Derechos de protección de los niños desplazados durante los conflictos armados
Desde su nacimiento, cada niño es como una pizarra en blanco donde se puede escribir prácticamente cualquier cosa. La infancia es el período de desarrollo más rápido (físico, mental, cognitivo y social) de todo ser humano. Desafortunadamente, la humanidad nunca ha conocido un período de existencia sin conflictos armados. Por el contrario, las tendencias globales apuntan a un aumento en el número de conflictos. Todo conflicto armado, en mayor o menor medida, provoca el desplazamiento de la población civil, incluidos los niños. El desplazamiento conlleva un cambio radical en la forma de vida normal de un niño. Graça Machel, en su obra “Impacto de los conflictos armados en los niños”, identificó el desplazamiento como uno de los mayores problemas durante los conflictos armados para la protección de los derechos de la infancia. Existen dos tipos de desplazamiento: el estatuto de refugiado (cuando los civiles cruzan las fronteras del estado en el que residen legalmente y buscan asilo en otros estados) y el desplazamiento interno (un cambio de residencia dentro de un estado sin cruzar la frontera). La regulación legal del desplazamiento (tanto de refugiados como de desplazamiento interno) se refleja a nivel internacional y regional. El conflicto armado ruso-ucraniano ha provocado desplazamientos masivos de la población civil, tanto dentro como fuera de Ucrania (la mayor parte se ha trasladado a la Unión Europea). La experiencia ucraniana ha demostrado su capacidad para desarrollar legislación nacional en materia de menores desplazados internos. El objetivo de este artículo es examinar tres niveles de regulación jurídica (internacional, regional —europeo, nacional— ucraniano) en relación con la protección de los derechos de los niños durante el desplazamiento en períodos de conflicto armado.
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