Let Them Play: A Child's Place is on the Football Field, not the Battlefield

#LetThemPlay: A child's place is on the football field, not the battlefield

#LetThemPlay is a new campaign by the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to raise global awareness during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on the need to stop the use and abuse of children in armed conflict and to support boys and girls living in conflict areas to regain their right to be children.

Every year, thousands of boys and girls are recruited and used as soldiers in armed conflict around the world, prevented from their right to simply be children and play. Whether involved in active fighting, abducted, or used in military support functions such as carriers or cooks, children are being forced to take a role in wars they don’t belong to, while entailing great physical and emotional risks.

Every four years, the World Cup brings together the best football players in one of the greatest and most-watched sporting events. The campaign is an opportunity to reach football enthusiasts with a a powerful message: a football field is a place for peace, for play. Children in armed conflict should not be sidelined. #LetThemPlay and ACT to Protect children in armed conflict and to end all forms of violence against them.

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