Don’t Switch Off – The world’s children have never needed you more. Opinion
The widespread crises the world has seen this year have forced child rights advocates like me to think: what are the ways forward and how can we all ensure that all children have their rights fulfilled and a brighter future? get a chance?
In my role as Chief Executive of Save the Children International, I have the opportunity to meet children from many complex, fragile environments who are facing situations that are unimaginable to most of us – situations in which no Even children should never have to – and I am often overwhelmed by their resilience and their hope. This year at a refugee transit center on the border of Sudan and South Sudan, I met a 13-year-old boy who had fled the war in Sudan with his extended family. He told of the heartbreaking loss of both his parents in the war and how he struggled with constant nightmares. As we spoke on a makeshift volleyball court outside, groups of teenage boys who had fled the war in Sudan were laughing and cheering as they took turns pushing the ball over the net. -Were competing against each other.
No matter what, kids are kids. They want to play. They want to laugh. They want to learn. They want a future. And we need to be there to support them – and to listen to them.
It can be very easy to feel overwhelmed by these heartbreaking stories, but switching off is not the answer, although it is increasingly being seen as a solution. Research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows that avoidance of news is expected to reach a record high in 2024, with 39 percent of those surveyed saying they actively avoid some or every news item in 2017. Avoid time news. They said the amount of information, long-running stories like the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, and the negative nature of the news make them feel anxious and powerless.
Funding for humanitarian crises has also declined, with only 43 percent of the UN’s humanitarian response plan to assist some 198 million people completed by the end of November. Nearly $400 million less has been raised than the same period last year, when about 45 percent of the required amount was raised.
But now, more than ever, it is important that we do not turn our backs on the world’s children. Children have put in the least effort to create the situations they find themselves in, yet they are most affected. Deadly conflicts around the world and the climate emergency, for which children are paying the heaviest price, are taking a toll on their hopes and dreams.
This year we mark 100 years since Eglantine Jebb, founder of Save the Children, successfully argued that children are people in their own right, not merely the property of adults, and are entitled to their own fundamental rights. It was defined in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child and paved the way for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) that we abide by today – the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.
Today, every child has rights – including the right to health, education, protection, safety, to be themselves and to have their voices heard. But it is increasingly disappointing to see children’s rights eroded by the persistent threats of conflict, climate change and inequality.
Today’s children are facing unprecedented conflicts and geopolitical power struggles that disregard their mental, physical and emotional safety and rights. Additionally, climate-related disasters are displacing record numbers of children from their homes.
Our recent report, Stop the War on Children, revealed that 473 million children – or one in five children globally – are living in or fleeing conflict zones. We are seeing serious violations against children in wartime almost triple since 2010. We know that children experiencing such violence are dealing with scenes that no child should ever have to experience.
During this year’s UN General Assembly meeting we hosted a session with Member States on the situation of children in the occupied Palestinian territory. One of the children who spoke to us was Rand* (name changed), a 17-year-old girl who lives in the West Bank. After years of being at war he told us: “I’m not sure what I’ve told you today will make any difference, and frankly I don’t think it will make any difference. But I really want change to happen. I want us to have a life like children in other parts of the world. As a Palestinian child, I really want our lives to change, and for the war to end, and for us to be free and able to respect our rights.
New analysis from Save the Children ahead of the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan last month shows that one in eight of the world’s children has been directly affected by the 10 largest extreme weather events so far this year, while crisis levels of hunger The number of child-related incidents due to extreme weather doubled in five years. Children forcibly removed from their homes lose a sense of security as well as the opportunity to learn and shape their future lives.
At this COP I met Naomi, a child campaigner we had supported to come to the event from South Sudan, where earlier this year schools across the country were closed for two weeks due to extreme heat . With rising temperatures causing such extreme weather events to become more frequent and severe, she said without immediate action from leaders, there is no future for her and other children.
Furthermore, the rates of violence against children are staggering, with half of the world’s 2.4 billion children experiencing physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect each year, with far-reaching consequences that can last into adulthood There are, such as mental risks. Health conditions and social problems such as substance abuse.
It is no surprise that people are turning away from facing the reality of daily news, but in times of increasing challenges, we cannot turn away. We need to engage to tackle these challenges and ensure that children – who make up a third of the world’s population – can enjoy their rights today and in the future. We need to listen to children, give them platforms to share their views and promote their rights. Together we have to make 2025 a better year for children.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
