How do children experience war?
In wartime, children are especially vulnerable to a myriad of risks that deprive them of the opportunity to fully experience childhood and are all too often drawn into hostilities. In the ever-evolving circumstances of armed conflict, how can we provide all children with the protection they are both morally and legally entitled to and ensure that their needs and rights are fulfilled? To address this question, and just after marking the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Review of the Red Cross chose to dedicate its 911th edition to children affected by armed conflict.
Australian Red Cross, Save the Children Australia and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) presented the Children and War edition of the Review in a free public webinar on 9 September 2020.
The webinar featured a panel of eminent Australian and international speakers, including Ellen Policinski, Managing Editor of the International Review of the Red Cross; Vanessa Murphy, Legal Adviser on Women, Children and Sexual Violence at ICRC; Sophie McNeill, researcher for Human Rights Watch and former Middle East Correspondent at ABC; Rawan Arraf, Director and Principal Lawyer of the Australian Centre for International Justice; and Jason Lee, Country Director Occupied Palestinian Territories at Save the Children.
The panel discussion was hosted by Rebecca Barber, Victorian IHL Advisory Committee at Australian Red Cross and PhD Candidate at the University of Queensland.