Reintegration of Children Previously Associated with Conflicts – Case Study from Yemen

Abstract

Rehabilitation of children previously associated with armed conflict during an active conflict is challenging because of the persistence of foundational challenges that facilitates the recruitment of children’s participation in conflict. In 2017, in Yemen, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) established a pilot project (Reintegration of Children formerly Associated with Armed Conflict) to explore the feasibility of reintegration of previously associated or affected children in armed conflict by providing key support including safe heaven, education. and psychosocial and health support (Box 1, Fig. 3). Support is extended to children aged 17 or younger, who express a desire to join the rehabilitation program with documented consent of parents or guardians and have been involved in training for or active conflict, or experienced physical, psychosocial, family level impact of conflict including lack of access to school in the past two years, injury to self or family members. Given that interventions for children cannot be achieved in isolation, the program extended benefits to of their parents, guardians, or caregivers. To date, the program benefited 955 children and their parents, 180 community members who facilitate that activity and 104,592 indirect beneficiaries. Continued monitoring of these children through their young adulthood is being planned to assess the long-term benefit of these interventions, and matched controls would be required to assess the validity of the correlation (Box 1; Photos 1, 2).

Keywords: Armed Conflict, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Humanitarian, Children