After the ISIS war, hundreds of children were forcibly separated from their mothers. Still, children remain with their captors, or live with extended family as their own parents remain  under ISIS or were killed during the conflict. Some were also enslaved or forced to be child soldiers. SEED is examining the challenges and needs of at-risk children as well as children affected by conflict or violence, now living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Objectives

• Identify the needs of affected children and their families or caregivers
• Remove legal barriers to parentage and citizenship
• Aid the re-integration of these children to their community
• Review laws, mechanisms, and policies, and identify those that can be strengthened

Outcomes

• SEED has raised public awareness of the issue through advocacy and media (include links to TIME & the Daily Beast articles)
• SEED will create a network of service providers for former child soldiers in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
• SEED will create a report that examines the reintegration of survivors and their access to mental health services
• SEED will find gaps in services and list of comprehensive needs and support services for former child soldiers