CIDA Photo: Cindy Andrew

-- Mayerly Sanchez, age 14, Columbia Children's Peace Movement

The best way to protect children from wars is to stop the wars from happening. While it is vital to protect children during today's armed conflicts, it is just as important to prevent future wars. The only way to truly protect children is to stop the conflicts themselves. Once a war has started, the suffering of children can only be reduced, not prevented.

The best way to prevent conflict is to encourage social development and to find peaceful ways to resolve conflict. Unfortunately, the international community has not been willing to invest the money necessary to do this.

There are several things that governments can do to encourage development and peace. First, governments should demilitarize their countries. This reduces the money spent on the military, which means that more money can be spent on human development. It is also important to control the international trade in weapons and to stop illegal trade in diamonds, drugs and other products that fuel conflicts. Another problem is that many poor countries spend more on repaying their debts than they do on basic social services such as health care and education. Governments should cancel these debts or offer debt relief to increase the money these countries have to spend on development. Governments should also pay close attention to signs that conflicts are developing. There are always signs, but often they are ignored when simple steps could be taken to prevent the conflict altogether.

• Today, 1.2 billion people live in absolute poverty and at least half of them are children. This poverty is a denial of human rights that creates violence and conflict.
• For every dollar that is spent on military activities, less than one half cent is spent on United Nations peacekeeping.
• The 20/20 Initiative, endorsed by the World Summit for Social Development calls for 20% of national budgets in developing countries and 20% of donor aid to be spent on basic social services. This would help ensure children's rights, overcome poverty and help prevent conflict.

1. The United Nations must use all the tools at its disposal to prevent conflicts.
2. The United Nations, humanitarian organizations and NGOs should work within regions to help prevent conflicts and promote peace.
3. The world should work to overcome poverty, while paying special attention to ensuring children's rights to health care, nutrition, clean water, sanitation and education.

Refugee = a person who is forced to flee to another country.
Demilitarize = to remove all military forces from an area or country.
NGO = NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organization. An NGO is a private group or organization that provides humanitarian aid. They may work with government agencies, but they are not part of the government.