Children are both our reason to struggle to eliminate the worst aspects of warfare, and our best hope for succeeding at it.” – Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, Graça Machel The needs of all children are the same: nutritious food, adequate health care, a decent education, shelter and a secure and loving family. Children’s needs and aspirations cut across all ideologies and cultures. In a world of diversity and disparity, children are a unifying force capable of bringing people to common ethical grounds. She identified children as the primary victims of armed conflict and included a set of recommendations, including the nomination of a special representative of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict to keep the protection of children “ very high on the international human rights, peace, security and development agendas”. Her report, “ Impact of armed conflict on children”, presented in 1996 to the General Assembly, described the brutality millions of children caught up in conflicts were exposed to and demonstrated the centrality of this issue to the international human rights, development and peace and security agendas. Over two years, Graça Machel traveled to several countries affected by conflict and met children, families, humanitarian workers, Government officials and anyone who could help her gain a better understanding of what boys and girls were experiencing. Graca Machel speaks with a former child soldier during a visit to a UNICEF-assisted camp for demobilized child soldiers near Freetown, in Sierra Leone. Voices for Children Affected by Conflict.
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