Background
Children in situations of armed conflict are exposed to a range of protection issues. Tens of thousands of children have been recruited and used by national armed forces and non-state armed groups in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law and are often subject to or survive other grave violations of their rights, including abduction, death and serious injury, and sexual violence which girls suffer disproportionately.
In 2022, UNICEF and the MHPSS collaborative have developed an operational guidance on Mental Health and Psychosocial support in Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups programmes. This resource was published and is part of the CAAFAG task force resources, however, it has not been field tested.
Plan International in collaboration with UNICEF are seeking to field test the operational guidance and to update it to respond to the needs of child protection and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) actors.
