THE
IMPACT OF WAR ON YOUTH
The youth of Sierra Leone face a number of challenges
from the moment they are born such as short
life expectancy, low literacy rate, poverty
and/or hunger, lack of role models, unemployment,
and the highest rate of under-five mortalityin
the world. These challenges have become even
more extreme due to the war. While the country
is slowly returning to stability, this generation
faces a larger burden: coming to terms with
the war during which Sierra Leone's youth were
impacted in a number of ways, ranging from displacement,
educational disruption, to active conscription
as child soldiers. <click
to read more >
CHILD SOLDIER INTERVIEWS
One of the most tragic
aspects of Sierra Leone's civil war was the widespread
use of child soldiers. According to United
Nations estimates, more than 70,000 children
were actively engaged in conflict-related activities.
While no two stories are alike, these three ex-combatants
represent some experience of the nation's children
who were forced into war. <click
to read more >
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES.
The United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child addresses
the rights of the child as a human being. It
recognizes the right of the child to freedom
of expression, thought, conscience, religion
and freedom of association, and distinguishes
the important function performed by the mass
media while ensuring that the child has access
to them.<click
to read more>
