It is a duty they voluntarily assume as parents, and they will succeed in that duty only if they are prepared to accept it with dedication and generosity. It is a privilege in as much as they help form a new generation of dedicated men and women. An egoistic approach of parents to their children, neglect in their parental duties, or divided loyalties to which children are often times forced into, will reflect negatively in their future. No country, no political system can think of its own future otherwise than through the image of these new generations that will receive from their parents the manifold heritage of values, duties and aspirations of the nation to which they belong and of the whole human family. Two decades after the International Year of the Child and almost one decade after the Convention on the Rights of the Child took effect, over 20 million children have become victims of armed conflict.
Many more children suffer under extreme poverty or exploitation.
Any delayed action from the international community to stop this grave crime, of omission and commission at once, is denying a future to those many millions. The international community, should condemn any attempt from any side to involve children in the armed conflicts, and express its resolve to protect them from the effects and aftereffects of such conflicts. It should also undertake concerted action to ensure them a better future. Prevention, protection and rehabilitation become urgently needed steps. In the rehabilitation process, special attention should be paid to healing and education.