You are here:
Protection from war
Listen 
Game 
What does this mean?
It’s your right to be protected if a war happens in your country.
If this happens, you have the right to go to a safe country and they should give you a safe place to stay.
If this happens, you have the right to go to a safe country and they should give you a safe place to stay.
EXAMPLE: In Ireland, you need to be 18 years old to join the army.
Learn more about this right
Do I have this right in Ireland?
- UNCRC, article 38, it’s your right to be protected and free from war. Children under 15 can’t be forced to go into the army or take part in war.
- In Ireland, you are not allowed enter the army until you are 18 years old.
- Ireland is a neutral country, this means we don’t take sides if there are wars.
- If you’re a child that has to leave a country because of war, you are sometimes called a refugee. You should be given a safe place to live and you shouldn’t need to go back to your own country if it isn’t safe.
Find out more
- Peace Direct – Take a look at what young people in different parts of the world are doing to build peace
- Cartoons for Children’s Rights – A short cartoon about children’s right to protection in times of war, made for Unicef’s Cartoons for Children’s Rights initiative
- Children and Armed Conflict – More information about children affected by armed conflict is on this website of the UN’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict
- Children, Not Soldiers – Find out about the UN’s Children, Not Soldiers initiative to stop the use of children as soldiers in armed conflict
- Red Hand Day – 12 February, marks the anniversary of the signing of a new rule to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that forbids the use of children in war.
