Pakistan and children impacted by armed conflicts

The inclusion of children in the design and implementation of creative peace solutions–solutions that recognize the ways in which violence and peace are gendered–are essential to broader peace and security.

Furthermore, our ability to create sustainable peace is predicated on the prioritization of children. Understanding the relationship between forced migration and children affected by armed conflict requires a critical analysis that explores the ways in which violence is normalized and inherently gendered. The complexities of these systematic problems and the lack of global leadership prioritizing the rights of children, lay the groundwork for multi-generational and disastrous impacts.įorced displacement and migration are interwoven into the fabric of fragile and conflict environments.

These tensions and threats disproportionately harm marginalized communities, and in particular children within fragile and conflict environments ( The Fund for Peace, 2020 World Bank, 2020). Today, global peacefulness continues to deteriorate with new and emerging tensions and threats to peace, such as a rise in terrorism and a growing recognition of the diverse health and socio-economic impacts of the global pandemic ( Institute for Economics and Peace, 2020 OECD, 2020). It is estimated that by 2030, over half of the world’s poor will be living in fragile and conflict environments, environments compounded by intensifying conflicts, inequitable climate change impacts, and unstable governance ( World Bank, 2020). The use of the age of eighteen is also based on the special population status afforded to children in international law in relation to armed conflict and forced migration. While childhood is defined and understood differently, both regionally and culturally, for the purpose of this paper a child is defined as “every human being below the age of eighteen” based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Exposed to inadequate social protections and elevated risks for violence, children “bear the burden” of violence ( WHO, 2014, p.9). Children are disproportionately impacted in fragile and conflict environments.

Pakistan and children impacted by armed conflicts