Throughout history, war has exacted an unacceptable toll on children and young people: they are murdered and wounded, abducted, used as soldiers, sexually abused and made vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses.

• Around the world, 20 million children and adolescents are uprooted from their homes either as refugees or internally displaced persons.

They lose and get separated from parents and friends and often have to take on the roles of protecting and caring for younger children, all the while missing out on their opportunity to learn and dreams of the future.

The International Rescue Committee provides education, skills and leadership development for young people, care and reunification services for separated children, and protection and support for former child soldiers.

Education is a right

The right of refugee and displaced children to an education is recognised around the world, yet only a few actually receive the education to which they are entitled. The IRC works to provide programmes of education (including in emergencies), school revitalisation and teacher training to ensure that the vital opportunity to learn is not lost.

• Our first education programmes started in the early 1980s to set up schools for 40,000 Cambodian refugee children in Thailand.
• In 2007, more than 317,000 young people were learning in IRC-supported schools and the IRC trained more than 10,000 educators.

Skills for young people

War leaves behind not just physical wounds but also deep emotional and mental scars. The IRC believes that by providing young people with skills, the chance to participate, mentoring and other support, young people will be better able to tackle the challenges that lay ahead, contributing to the betterment of their communities and the consolidation of peace.

Separated children

In the chaos of war, mass movements of people and other crises, many children become separated from their families. The IRC identifies and registers separated children to protect them from further threats and abuse and immediately starts the complex process of tracing their families.

• The IRC first started tracing and reunification of separated children with their families in 1980 during the Cambodian refugee crisis in Thailand.
• In West Africa, the IRC has successfully reunited 4,500 separated Sierra Leonean and Liberian children with their parents or other family members.

Child soldiers

The use of children in armed conflict is one of the most atrocious effects of war.

• An estimated 300,000 boys and girls are currently trained for combat or used as porters, spies or sex slaves in conflicts around the world today.
• In northern Uganda, at least 20,000 children have been abducted by the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) during a ruthless 18-year war.

The IRC provides immediate protection, healthcare and emotional support to children who have been demobilised or have escaped from armed forces. We also promote community child protection committees and other local partners to provide sustainable and lasting support to vulnerable children.