Spain and Humanitarian Assistance for Children in Ukraine

The war raging on between Ukraine and The Russian Federation shocked many people, including civilians, children, and even the troops from each side have been reported to be in confusion on what actually are they fighting for. But nonetheless, war is still war.

People are being killed, no matter how old they are, how rich their families, and how big their influence, they still have the chance to get killed during the battles of warfare. And one of those potential victims, often comes from the weakest of the lot, which is children.

Children crisis has always ironically been one of the most suffered problems for Spain throughout its unique yet concerning history. During the last couple of decades, Spain has experienced through lots of trouble regarding the unfulfillment of the rights of children.

Starting from the chaos ignited by the Spanish economic recession during the start of the century, thus widening the gap between the children of the poor, and the children of the middle to high class parents, which at one time the UNICEF recorded a 40% difference gap of income between the poverty line and the median income population.

Although our nation has been steadying its economy on the ground again since 2014, the concerns regarding children rights have yet remained. The difference is, back then parents and their children aren’t even capable of fulfilling their daily needs. But the new problem that we face at the moment is the children are getting their pay of meal, but doesn’t get enough nutrition.

The food they’re eating are basically the bare minimum of nutrients. And it this also happens to a certain extent to children’s education as well. They’re facilitated with public schools all around the country, yet they don’t have the equivalent enthusiasm to stay at school.

That lack of enthusiasm to study, results in the rise of child dropouts during the last of couple of years peaking at 23% above the average EU percentage for dropouts. Despite the plethora of problems surrounding children’s rights, Spain does not stand idle in the midst of it.

Back in the year 2019, our nation started to adopt a new way to fight against the violations of children’s rights, named National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion. This is one of the big steps that Spain has taken to combat violations on children’s rights, specifically, reducing children’s poverty and children’s social exclusion.

Therefore, when we come back on track with our topic today regarding the children in the warzone in Ukraine and Russia, on behalf of humanity, we plead to the United Nations Children’s Fund representatives today, to create the equivalent regulations, just like we did with our children crisis problem, to protect those children in conflict location, to aid them, and to guarantee that they receive their rights. Rights to be happy, rights to study, and most importantly, rights to live.

Spain and Humanitarian Crisis

Thereby bringing the interest of children rights to the case of the Ukrainian – Russian war, the Spanish government stands strong with our stance to protect the rights of children. The children that have potentially lost their homes, lost their education facilities, and some of them even lost their parents to the gruesome aftermath of war.

Based on those statements, the delegates of Spain believe firm and clear, that justice for those children must be served. Given the Constitution of Spain, article 39 (4), which reads; “Children shall enjoy the protection provided for in the international agreements safeguarding their rights”.

Particularly for Spain, one of the many “international agreements” which Spain has agreed to is the Convention on the Rights of Child or most known by the CRC, which was agreed since back in the 1990s.

The CRC which is a 54 article agreement, is one of the main advocates of the rights of children, including the rights of child refugees, as said in CRC article 22 (1). States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status or who is considered a refugee in accordance with applicable international or domestic law and procedures shall, whether unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights set forth in the present Convention and in other international human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said States are Parties.

The convention doesn’t end there in refugee matters, but it also binds the agreeing body of the CRC which consists of 197 countries which ironically includes The Russian Federation, to take feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by armed conflict (CRC, article 38.4)

Resolution

The delegates of Spain believes that the main thing to look out for when talking about the children being victim to the Ukrainian – Russian war, is of course, the children being affected. We believe the United Nations should make an emergency convention regarding the children in the affected areas of the current concurring war, either in Ukraine and in Russia too if possible. Because children do not have the same level of interests that adults have of politics, let alone military and the likes, thus we must protect them at all cost. And the delegation of Spain proposes so that the convention is not made ‘in general’ which means the points of the convention is directly related – and there is a clear reason how it is related – to the transpiring war between Ukraine and Russia.

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M. Faiz Shofyan Hanafi, student at Madrasah Mu’allimin Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta