Comment archive

Friday, 17 Apr 2026
Attacks on education cause lifelong harm

The recent bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, killing at least 165 schoolgirls, is a stark reminder of how brutally war affects children.

Tuesday, 4 Nov 2025
Record high: One in five children in conflict zones

From Gaza to Sudan to Ukraine, the headlines keep reminding us of a painful truth: children are always among the hardest hit during conflict and war.

Thursday, 12 Dec 2024
We Need to Talk About Children Born of War

Every day, children are born in war and armed conflict, in Ukraine, on the Gaza Strip, in South Sudan, in Myanmar and elsewhere. Some of these children might have parents who are enemies, that is, parents who are on opposite sides of the conflict. Some of these children might have ...

Thursday, 31 Oct 2024
473 million Children Live in Conflict Zones

The world is suffering from escalating levels of conflict. The Civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the bombing of Gaza have all significantly contributed to dramatic increase in battle deaths in recent years. Moreover, 2023 witnessed the highest number of state-based conflicts – 59 ...

Thursday, 14 Dec 2023
More and More Children at Risk of Conflict

News reporting from around the world constantly and painfully reminds us about the heavy toll paid by children in current conflicts, such as in Ethiopia, Ukraine, and Gaza. In addition to being directly exposed to grave violations such as killing and maiming, recruitment by armed groups, sexual violence, abduction, attacks ...

Thursday, 23 Feb 2023
Don’t Forget the Children Born of War in Ukraine

Over nine months have passed since Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Several of the first Ukrainian women who became pregnant as a result of wartime sexual violence have now given birth to children who were conceived as a result of this violence. More will be born in the coming months. And ...

Wednesday, 30 Nov 2022
Fewer Children Affected by Conflict, but Conflict Intensity Is on the Rise

Today Save the Children launches its new report Stop the War on Children: The Forgotten Ones. The report is based on PRIO’s sixth annual mapping of children in armed conflict covering the period 1990-2021. In 2021 our estimates suggest that 449 million children, or more than 1 out of 6 ...

Sunday, 6 Mar 2022
Children Born of War Should be More Than an Afterthought

A recent UN report published by the Secretary General in late January is one of the first to focus exclusively on women and girls who become pregnant as a result of sexual violence in conflict and on children born of war. The term ‘children born of war’ refers to children born ...

Monday, 14 Feb 2022
What Happens to Childhood Vaccine Rates in Conflict Zones? This Analysis Found Some Surprises

We examined more than 200,000 records in 15 African countries. As more coronavirus vaccines begin to reach the developing world, global health authorities are pointing out the need for other vaccines as well. UNICEF recently launched a record $9.4 billion emergency appeal to help more than 327 million people — including 177 million children — affected ...

Thursday, 13 Jan 2022
Even at Times of Crisis, Children Must Go to School

The most recent debate concerning school closures has focused on vulnerable children and how school closures will cut them off from a place of safety. While the Children’s Ombudsperson and others are concerned about the impact of school closures on the most vulnerable children, others express doubts as to what ...

Tuesday, 30 Nov 2021
1 in 8 Children Are at Risk of Being Recruited by Armed Actors

The recruitment and use of children as soldiers is one of the United Nations Security Council’s ‘six grave violations’ against children in times of war, as well as one of the most significant consequences of armed conflict in terms of children’s wellbeing. On 30 November, Save the Children launched its ...

Tuesday, 16 Nov 2021
Protection of Education in Conflict Zones – a Step in the Right Direction

On Friday October 30, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the protection of education in conflict zones. This is one of the most important matters on which Norway has facilitated negotiations in the Security Council and the resolution is a major step in the right direction for protecting ...

Thursday, 17 Jun 2021
Agents of Change? How to fulfill the promise of education to refugees

Education in situations of conflict and crisis is central in efforts to protect children and youth in the near-term and fostering peaceful coexistence over the longer-term. But how can education enable individuals and communities to build durable futures when there is great uncertainty about where these futures will be? Education ...

Friday, 19 Feb 2021
72 Million Children Are at Risk for Sexual Violence in Conflict. What Can Be Done?

A staggering 72 million children—17% of the 426 million children living in conflict areas globally, or 1 in 6—are living near armed groups that have been reported to perpetrate sexual violence against children. That means 3% of all children in the world are living at risk for sexual violence in ...

Monday, 25 Jan 2021
COVID-19: Towards a Digital Fragmentation of the Right to Education?

COVID-19 lockdowns have had momentous impact on children’s lives worldwide and in particular on the right to education. Save the Children reports that more than 1.6 billion learners globally have faced school closures due to the pandemic, resulting in at least 10 million children not returning to school.[1] Among key international stakeholders, there ...

Tuesday, 25 Aug 2020
Personal Stories of Home, Belonging, and Refuge at the War Childhood Museum

Entirely unprepared for what I was about to experience, I walked through the thick, dark curtain leading up to the main hallway of the War Childhood Museum. I had stepped into a different realm, one of physical objects telling stories of growing up in wartime. Each had a voice, some whispering and ...

Tuesday, 7 Jul 2020
Children in Lockdown: Children’s Rights, Covid-19 and the Case of Norway

“The lost generation of the Covid-19 pandemic is not those at risk over 65, but our children and youth, particularly at present here in Larvik municipality. We communicate with children subjected to violence by siblings, threats, mothers who cry all day, children with mentally ill parents, parents with drug and ...

Monday, 18 Nov 2019
Protecting Children’s Digital Bodies Through Rights

Children are becoming the objects of a multitude of monitoring devices—what are the possible negative ramifications in low resource contexts and fragile settings? The recent incident of a UNHCR official tweeting a photo of an Iraqi refugee girl holding a piece of paper with all her personal data, including family ...

Monday, 17 Dec 2018
Children Born of War Are Not the Enemy. How Can They Be Integrated into Society?

This year, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded jointly to the Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and the Iraqi human rights activist, and witness and survivor of human-trafficking, Nadia Murad. These two voices are an extremely important contribution to ongoing efforts to combat war-related sexual violence. We are among the ...

Tuesday, 13 Mar 2018
Will the “October Children” from Afghanistan Get Fair Treatment?

Is Norway’s asylum policy simply strict – or is it also fair and humane? In the coming weeks, approximately 200 young Afghans – the so-called “October children” – will have their cases re-assessed. Originally these children were granted temporary residence permits until they turned 18. Thereafter they were to be ...

Wednesday, 14 Feb 2018
New Mapping of Children Affected by Armed Conflict

This weekend, decision-makers from all over the world will come together to discuss current and future security challenges at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), which has become the major global forum for discussion of security policy. At the conference, Save the Children will launch its new report The War on ...

Thursday, 14 Sept 2017
Education and Systematic Group Inequalities in Nigeria

On the night between 14 and 15 April, 2014, 276 girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok in Borno State in Northeastern Nigeria. The Islamist terrorist group does not believe that girls should attend school, and these girls were targeted precisely because they were in school. However, conservative views on gender and education is only ...

Wednesday, 17 Jun 2015
The Child Welfare Services in Norway and Migration

The recent demonstrations against Norway’s Child Welfare Service (Barnevernet), in Oslo and outside Norwegian embassies abroad, express the deep frustration and fear felt by some parents with immigrant background. In recent years this frustration has received increased attention both in Norway and internationally. The international diplomatic repercussions of this crisis ...

Saturday, 22 Dec 2012
Public Trust in the State

For a society such as the Norwegian one, public trust in the state is a cornerstone. But what happens when that trust is lacking? In several cases over the past year (2012), the involvement of Norway’s Child Protection Service (“Barnevernet”) with families of immigrant background has been the subject of ...