UN: 1 in 4 children live in country of conflict or disaster

About a quarter of the world's children about 535 million are living in a country affected by conflict or disaster, the head of the UN children's agency said yesterday.

Henrietta Fore told a Security Council meeting yesterday on children and armed conflict that it is "almost beyond comprehension" that one of every four young people are caught in that situation.

She pointed to children and young people whose lives are being shattered by conflicts, including in Yemen, Mali and South Sudan.

She also cited youngsters recruited to fight, killed by a land mine or an attack on their school, and "losing hope not only in their futures, but in the futures of their countries".

Sweden, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, organised the open meeting on the theme "Protecting Children Today Prevents Conflict Tomorrow" and sponsored a resolution unanimously adopted by the 15 members to strengthen UN actions to ensure the care and safety of youngsters.

"We are not doing nearly enough to protect our children," Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who presided at the meeting, said, stressing that "350 million children are affected by armed conflict today."
US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council that "more than 60 per cent of people in conflict-affected countries are under the age of 25."
In countries like Afghanistan, an entire generation has never lived in peace, she said. She stressed the importance of education as "a way to recover from conflict and prevent it in the future," warning that children who grow up uneducated, unskilled and resentful "will be prime targets for recruitment by extremists and armed groups."
"The majority of these despicable acts were perpetrated by armed groups although government forces and unknown armed actors played an important part," she said. "Each and every one of them led to unspeakable suffering for children, families and entire communities."