Global Courant 2023-04-16 03:14:11
In wars, the casualties of both sides are usually known, as is the case today with Ukraine and Russia. But behind these figures there are others that are more shocking due to the horror they leave behind: the children of the war.
“There are 440 million children living in situations of armed conflict,” says Ezequiel Heffes, director of Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict. The data is overwhelming.
Many are bombed victims, others are maimed, some endure the horror of seeing their parents murdered or abused, kidnapped and even deported.
This critical panorama gained dimension again as a result of the Ukrainian boys deported to Russia, which is why the International Criminal Court requested the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But there are other wars, some more hidden, that feed this abominable scenario, according to Heffes, a specialist on the subject.
Ezequiel Heffes – Director de Watchlist on Chlidren and Armed Conflict – DIALOGOS A FONDO
-Ukraine was the trigger, but how would you describe the situation worldwide?
-What is happening in Ukraine is something that is actually replicated in many conflicts. Boys are victims of wars, albeit in different ways. When schools and hospitals are destroyed, for example, or when parents are detained because they are members of one of the forces and the children are left alone. There are a lot of situations by which the boys are affected. In the Ukrainian case, what triggered were reports that Russia is forcibly deporting orphaned boys from Ukrainian territory to Russian territory. Unicef has already said that more than 400 children died from the bombings and more than 7 million were affected in some way: displacement, injuries, arrests. There are also reports of cases of sexual violence and of minors who witnessed executions of their relatives. This situation is quite specific in the territory of the Ukrainian conflict, but later the violence against minors extends to many conflicts.
-For example?
– I’ll give you some. There are still no numbers for 2022, but in 2021 there were 20,000 boys who were affected in one way or another by a situation of serious and very serious violence. They have been killed or injured, have been victims of sexual violence, tortured or recruited. To have an idea, I’ll give you a figure: in 2021 there were 449 million kids living in situations of armed conflict. It is a tremendous fact. And, obviously, Ukraine triggered this by transfer, by displacement, by forced deportation. But then you have Afghanistan, where girls can’t go to school and women can’t go to university. You have situations like Somalia, Yemen, Syria. Countries in Africa, including the Central African Republic, the Congo, Mozambique, Cameroon. Also in Myanmar.
-They also record dramatic situations in Latin America
-Yes, here in Latin America there is the case of Colombia, where there are allegations of recruitment of minors by rebel groups. It’s something transversal. And the worst thing is that these figures are maintained over time.
-If you had to list the most dramatic effects of the war on children, which ones would you highlight?
-In terms of serious violations, there is, first of all, the recruitment of children (both by armed groups and by armies that recruit, train and send them to the battlefront); second, sexual violence; third, attacks in which children are killed or injured; fourth, kidnapping of children; fifth, attack against services used by children, such as schools and hospitals.
Ukrainian boys at the Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation in Boyarka, near kyiv. (AP)
-What happens to the boys who survive wars?
-It’s very difficult to say. First I could tell you that now the humanitarian crisis is becoming more visible, and in particular that of children. This did not happen 20 or 30 years ago. But it is still hard for us to think about what will happen to the children affected by situations of violence who are four, five or six years old today. There are some discussions going on in terms of minors that have been recruited and what the transition to civilian life is going to be like. In some places there are ethnic or stigmatization issues and that child may not be able to return to the community where they were. There are very traumatic situations that need to be worked on. You have to do a process after the conflict. The reintegration of minors after situations of violence is a great challenge, which we try to work on. But there is no single answer.
Society seems to naturalize this. There is no reaction.
-Yes, the reaction is little. But several points must be taken into account. There are times when serious situations become visible. She spent with the girls in Afghanistan, a topic that was current but is no longer talked about. Today they are the boys deported from Ukraine. We have to see what happens in six months. There are many minors affected by conflicts that are not talked about like Mozambique or Cameroon. They are not on the daily agenda. In general they are very distant places for people. Ordinary people, who are not following these issues, do not have them so incorporated.
– How do you work at an institutional level to find a way out?
-Watchlist is a network of organizations, including Save de Children, Rights Watch, Amnesty International, which we do is work a lot with the United Nations, especially with the Security Council, which today is quite polarized. We have meetings with the states to influence and try to get them to adopt measures to protect minors.
-And is there receptivity?
-From many states, yes. In fact, resolutions related to the protection of minors have been adopted. But it is difficult because there is always a difference between the text of the resolution and what happens in the war. This is a discussion that the states themselves give, that is to say, taking the resolution responsibly, ensuring that it is respected.
Particular signs
Ezequiel Heffes was trained at the University of Buenos Aires, where he studied Law, a career that allowed him to work in what he likes: the defense and protection of children in armed conflicts.
He completed a master’s degree in International Humanitarian Law in Geneva and a doctorate from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. He is currently a research fellow at Georgetown Law School and directs the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, a New York-based network of NGOs.
