On the occasion of World Children’s Day (November 20), the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes the international community’s ongoing inaction in the face of the catastrophic situation of children in Myanmar and in the refugee camps in Bangladesh: “Rohingya children grow up without prospects. Their lives are shaped by hunger, violence, and discrimination – but their plight is largely ignored by the world,” stated Jasna Causevic, STP expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.
In a recent report on children in armed conflicts all over the world, UN Secretary General António Guterres painted a bleak picture of the situation: In 2023, the number of serious acts of violence against children increased by 21 percent, while cases of killing and maiming increased by an alarming 35 percent. Children in Myanmar, Gaza, Ukraine, and other crisis regions are the most affected by the conflicts. Many Rohingya children are recruited by armed groups, and girls often become victims of human trafficking and sexualized violence. Child psychologist Dr. Ambia Perveen, who visited the refugee camp Kutupalong-Balukhali in the district of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesch in August 2024, stated: “In one of the large functioning hospitals in the camp – operated by Doctors Without Borders – there are eleven infants waiting to be adopted by people from Bangladesh or other communities. There are several reasons for this, but it is mainly because parents in the decaying camps are unable to feed their children or to care for them, and the parents are not getting enough support.”
More than 500,000 Rohingya children are living in Bangladesch under unbearable conditions in overcrowded camps like Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char. They are suffering from severe malnutrition and lack access to education and basic medical care. According to information from medical teams, preventable illnesses are not being treated, while malnutrition and psychological trauma are causing long-lasting damage to generations of children and young people.
In conflict regions, it is often the children who bear the psychological burden of displacement, loss, and statelessness. “With every armed conflict, the childhood of countless children comes to an abrupt end. They are forced to take on adult roles in their families and within society. These children are not only victims, but also actors – however, ones without a lobby. The world must no longer stand idly by and watch as a generation of children is broken as a consequence of war and genocide. Children’s rights are universal, and it is up to us adults to ensure that they are respected all over the world,” Causevic emphasized.