Children Affected by Armed Conflict in South Asia: A Review of Trends and Issues Identified Through Secondary Research

‘Armed conflict’ is defined in this report as the use of armed violence to resolve local, national and/or international disputes between individuals and groups that have a political, economic, cultural and/or social (as opposed to inter-personal or criminal) origin. Armed conflict is a mechanism of social transformation that may originate either in competing claims over resources or power or in conflicting cultural or social values, and is often aggravated by low levels of human security. The term ‘armed conflict’ is preferred to that of ‘war’ because its usage commonly encompasses a far broader range of circumstances and conditions, from violent political protest or insurgency, to violence enacted by trained and organised military units and to genocide.