Child protection in emergencies

Child protection in emergencies

When an emergency strikes, whether a sudden onset natural disaster or an armed conflict, children require special protection to ensure their safety and well-being. UNICEF’s global mandate for children specifically provides for a focus on protecting children from the immediate and long-term effects of emergencies.  

UNICEF’s actions to protect children in emergencies are varied and far-reaching and form part of UNICEF’s core commitments for children in humanitarian action. UNICEF’s objectives are to actively prevent children from being harmed; to monitor violations committed against them; and to develop programmes to respond to instances where children are at risk of or have been subjected to violence, exploitation or abuse.  

Though devastating, emergencies can provide opportunities to work with governments to ‘build back better’ and strengthen systems, including through legal reform, policies and capacity building.  

Further information on UNICEF’s initiatives and activities to protect children in emergencies can be accessed through the links below:  

• Monitoring and reporting on grave violations of children’s rights. A key priority for UNICEF in situations of armed conflict is monitoring and reporting on grave violations of children’s rights and other protection concerns.

• Child recruitment, release and reintegration .Thousands of children are associated with armed forces and armed groups around the world. UNICEF is committed to working with governments and armed groups to eradicate this practice.

• Gender-based violence (GBV). The scope and brutality of GBV, especially sexual violence during conflict and in the wake of natural disasters requires immediate action. UNICEF works to protect women and children from all forms of GBV; provide survivors with holistic assistance; and generate lasting change to end GBV.

• Unaccompanied and separated children. UNICEF strives to reunite separated children with their families and caregivers as quickly as possible, while ensuring their care.

• Psychosocial support and well-being. UNICEF is committed to safeguarding the psychological and social well-being of children affected by emergencies.

• Information management. UNICEF and partners promote the use of standard inter-agency tools and systems tomanage cases of vulnerable children in emergencies and to collect and analyse incidents of GBV .

• Humanitarian coordination. When an emergency arises, UNICEF has a leadership role within the clusters system in coordinating humanitarian workers working on child protection, prevention and response to gender-based violenceand mental health and psychosocial support.