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- CRC —
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
We are really tired of these wars… I’m speaking up for peace.
Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and child rights activist
Multiple armed conflicts throughout the world are profoundly impacting the physical and mental health of children. The conflict in Gaza, Syria’s civil war, the targeting of children in Iraq, the kidnapping and murder of schoolchildren in Nigeria, the recruitment of child soldiers by ISIS, and the street violence in inner-city America are among the reasons UNICEF identified 2014 as the most dangerous year in recent history for children.1 In past conflicts, children were collateral damage; now, they are targeted victims of war.
In the shadow of this carnage, it is incumbent upon pediatricians as child advocates to respond to these gross violations of children’s rights. We know that we owe children our voices and protection, but it is not always clear how we can advocate for and protect them. This dilemma is especially true with regard to advocacy and support for children affected by wars and violent conflicts distant from the United States. To date, no American Academy of Pediatrics policy has been established regarding the impact of armed conflict on children.
In these circumstances, the principles, standards, and norms of child rights, equity, and social justice provide pediatricians with the capacity to advocate for affected children with the strength of a unified global voice and the power of legal precedent. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)2 provides clear guidelines, through the explicit articulation of 40 substantive child rights, for the protection of children affected by humanitarian crises, as well as the promotion of their well-being and participation in decisions that are being made on their behalf. The CRC establishes the legal basis and precedent for these rights, in addition …
Address correspondence to Sherry Shenoda, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida–Jacksonville, 841 Prudential Dr, Suite 1330, Jacksonville, FL. E-mail: sherry.shenoda{at}jax.ufl.edu
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