Child Protection
Years of sanctions and conflict have left children in Iraq in an extremely vulnerable position. The poverty and hardship faced by many Iraqis has led to the erosion of children's rights and risks marginalising a whole generation. They are denied access to education and healthcare and are becoming the victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
The problems faced by the children we work with are wide ranging and War Child's child protection programme in south Iraq responds directly to this. We have listened to children, their families and their communities and identified the challenges facing them. In this way we have been able to learn about the kind of support they need and given them a say in their futures.
There is a poor understanding and appreciation of child rights amongst many adults and little recognition of children's rights in Iraqi law but there are also problems with infrastructure.
Our construction, training and lobbying projects have begun to tackle all three. We have built classrooms and toilets to allow children to attend school, trained teachers, social workers and police in providing the protection they have a right to, and we have successfully lobbied for the endorsement of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the new Iraqi constitution.
Our drop-in-centres for children living and working on the streets of south Iraq have helped them improve their prospects by offering training in literacy, vocational skills, computers and medical care. Many of the children have now gone on to get jobs with local businesses where they are treated and paid fairly.