Children Caught in Conflicts: The impact of armed conflict on children in Southeast Asia

Summary: In partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office Asian Research Center for Migration and the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University

The objective of the study was threefold: to improve the knowledge base on children affected by armed conflict, to devise protection strategies for children in situations of
low-intensity conflict, and to involve participation of children and young people.

Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Thai-Myanmar border were selected as the areas for study because the main conflict areas were located in the three. Ideally, the project
would have taken place inside Myanmar as well, but it was felt that the government would not have granted access to the sensitive border area. While the three target countries were agreed upon early in the project, the teams then had to select specific field locations in their respective countries.

Three priority areas were identified in each country:

Indonesia
Aceh
Ambon, Maluku
Poso, Central Sulawesi

Philippines
Basilan Province, Mindanao
Lanao del Norte Province and Cotabato Province,
Mindanao
Mindoro Oriental Province

Thai-Myanmar Border
Wiang Haeng, Chiang Mai
Camp 1, Mae Hong Son
Mae La, Mae Sot

The stage of armed conflict in the nine situations differed. At the time, the conflicts in eastern Myanmar, from which refugees in Thailand had fled; Aceh; Mindoro; and Lanao
del Norte/Basilan were active. Ambon and Poso had entered the post-conflict stage, though Christian and Muslim communities were still largely segregated in both areas and tension remained. The Moro National Liberation Front and the Government of the Philippines in Mindanao had reached a cease-fire agreement.

In the case of the Thai-Myanmar border, all respondents interviewed were in Thailand, either in refugee camps or mixed among the larger community of undocumented migrant workers. No one was interviewed in their home  villages, though the interviewees were asked about conditions existing there before they fled.

This project was a participatory study that utilized multiple methods of inquiry. A small group of around a dozen young people, who were selected by their peers during national
workshops, were involved from the initial planning stage and throughout the field research. A larger group of teens acted as research assistants, a role they had identified for themselves, during the field research process. A still larger group of hundreds of children provided information for this study. The main research tools were a survey that was used with adult caregivers, focus group discussions with children (divided into three age groups, and, for the oldest age group of 15-18, divided again by gender), in-depth interviews, observation, and key informant interviews.

Further information:

This report was part of the Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) child protection research fund.

• Find out more about the project