In times of conflict, all civilians, including children, enjoy equal protection under international humanitarian law. As a result, there is a considerable body of norms and standards, contained principally in international humanitarian and human rights law that serve as a normative framework for protection of children in context of armed conflict. Protection and well-being of children in times of conflict, in recent decades, has come to occupy an important place in the political agenda of the international community. According to UNICEF, over one billion of girls and boys live in countries or territories affected by armed conflict, and around 300 million of them are under five years old. Approximately half of the victims of modern armed conflicts are children. Consequently, number and proportion of civilian causalities has leaped from 5% at the beginning of a century, to 90% at the end of it. ![]() Wars are no longer fought between states, but within them. In addition, new patterns of fighting that characterize today’s armed conflicts blurred the distinction between military and civilian arenas. Introduction of new weapons dramatically increased the number of causalities. Technological developments gave a new dimension to the twentieth century warfare. “War violates every right of a child - the right to life, the right to be with family and community, the right to health, the right to the development of the personality, and the right to be nurtured and protected.”
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