Armed Conflicts and Violation of the Right to Life of Children in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State, South Sudan

Abstract

The study focused on identifying the common grave violations committed against children, understanding the reasons why children joined armed forces and groups and assessing the effects of armed conflicts on the right to life of children in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State. Simple random sampling was used for the selection of the 375 primary respondents for the study, while purposive sampling was used to determine the 30 key informants who constituted the qualitative sample. Quantitative data analysis was based on 357 questionnaires that were complete / retrieved for the study. Children in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal suffer from the six grave violations committed against children in the situations of armed conflict by parties to the conflict. The most common precipitant cause of recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal State is poverty and the obligation to generate income for their families while others associate themselves for survival or to protect their families. Other children are abducted and threatened to take part in the fighting with the opponents, which gathered a high response rate as well, among other factors which included children, being cheap, easily manipulated, and less visible to the enemies. In terms of the effects of armed conflicts on the right to life of children in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal state, children are the major causalities to landmines and other explosives. Due to their playful nature, they become easy victims to unexploded landmines or landmines and other explosives that have not been successfully removed. They get killed and some get injured, among other physical effects. Other effects are psychological such as trauma and fear. The paper recommends a comprehensive approach to child protection, entailing all relevant stakeholders in the country to ensure that laws and policies on the protection of children are effectively implemented and the ratified international instruments or optional protocols are adhered to. More concrete mechanisms regarding the protection of children in situations of armed conflicts can be sought from best practices elsewhere. There should be avenues in place to beef up the budget on children protection and to ensure accountability of child protection implementations or activities. Sensitization and awareness of children's rights and protection should be continuous.

Keywords: Armed Conflicts, Children, Right to Life, Violation, South Sudan

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/11-24-02

Publication date: December 31^st 2021