Have International Law Adequately Protected the Children - Dissertation Example

Download file to see previous pages Despite the international legal framework for the protection of children in humanitarian crises and armed conflict, the UN reports that children in the millions are often targets of armed conflicts in various ways. In this regard, children are either victims in part of a more general attack on civilians. Other children are subjected to sexual assaults and are simply deprived of substances therefore dying or suffering from starvation or disease. Some children are unlawfully forced to join the war effort or participated as combatants in humanitarian crises.

It would therefore appear that international laws are inadequate for protecting children in humanitarian crises and armed conflict. This research study analyses the international legal framework for the protection of children in humanitarian crises and armed conflict and identifies the flaws which contribute to its general inadequacies. It is generally concluded that the enforcement of international law is problematic in that it requires cross-border cooperation for the collection of evidence and investigative purposes. Other problems such as the non-binding nature of international legal instruments on non-state actors and diverse ideologies relative to the definition of childhood also contribute to the inadequacy of international law in protecting children in humanitarian crises and armed conflict.

It is also observed that the extent to which the state is prepared to intervene to protect children in large part depends on culture and norms. For example, China is less reluctant to override how adults, particularly parents treat their children as children are regarded as property. In Europe, the State is more willing to take the side of children over that of adults. It is also observed and argued that the extent to which states are committed to the protection of children is largely dependent on a state’s political and economic priorities and resources.

Chapter One
Introduction to the Study

Introduction
Humanitarian crises such as the Tsunami in 2004 which claimed 300,000 lives, and the war in Darfur in 2002 left hundreds of thousands of children either parentless or displaced. The effects of war, most recently in the Middle East have been particularly devastating for children. The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) reports that in humanitarian crises and armed conflicts children suffer the greatest as these disruptions put children at greater risks of abuse including sexual assaults, death, maiming, and being forced into armed activities.

The EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict reported that from 1993 to 2003 more than two million children died in armed conflict and six million were maimed. Children are particularly vulnerable during armed conflict and humanitarian crises as they are deprived of parental care, social/welfare services, health facilities, and education. More than twenty million children are either refugees or displaced and others are either held as hostages, trafficked for forced labor, or abducted and sold for nefarious purposes. Estimates indicate that “at any given time” more than 300,000 children are combatants in armed conflict. ...Download file to see next pages Read More