In today’s internal armed conflicts that pitch one group against another, minority and indigenous children are often seen as “legitimate targets” despite the wealth of international law to the contrary. This report focuses on three recent or current armed conflicts, drawing on interviews with children and others to piece together the effects these wars have had on the Jumma children of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, the Maya children of Guatemala, and minority children of Somalia. Each case study provides the following: (1) background information on the conflict and intergroup relations; (2) details of violence and abuses against children (murder, torture, rape and other gender-based violence, forced recruitment as combatants, witnessing of human rights violations, loss of family and community, displacement as refugees, disruption of family and community life and infrastructure); (3) children’s needs for education, health services, and rehabilitation support; and (4) recommendations to the national government, indigenous organizations, and the international community. Final sections sum up the findings and offer general recommendations to the international community. (Contains 63 references, notes, maps, an explanation of abbreviations, and text of United Nations resolutions on minority rights and children’s rights.) (SV)
