World Day of War Orphans 2024: Date, history and significance

World Day of War Orphans is observed on January 6 (Image credit: Pexels)

World Day of War Orphans is observed every year on January 6 to highlight the plight of children orphaned by wars and conflicts. The day aims to raise awareness about the trauma experienced by orphans and the social, psychological and physical obstacles they often need to overcome to lead a normal life.

Every child deserves a home where they feel safe and comfortable. However, war orphans don’t just lose their parents, they lose every sense of normalcy they knew since childhood. Many of them have to deal with the trauma of seeing their parents, relatives and neighbours dying. Others bear physical wounds as a constant reminder of the conflict that upended their lives.

World Day of War Orphans: History

The World Day of War Orphans was founded by the French organisation SOS Enfants en Detresses. The organisation works to help children in distress.

Organizations like UNICEF, the Red Cross, and various NGOs have been actively involved in supporting war orphans by providing assistance, advocating for their rights, and working to ensure their well-being and integration into societies.

Significance

World War II’s devastating impact left millions of children orphaned in Europe. Today, conflicts in places like Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, Somalia etc continue to create war orphans.

According to UNICEF, more than 30 million children have been displaced by conflict. “From Afghanistan to Mali, to South Sudan, Yemen and beyond, warring parties are flouting one of the most basic rules of war: the protection of children,” UNICEF writes.

Orphans of war suffer deep psychological wounds and are often enslaved, exploited, abused or shuttled from one place to another, with no access to healthcare or education. These setbacks they experience early on in life are very difficult to overcome later on. World Day of War Orphans aims to raise awareness about these issues and mobilise the general public on being empathetic when it comes to reintegration of orphans into society.

Violations against children in times of war

The United Nations Security Council has identified and condemned six grave violations against children in times of war: Killing and maiming of children; recruitment or use of children in armed forces and armed groups; attacks on schools or hospitals; rape or other grave sexual violence; abduction of children; and denial of humanitarian access for children.

Unfortunately, these violations are all too common in war-torn countries.