Half of World's Refugees are Children There are approximately 50 million uprooted people around the world -
refugees who have sought safety in another country, and people displaced within
their own country. Around half of this displaced population are children. The
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cares for 22.3 million of these
people. An estimated 10 million are children under the age of 18. The majority
of people flee their homes because of war. it is estimated that more than two
million children were killed in conflict in the last decade. Another six million
are believed to have been wounded and one million orphaned. ln recent decades
the proportion of war victims who are civilians rather than combatants has
leaped from five percent to more than 90 percent.
Children in 87 countries live among 60 million land mines. As many as 10,000
per year continue to become victims of mines. More than 300,000 boys and girls
currently are serving as child soldiers around the world. Many are less than 10
years old. Many girl soldiers are forced into different forms of sexual slavery.
The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most important legal
framework for the protection of children. The Convention has the highest number
of state parties of any human rights treaty, being ratified by all countries
except the United States and Somalia.
UPCOMING EVENTS
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REFUGEE STATUS
Half of World's Refugees are Children There are approximately 50 million uprooted people around the world -
refugees who have sought safety in another country, and people displaced withi... (more info)
