On Red Hand Day, February 12th: The Child Soldiers Alliance demands asylum for children from war zones and an urgent reversal of the massive cuts to humanitarian aid

Berlin, February 11, 2026 - On the occasion of tomorrow's Red Hand Day, the international day of action against the use of children and young people as soldiers, the "German Coalition Against Child Soldiers" calls on the Federal Government to grant asylum to children and their families from war zones and to reverse the massive cuts in humanitarian aid.

In over 20 countries worldwide, children and young people are killed, injured, abducted, sexually abused, and recruited as soldiers in wars and armed conflicts. Most of the recruitment of child soldiers documented by the United Nations took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Somalia. The deadliest war zones for children due to bombings, mines, or firefights were Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan, Myanmar, and Burkina Faso. Due to drastically reduced funding, humanitarian aid is lacking in many places or is far from sufficient. Furthermore, its delivery has been hampered more severely than ever before, particularly in war zones, especially in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Afghanistan, Haiti, Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Myanmar.

“Children and their families are fleeing from many of these countries to neighboring countries, and some are even coming to Germany; they urgently need protection. Unfortunately, increasingly restrictive asylum practices by authorities and politicians in this country mean that even former child soldiers, who are severely traumatized, are threatened with deportation,” says Ralf Willinger of the children’s rights organization Terre des Hommes , spokesperson for the German Coalition Against Child Soldiers, an alliance of nine organizations.

“I know from personal experience how important psychological support, safety, and education are for former child soldiers,” says Innocent Opwonya, who, at the age of 10, was abducted by an armed group, the Lord’s Resistance Army, in Uganda and forced to become a child soldier. After several months, he managed to escape. “After my escape, the support of international aid organizations in Uganda saved me; I was incredibly lucky and am very grateful for that. Now I advocate for children in war zones. With my red hand, I appeal to everyone and to the German government: Don’t abandon these children, support them on the ground and when they seek refuge in Germany, and work towards the peaceful resolution of armed conflicts.”

 “We urgently appeal to the German government to raise funding for humanitarian aid back to at least the 2023 level,” says Frank Mischo of Kindernothilfe, spokesperson for the German Coalition Against Child Soldiers. “Since then, despite the dramatically increasing need, funding has been cut by €1.7 billion, while defense spending has risen by €50 billion. These figures show that the money is there. Instead of investing in rearmament, the German government must primarily invest in crisis prevention, peace, and development, and must not forget children in war zones. Due to the massive cuts in Germany’s humanitarian aid by over 60 percent since 2023, several million people in need have lost access to urgently required assistance; children are starving, dying of thirst, and succumbing to diseases because of a lack of medicine.”

On February 12, 2002, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict entered into force, prohibiting the use of persons under the age of 18 in armed conflict. To mark this Red Hand Day on February 12, the day against the use of children and young people as soldiers, the German Coalition Against Child Soldiers, together with numerous organizations worldwide, is calling for actions using the symbol of the red hand. More than half a million people in over 50 countries have already protested against the abuse of children as soldiers by leaving their handprints. This year, Red Hand actions are taking place in numerous German cities, including Berlin, Stuttgart, Osnabrück, Duisburg, and Bergisch Gladbach. Many of the nine member organizations of the German Coalition Against Child Soldiers support aid projects for child soldiers worldwide.

Further information: 

kindersoldaten.info          redhandday.org           aktion-rote-hand.de

The new fact sheet “Child Soldiers on the Run – Protection through Asylum, Trauma Healing, Education and Peace” with facts and figures on the six serious violations of children’s rights in armed conflicts and information on aid projects in the armed conflict in Myanmar can be found at www.kindersoldaten.info

Members of the German Coalition Against Child Soldiers:

German Peace Society DFG-VK, Peace Alliance, Children's Aid, German Committee of the Lutheran World Federation, missio, pax christi, Quaker Aid Foundation, Terre des Hommes , World Vision