By Lara Kajs
Dispatches from the Field—The Genocide Report
Washington, DC—5 August 2025
Children in conflict zones are often the invisible casualties of war. Across the globe, millions face violence, displacement, starvation, and psychological trauma. Protecting their rights is not only a humanitarian imperative but also a critical component of atrocity prevention, as the destabilization of childhood often perpetuates cycles of violence and insecurity.
Across the globe, millions of children live in conflict zones where daily life is dominated by violence, displacement, hunger, and trauma. Amid the chaos of war, children bear a disproportionate share of suffering—physical, psychological, and generational. From Gaza and Sudan to Myanmar, Africa, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, children are not merely collateral damage—they are being targeted, traumatized, and robbed of their futures. Children are the silent victims of conflict.
A Generation at Risk
Children do not start wars, nor do they choose sides, yet they often endure the most severe consequences. Behind every statistic is a young life interrupted, a future stolen, a voice silenced. In any discussion about conflict, their experiences must be central—they serve as a moral compass guiding international response.
The consequences are tragically consistent across regions: lost childhoods, fractured communities, and a generational cycle of trauma. Humanitarian agencies call for adherence to international laws protecting children, yet violations persist with impunity. Without prioritizing the protection of children, the world risks producing generations defined by fear, violence, and grief—when what they need most is peace, protection, and the opportunity to heal.
Children are not collateral damage—they are the silent victims whose protection must guide every response to conflict.”
Physical Dangers: Casualties, Displacement, and Malnutrition
Children are often among the first casualties of armed conflict. They are killed or injured in bombings, crossfire, or airstrikes. Survivors frequently face severe injuries with little or no access to medical care.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, children have endured bombardments, occupation, and mass displacement. Schools have been destroyed or repurposed for military use, and millions have been uprooted, often separated from family or trafficked. While aid flows in, long-term mental health and educational needs remain largely unmet.
Globally, over 40 million children are displaced due to conflict. Refugee camps, when available, are overcrowded and under-resourced, with scarce access to food, clean water, and medical care. Malnutrition and disease disproportionately affect these vulnerable children.
Psychological Trauma
Living amid constant fear and instability creates lasting trauma. In Gaza, repeated cycles of violence leave deep psychological scars. Neighborhoods are flattened, schools become shelters, and essential services collapse. More than half of Gaza’s population is under 18, signaling a long-term crisis for this generation.
Children exposed to conflict face increased risks of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. Limited access to counseling and psychosocial support means these issues often go untreated, undermining development and future opportunity.
The Collapse of Education
Education is often the first casualty of conflict. Schools are destroyed or repurposed, teachers flee, and families keep children home for safety. Prolonged conflict creates lasting educational voids.
In Afghanistan, children contend with decades of war and ongoing humanitarian collapse under Taliban rule. Girls, in particular, face curtailed educational access, forced labor, early marriage, and hunger. Education is not just academic—it provides stability, safety, and the possibility of a better future.
Recruitment, Exploitation, and Abuse
Children are exploited as soldiers, porters, spies, or human shields. Girls are frequently forced into early marriage or sexual servitude. In Myanmar, children have faced military raids, bombings, and arbitrary detentions. Across parts of Africa, armed groups recruit children, attack schools, and destroy infrastructure. Boko Haram, for example, continues to abduct schoolchildren in northern Nigeria, while food insecurity worsens displacement.
International Responsibility
Protecting children in conflict requires coordinated global action. Governments, international organizations, and civil society must enforce international laws protecting children. Humanitarian aid should include child protection and trauma recovery. Education systems need rebuilding, and warring parties that recruit children must face accountability. Above all, political will is essential: without peace, children will continue to suffer.
Atrocity Prevention Lens
Children in conflict are at heightened risk of being drawn into patterns that precede mass atrocities. Forced recruitment, sexual violence, and displacement disrupt societies and perpetuate cycles of instability. Monitoring and protecting children provides early warning for potential genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, and ensures interventions focus on both immediate safety and long-term societal resilience.
Legal Framework
Genocide Convention
The 1948 Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Targeting children through killing, abduction, or causing serious bodily or mental harm can meet the threshold for genocide.
International Humanitarian Law
International humanitarian law—including the Geneva Conventions—requires all parties to distinguish between civilian and military targets and prohibits attacks expected to cause disproportionate harm to civilians. The recruitment, exploitation, and targeting of children violates these protections and constitutes war crimes under the Rome Statute.
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
The CRC establishes the right of children to protection from violence, exploitation, and neglect. Parties to armed conflict must take all feasible measures to protect children, including access to education, healthcare, and safe living conditions.
Suggested Citation
Kajs, Lara. “Silent Victims: Children in Conflict.” Dispatches from the Field. The Genocide Report, Washington, DC,
5 August 2025.
Photo Credit
EU humanitarian aid in Armenia by EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. Licensed under CC BY NC ND 2.0.
About TGR
The Genocide Report (TGR) publishes analysis and educational resources on conflict, international law, and atrocity prevention. Its work seeks to bridge academic research, field realities, and public understanding of mass violence and civilian protection.
About the Author
Lara Kajs is the founder and executive director of The Genocide Report, a Washington, DC-based educational nonprofit focused on atrocity prevention and international law. She is the author of several field-based books on conflict, displacement, humanitarian crises, and international humanitarian law, drawing on extensive research and field experience in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan. Her writing and public speaking focus on atrocity crimes, forced displacement, the protection of civilians, and the legal frameworks governing armed conflict.