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For Zeina*, supporting children to continue learning through war is not just a job, it’s a commitment shaped by her professional experience and her life as a mother. In Lebanon today, that commitment comes with growing challenges.
We are devastated and outraged by the killing of our colleague Alia, her son Ghadi, and her husband Mehdi last week in an Israeli strike which destroyed their house in Baalbek, Lebanon. Alia was a valued member of War Child’s longstanding partner Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST).
In a public school in North Lebanon, now being used as a shelter, the classroom still has multiplication tables on the chalkboard. The desks have been pushed aside to make room for thin mattresses, blankets, plastic bags and a few bottles of water. Four families share this room. One of them is a family of four displaced from South Lebanon: a father, Omar*, a mother, Batoul*, their 13-year-old son Karim*, and his younger sister, Aliyah*, who is seven.
The negotiations on the future Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) Treaty represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure stronger protections for children in international law by considering explicitly the specific vulnerabilities and needs of children. With the deadline for Member States to submit proposed amendments to the UN Law Commission set for 30 April 2026, the window to act is narrowing fast. This is why War Child Alliance has been at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and why we made sure children and young people were in the room and were able to directly pass their messages to Member States.
In the Masisi Territory located in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children and caregivers traumatised by violence and displacement are learning to breathe again thanks to mental health and psychosocial support methodologies TeamUp and Bethere, supported by the Dutch Relief Alliance.
Around one in ten children in Lebanon have now been displaced, highlighting the devastating impact of the ongoing war in the region.
War Child is raising urgent concerns over the growing impact of war on children across the Middle East region, warning that the systems designed to protect them are being ignored.
“I dream of quiet nights without sirens,” says 12-year-old Elizaveta from Sumy. “I dream that my school will always be a place of learning, not a shelter. And I dream of a future in which children in Ukraine will live without fear and with faith in a happy tomorrow.”
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and War Child Alliance today announced a new five-year Strategic Partnership to scale evidence-based solutions that protect children and support their wellbeing in conflict and crisis settings.
