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Leadership and Impunity: The Politics Behind the Traumatization of Children During Armed Conflicts

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Kabul, fishern{at}un.org

This article addresses some fundamental questions regarding the nature of identity-based armed conflict within states, conflict which abuses and consciously targets children and women, leaving them physically scarred and psychologically traumatized. It argues that the poor quality of leadership and the lack of accountability of those wielding military, economic or political power, are significant root causes of the abuse traumatization of children, witnessed most graphically in times of armed conflict within states. Exploitative leaders benefit from a sense of invulnerability, of safety from any kind of accountability for their actions - in other words, from a pervasive climate of impunity. There are four courses of action that are particularly worthy of attention: the designation of children as zones of peace; the identification and public naming of those who target and exploit women and children for their own financial or political gain; the development of a more rigorous normative framework, and international vigilance to ensure increased compliance with human rights and humanitarian norms; and finally, the strengthening of democratic institutions which allow for peaceful management of conflict and for equitable development. Taken together, these areas offer a number of opportunities to mould positive environments in which leaders are encouraged to exercise their power and authority for the betterment of all their citizens, for the equitable development of their societies, and in the development of channels and institutions which allow differences and conflicts to be settled by peaceful means.

Key Words: War • Armed conflict • Politics • Children • Traumatization • Leadership • Democracy

Traumatology, Vol. 8, No. 3, 146-159 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/153476560200800303


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