Protection rights of displaced children during armed conflict
From birth, every child is like a blank slate on which almost anything can be written. Childhood is the period of most rapid development (physical, mental, cognitive, social) for every human being. Unfortunately, humanity has never known a period of existence without armed conflict. On the contrary, global trends are moving towards an increase in the number of conflicts. Every armed conflict, to a greater or lesser extent, causes the displacement of the civilian population, including children. Displacement leads to a radical change in a child’s normal way of life. Graça Machel, in her work “Impact of Armed Conflict on Children,” identified displacement as one of the biggest problems during armed conflict for the protection of children’s rights. There are two types of displacement: refugee status (when civilians cross the borders of the state in which they legally reside and seek asylum in other states) and internal displacement (a change of residence within a state without crossing the border). The legal regulation of displacement (both refugee and internal displacement) is reflected at the international and regional levels. The Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict has caused mass displacement of the civilian population both within Ukraine and beyond its borders (the largest number have left for the European Union). The Ukrainian experience has demonstrated its path in building national legislation regarding internally displaced children. The purpose of the article is to examine three levels of legal regulation (international, regional—European, and national—Ukrainian) regarding the protection of children’s rights during displacement in the period of armed conflict.
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