The Crucial Election Year: Global Leadership and the Vulnerability of Children

The Crucial Election Year: A Turning Point for Global Leadership

As we navigate through one of the most pivotal election years in recent history, 2024 holds significant implications for the future of governance across the globe. Citizens in 50 countries will cast their votes to determine the leaders who will guide their nations through turbulent times. Furthermore, EU member states have already selected their representatives for the European Parliament. The newly elected and re-elected leaders are set to assume their roles amidst a backdrop of escalating global conflicts, including those in Ukraine, Sudan, and the Middle East, which threaten to intensify and wreak further havoc.

The international community’s responsibility in mitigating and managing these conflicts has never been more crucial. Incoming presidents and prime ministers will bear the weighty obligation of upholding international laws established by the United Nations, particularly those designed to protect civilians and vulnerable populations, especially children. Seventy-five years ago, the global community reached a consensus on a set of guidelines intended to prevent the catastrophic consequences witnessed during World War II. Yet, in stark contrast to that commitment, the world today poses an even graver danger to the wellbeing of children.

The Most Vulnerable Generation: An Urgent Call to Action

Currently, the daily death toll in Gaza surpasses that of any other conflict in the 21st century. In this region, tens of thousands of children have tragically lost their lives due to actions taken by Israel, in direct violation of the established international norms. The education system has been brought to a standstill, and countless children are facing starvation. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russian forces continue to target schools and hospitals, inflicting immeasurable suffering on innocent children. Reports indicate that 24 million children in Sudan are at risk of violence and human rights violations. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, approximately 2.8 million children have been displaced from their homes due to ongoing violence. The future survival of these children amid such climate and conflict-induced challenges hinges on our leaders’ willingness to confront the pressing question: is it acceptable for children to endure such perilous circumstances?

As the climate crisis accelerates, it exacerbates migration and conflict, with children bearing the brunt of these challenges. To avert a global climate catastrophe, we must achieve net-zero carbon emissions within the next 25 years—a period during which we will welcome an additional 3 billion children into the world.

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• Sixteen Gazan children medically evacuated to the EU as experts warn hundreds more require urgent treatment
• Kyiv holds a memorial service for victims of a Russian strike on a children’s hospital

This new generation is poised to become the most vulnerable in history, and their ability to navigate the perils of climate change and conflict will largely depend on the actions of our leaders.

Revulsion, Inaction, and the Need for Accountability

The norms and institutions that have traditionally guided our shared moral compass are currently under unprecedented challenge. Nevertheless, there are still glimpses of collective moral outrage. The ongoing wars in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and beyond have sparked widespread revulsion globally. Meanwhile, the inaction—and at times complicity—of powerful governments in addressing the urgent threat of climate change has fueled immense public anger.

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• 2023 has been a year of unprecedented catastrophes for children worldwide
• Future generations must be given a seat at the EU table

Leaders who are newly elected, along with those who retain their positions, must heed the public’s outrage and work collaboratively to ensure that human rights treaties and international humanitarian law (IHL) are respected. They should hold accountable those who blatantly violate these essential principles. We, as members of the public and civil society, will also play a vital role in holding our leaders accountable. It is imperative that our new leaders support civil society organizations in defending the international rules-based system and refrain from undermining these efforts through the demonization of human rights advocates or dismissing calls for adherence to IHL as biased.

It is high time for action. Our leaders must be guided by the principles that preserve our collective humanity, for the sake of the children currently enduring unimaginable hardships, as well as for those who will face an uncertain future.

Rob Williams is the CEO of War Child.

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