THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN OF WAR: A COMPARATIVE TYPOLOGY MATRIX FOR CONFLICT-BORN CHILDREN

Abstract

An emergent body of scholarship by academia and policymakers in addition to heightened international awareness by humanitarian programs on the role of children during and post-conflict provides hope for the future of the children, a conflict-born children (CBCs) have largely been ignored and left out of this discussion. Thus, this paper aims at contributing to this body of literature and attempts to address the broad umbrella of CBCs by drawing upon the provided definitions to introduce a new typology matrix of CBCs. Grouping all the CBCs into one category, with the unilateral expectation for existing and newly formulated legal documents to address and protect the rights of these children, is oversimplified. Drawing from three unique case studies, The Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, 1992 Bosnia-Herzagova, and ISIS, while highlighting the existing international legal framework, I aim to depict how and why the discussion of the citizenship status of this population has been widely dismissed. More importantly, I hope to disaggregate recommendtations for what individual nationals and the international community as a whole must do moving forward to address the three types of CBCs.