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Almost half the people of concern to UNHCR are children. They need special care.
Education is a fundamental right of the child, one that is vital in restoring hope and dignity.
This brochure is designed for young readers.
This Special Feature on Child Protection is a comprehensive source of relevant legal and policy documents, practical tools and links to related websites.
Hundreds of delegates gathered in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates for landmark conference on children.
Read about the ARC resource pack on the Save the Children website.
An illustrated story about a ten-year old refugee boy from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Briefing notes for facilitators, training materials, resources.
An internet-based campaign to give millions of refugee children access to education, sport and technology. By supporting this programme, you can help refugee children enjoy their youth and give them an education that will improve their future chances.
Published by the UNHCR Regional Office for Mexico, Cuba and Central America, October 2008
Providing primary education to 176,000 refugee children in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The popular American country music trio are working with UNHCR to help refugee children.
Provides a therapeutic feeding kit, which helps feed 100 children.
Visit the ENN homepage for the Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Core Group.
An early start on breast milk saves infants' lives.
Twenty-seven countries worldwide continue to discriminate against women in their ability to confer their nationality on their children on an equal basis with men (external link).
Between 2.3 and 3.3 million of the world's forcibly displaced people live with disabilities, one third of them children.
Educate a Child (EAC), a programme in partnership with the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), has enabled over 400,000 out-of-school refugee children to access primary school in 12 countries since 2012.
"Adults go to war, but they don't realize what damage they are doing to children." - A Nicaraguan child
A grassroots campaign run by the UN Foundation to combat malaria by distributing tens of thousands of specially treated mosquito nets. Malaria is a leading killer of children in Africa.
Special Feature on ensuring respect for the best interests of unaccompanied and separated children.
History includes refugees
Throughout history, political turmoil has victimized many civilian families, forcing them to flee their homes. Refugee outflows and other massive displacements of people are a key aspect of many international crises. For children, in particular, looking at world events from the point of view of a refugee family can give new meaning and a sense of reality to events that may otherwise seem abstract and far away. The theme can be introduced in:
Medieval/early modern history: The religious wars.
Contemporary history: World War I, the Russian Revolution, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Second World War and Nazism, colonization and decolonization in Africa, Soviet influence in Central and Eastern Europe, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Vietnam War, the dictatorships in Latin-America - all these events and many more have victimized millions of people and forced them to flee their homes, families and communities.
9-11 year olds | Refugees in History |
12-14 year olds | The Rwandan Crisis 1994 |
15-18 year olds | Population Displacement in the Commonwealth of Independent States |
The following links are intended to enable participants to understand and navigate through the complex topic of challenges to persons of concern in cities and urban settings.
Refugees are a painful living reminder of the failure of societies to exist in peace. People should be able to lead productive and independent lives in their home communities. Sadly, they are sometimes forced to flee because of abuse, violations of their rights and various forms of social breakdown, including war. These issues are linked to concepts such as justice, equality, tolerance, freedom, minority rights and the formation of community. Refugees can be the subject of work units on human rights, nationalism, racism, immigration, persecution and war.
9-11 year olds | Refugee Children |
12-14 year olds | Refugee Teenagers |
15-18 year olds | Refugee Women |
Refugees contribute to the culture of their host community. Some are well-known artists, painters, poets or novelists. Dante Alighieri created the major part of his work during his exile. Playwright Bertold Brecht, authors Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka, poets Pablo Neruda and Jorge Semprun, musician Miguel Angel Estrellas, painters Lucian Freud and Remedios Varo - all suffered periods of exile which, in some cases, deeply colored their work. The theme of exile can be studied in literature, the history of music and art. Texts addressing refugee issues can also be used in language courses.
9-11 year olds | Refugee Children |
12-14 year olds | The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig |
15-18 year olds | The Depiction of Refugee Experience in Literature |
Further information on reproductive health can be found on the following websites (external links)
Refugees contribute to the culture of their host community. Some are well-known artists, painters, poets or novelists. Dante Alighieri created the major part of his work during his exile. Playwright Bertold Brecht, authors Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka, poets Pablo Neruda and Jorge Semprun, musician Miguel Angel Estrellas, painters Lucian Freud and Remedios Varo - all suffered periods of exile which, in some cases, deeply colored their work. The theme of exile can be studied in literature, the history of music and art.
9-11 year olds | A Response Through Artwork |
12-14 year olds | Repatriation and Graphic Communication |
15-18 year olds | Art in Nazi Germany - When Art and Politics didn't Agree |
UNHCR aims to help 25,000 refugee children go to school in Syria by providing financial assistance to families and donating school uniforms and supplies.
There are some 1.4 million Iraqi refugees living in Syria, most having fled the extreme sectarian violence sparked by the bombing of the Golden Mosque of Samarra in 2006.
Many Iraqi refugee parents regard education as a top priority, equal in importance to security. While in Iraq, violence and displacement made it difficult for refugee children to attend school with any regularity and many fell behind. Although education is free in Syria, fees associated with uniforms, supplies and transportation make attending school impossible. And far too many refugee children have to work to support their families instead of attending school.
To encourage poor Iraqi families to register their children, UNHCR plans to provide financial assistance to at least 25,000 school-age children, and to provide uniforms, books and school supplies to Iraqi refugees registered with UNHCR. The agency will also advise refugees of their right to send their children to school, and will support NGO programmes for working children.
UNHCR's ninemillion campaign aims to provide a healthy and safe learning environment for nine million refugee children by 2010.
Since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011, more than 2 million people have fled the violence. Many have made their way to European Union countries, finding sanctuary in places like Germany and Sweden. Others are venturing into Europe by way of Bulgaria, where the authorities struggle to accommodate and care for some 8,000 asylum-seekers, many of whom are Syrian. More than 1,000 of these desperate people, including 300 children, languish in an overcrowded camp in the town of Harmanli, 50 kilometres from the Turkish-Bulgarian border. These people crossed the border in the hope of starting a new life in Europe. Some have travelled in family groups; many have come alone with dreams of reuniting in Europe with loved ones; and still others are unaccompanied children. The sheer number of people in Harmanli is taxing the ability of officials to process them, let alone shelter and feed them. This photo essay explores the daily challenges of life in Harmanli.
Some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees are children who have sought shelter in urban areas with their families. Unlike those in camps, refugees living in towns and cities in countries like Iraq, Turkey and Jordan often find it difficult to gain access to aid and protection. In a refugee camp, it is easier for humanitarian aid organizations such as UNHCR to provide shelter and regular assistance, including food, health care and education. Finding refugees in urban areas, let alone helping them, is no easy task.
In Iraq, about 100,000 of the 143,000 Syrian refugees are believed to be living in urban areas - some 40 per cent of them are children aged under 18 years. The following photographs, taken in the northern city of Erbil by Brian Sokol, give a glimpse into the lives of some of these young urban refugees. They show the harshness of daily life as well as the resilience, adaptability and spirit of young people whose lives have been overturned in the past two years.
Life is difficult in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The cost of living is high and it is difficult to find work. The refugees must also spend a large part of their limited resources on rent. UNHCR and its partners, including the Kurdish Regional Government, struggle to help the needy.