STAND UP FOR CHILDREN IN WAR!

On International Day of Peace, we call all partners to join this global mobilization for individual and collective consciousness to ignite hope, raise awareness, and inspire action to protect children from war.

In 2024, over 473 million children lived in conflict zones.

The world is witnessing an alarming rise in armed conflicts, violence, and displacement, and it is children who suffer the most. Children in conflict zones are facing severe and ongoing violations of their rights, including their rights to life, physical integrity, family life and education, resulting in lasting physical and psychological consequences.

This must stop!

A Global Mobilization Is Underway

Faith leaders, UN representatives, civil society, children, and youth are standing up to raise global consciousness about the devastating impact of war and violence on children. They are speaking up and calling on their governments to ensure the protection and well-being of children and to find a peaceful resolution to conflicts.

In Geneva, a high-level event “Stand Up for Children in War” took place on 22nd September at the UNHCR. It was part of the campaign co-signed by 150 partner organisations, including the World Council of Churches (WCC).

How You Can Stand Up for Children in War

Whether you are a member of a religious community, an educator, a parent, or simply a person of goodwill, you can stand up for children affected by war, amplify their voices, advocate for their protection, and promote solidarity and compassion.

To help you get started, here is a list of suggestions on what you can do to join this campaign:

Your organization can also Stand Up for Children in War

Sign Our Joint Statement Now!

As a Religious Leader

1. Reach out to decision-makers, national authorities, the mass media, or other religious leaders and ask them to join you in advocating to protect children from war.
2. Dedicate sermons to raise awareness about the devastating impact of war on children.
3. Organize a prayer, meditation, or ceremony with your community to inspire spiritual solidarity, ethical commitment, and compassion. This can be a powerful collective call to action to protect children.
4. Facilitate a physical space in your place of worship where community members can leave flowers, light candles, or place art to show their solidarity with children affected by war.
5. Organize interfaith gatherings bringing together religious leaders of various faith traditions to speak up jointly on the impact of war on children and call on your governments to ensure their protection and well-being, and find a peaceful resolution to conflicts.
6. Share a video with us that conveys your message and includes a call to action, inspiring hope, compassion, and ethical responses.
7. Together with other religious leaders, reach out to the UNICEF office and UN Resident Coordinator to engage in dialogue with governments to call for the protection of children. You can find contact information of UNICEF and UN Representatives in several countries in the Resource Kit.

As a Member of a Religious or Spiritual Community​

1. Suggest to your religious leaders that they hold a special prayer or ceremony for children in war or an interfaith gathering or prayer. The Resource Kit offers suggested formats.
2. Invite your religious leader to join the campaign. Share the information above on ways your religious leader can get involved.
3. Use your social media platforms to speak up about the urgent need to protect children from war. Share and repost content from our campaign or other credible sources using the hashtag #standup4children. Find a list of sources in the Resource Kit.
4. Organize a symbolic act with your communities, such as lighting candles or holding signs with messages of solidarity. Capture this moment with photos or videos and share it widely on social media using the hashtag #standup4children.

As a Parent or Caregiver

1. Talk to children. Use age-appropriate language to discuss what children in war zones experience, what causes wars, and the importance of learning to solve conflicts in peaceful ways. Explain why it is crucial for people of all generations to unite in solidarity for peace. The Resource Kit offers materials that can help you talk with children about the impact of war.
2. Engage children in an activity. Review the Resource Kit to find activities that nurture empathy and compassion in children. Encourage children to create a message, painting, or other art form to express their feelings.

As a Teacher or Educator in Informal Settings

1. Talk to learners you engage with. Use age-appropriate language to discuss the experience of children in war zones, the root causes of wars, and the importance of solving conflicts peacefully. Review the Resource Kit to find materials that can help you talk with children about the impact of war.
2. Engage learners in an activity that nurtures empathy, solidarity, and compassion, and encourage them to create a video, a message, or a piece of art to express their feelings and thoughts. Get inspired by activities in the Resource Kit.
3. Create a designated space in your classroom or a common school area where learners can leave messages, create drawings, or place other symbolic items to show their solidarity with children affected by war.
4. Create a “Letters of Hope” campaign where learners write encouraging messages to children affected by war. Send the letters to refugee camps or refugee support centers, embassies, and local media. Take photos of the letters and share them on social media by using the hashtag #standup4children.

As a Young Person

1. Spark a dialogue with those around you, reflecting on the impact of wars on millions of children who are being robbed of their childhoods, their safety, and their future.
2. Use your social media to speak up about the urgent need to protect children from war. Share and repost content from this campaign. Use the hashtag #standup4children.
3. Engage with other young people around you. Get together with your friends and do a symbolic act of solidarity, creating a mural, or holding signs with messages of hope and peace, such as lighting candles. You can capture this moment with photos or videos and share it widely on social media using the hashtag #standup4children.
4. Write a letter to your government officials or a UN representative in your country asking them to take action to protect children in war. Find a template in our Resource Kit.
5. Join movements of young people around you, either in person or virtually, that are actively engaging for peace.

As a Person of Goodwill

1. Use your social media platforms to speak up and mobilize others. Share and repost content from the campaign and other reliable sources to keep the conversation active about the impact of war on children, the urgent need for peace, and positive actions that can ignite hope. Use the hashtag #standup4children.
2. Write a letter to your government officials or a UN representative in your country asking them to take action to protect children in war. Find a template in our Resource Kit.

As an Institutional Partner

1. Engage national offices and networks, share facts and key messages about the impact of war on children. Find more information in the Resource Kit.
2. Ask people in your networks to engage through social media to speak up about the urgent need to protect children from war. Invite them to react and repost from this campaign. Invite them to use the hashtag #standup4children. Find more information in the Resource Kit.
3. Organize an event on or around September 21st to Stand Up for Children in War and the protection of Children’s Rights.
4. Raise your voice. Share with us a short video message or short article speaking about the impact of war on children and your call to action. Your messages will be shared on a website dedicated to the campaign.