Research Paper ob Children in Refugee Camps

Introduction

Approximately half the population of refugees in the world comprises of children. These children need special attention because they are exposed to several risks of uncertainty and more other social upheavals such as violence. In their quest to search for security and stability after wars in their countries, the children get separated from their families, increasing the levels of fear, anxiety, and exploitation. To curb this peril, certain international communities come up with policies and offer them support. This paper explains some of the rights refugee children have and their violations. In addition, the role that the international community plays in assisting such victims. Furthermore, the paper illustrates the methodology used for collecting data on refugee children's rights.

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By virtue of being children in refugee camps, there are several constant threats that affect them. Therefore, they need special care and assistance. Children are vulnerable and susceptible to diseases, malnutrition and are very prone to injury (Arnold, 2017, p.78). In addition, children are also developing. The rate at which they grow depends on a number of factors including the environment they live in. Their growth is also based on the support they get from parents especially during the early years. This, in turn, affects their psychology and well-being. All these factors may lack in refugee camps, making the lives of children there miserable.

Some of the rights they are supposed to enjoy include the right to education, protection from violence, exploitation and political insecurity, nutrition, and health among others. Some groups of refugee children face more dangers than others (Tobin, 2019, p.57). Children in this category could have been separated from their parents, ones who are disabled, those who are unaccompanied and the ones who have stayed in the camps for extended periods.

In response to this continually growing global problem, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees seeks partnerships with civil societies, refugee camps, and governments to promote an all-inclusive method to protect the rights and safeguard the well-being of children in the camps. Some organizations have shown strong assurances by globally ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Children (CRC), a body responsible for the upholding of all children's rights, including those in refugee camps (Pobjoy, 2017, p.101). The UNHCR has made it a priority to protect children's rights owing to the fact that they form close to half the population of refugees in the camps.

The international community through organizations such as UNHCR have progressively advocated for the protection of these children from all forms of discrimination, violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation (Tobin, 2019, p.89). To add to that, they also ensure that whenever relief services such as food and other needs are being offered, the children are among the first people to get these commodities. More importantly, specialized children services are also given to children who need special attention as those who are unaccompanied or have been separated from their families. In some refugee camps, formal education has been made accessible for the children too.

The information gathered on the rights of children in refugee camps as well as the role of the international community in promoting these rights can be obtained from a number of sources. Most of the methodologies used mainly depend on the ones that are more suitable to use rather than entirely focusing on the children (Arnold, 2017, p.93). Equally important, the research method needs to be effective in handling children who have been exposed to transitions due to violence and possible migrations. This is especially witnessed in the field where the refugees are camping. Some of the methods that were used to come up with the above findings are detailed below.

Content Analysis

I retrieved information from previously researched work on the refugee children's rights to get a background study on the issues that face such children. By analyzing the textual document on children's Rights and Refugee Law, I came across several dangers that children living in the refugee camps undergo as listed above. However, this method is inadequate in that it does accurate measures.

Observation and Taking Photographs

In order to obtain quantitative data, I had to visit some of the refugee camps and have a visual glance at the menaces the children were facing. Observation plays a major role in serving as a check for the written documents in content analysis (Tobin, 2019, p.62). Moreover, the recording of such information is made even easier by taking photographs and recording videos.

Interviewing

This is the main method used to retrieve information from the refugee camps. To administer the questions, two main forms can be adopted: questionnaires and oral interview. Both methods are important because they have very high accuracy levels (Pobjoy, 2017, p.129). Questions that needed to be asked included:

• How are the rights of children living in the refugee camps violated?
• The measure that are undertaken to ensure that the said rights are upheld.
• The correlation between the violation of the children's rights and the impact on their lives.
• The consequences that are there when someone violates those rights.

Conclusion

Summarily, there are several methods which can be used to investigate the rights of children living in refugee camps and the role of the international community. The ease with which the gathered data can be analyzed plays an important role in the method chosen.

References

Arnold, S. (2017). Children's Rights and Refugee Law. Children's Rights and Refugee Law: Conceptualizing Children within the Refugee Convention, 1(1), 220. doi:10.4324/9781315167633

Pobjoy, J. M. (2017). The Child in International Refugee Law (1st ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Tobin, J. (2019). The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: A Commentary (1st ed.). Oxford, England: OUP Oxford.