Reclaiming their rights: A comprehensive framework for the reintegration of children abducted and held hostage during armed conflict and political violence

Carmit Katz*, Maayan Jacobson, Ayelet Noam Rosenthal

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by 195 countries globally, symbolizes a collective commitment to safeguarding children's rights. Despite this, children have become pawns in contexts such as political violence and armed conflict, abducted and held hostage, exploiting their vulnerability. Born out of Israel's recent experience with the Hamas terror organization's abduction of 40 Israeli children aged 9 months to 18 years, this paper proposes a comprehensive framework that could be useful to other countries in addressing the complex challenges associated with the return of children abducted in contexts of armed conflict and political violence. This framework is rooted in four theoretical prisms—trauma, development, context, and children's rights, and spans five critical stages: the preparation stage, the first 24 h, the first week, and the first month after a child's return. It also provides general guidance on longer-term support and providing support to multiple key figures and contexts in the child's life. By outlining key concepts and guidelines within the framework, this manuscript provides a unique insight into potential response to this distressing phenomenon. While it is our fervent hope that no country will need to implement such a framework, the unfortunate reality is that evil knows no limits.

Original languageEnglish
Article number107696
JournalChildren and Youth Services Review
Volume162
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2024
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier Ltd

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Reclaiming their rights: A comprehensive framework for the reintegration of children abducted and held hostage during armed conflict and political violence'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this