details are documented and verified by a next of kin and says that the documentation process is ongoing.  

The process for identifying bodies and finding those missing, much like death toll counting, is severely hampered by ongoing hostilities, Israeli restrictions on the entry of essential equipment, fuel scarcity, communications blackouts, and the decimation of the health system. 

[2] https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-165 

[3]https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/05/onslaught-violence-against-women-and-children-gaza-unacceptable-un-experts#:~:text=Over%20390%20bodies%20have%20been,alive%2C%E2%80%9D%20the%20experts%20said 

[4]https://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/summary_on_detention_and_alleged_ill-treatmentupdated.pdf 

For further enquiries please contact: 

Randa Ghazy, Regional Media Manager for North Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe: Randa.Ghazy@savethechildren.org; 

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409 

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements, and location Vlogs. 

Source: Save The Children