Education as a Security Imperative in Post Conflict Development

Reports of armed conflicts around the world have become a familiar headline on the television, in the newspapers and online. Much of the reporting includes the impact that violence and war have on children, often containing graphic images of children in horrendous circumstances. For example, images of child soldiers holding large guns in Sierra Leone, or cold and frightened children  that are fleeing from the fighting in Syria on inflatable boats. The ever increasing numbers of children who have died or been abused during the armed conflict are disturbing. To take just one  conflict, a recent UNICEF and Save the Children report, Small Hands Heavy Burden, outlines how war has devastated the lives of Syrian children. The report states that 2.7 million Syrian children are not in education and identifies a range of dangerous jobs that a high number of Syrian refugee children are forced to carry out due to the ongoing conflict.