Children Born of War - A Decade of International and Interdisciplinary Research

The group of Children Born of War (CBOW) has existed under the notion of different wordings throughout history of mankind. Being fathered by foreign and often enemy soldiers and local mothers these children are known under a variety of different names in their respective home countries. Although different, these particular groups of children seem to share some similar characteristics across time, nations, and conflicts. In order to facilitate a systematic comparative analysis, the research field of Children Born of War was established in 2006 unifying the various research activities, information and knowledge on these children cross-nationally. This article summarizes the achievements obtained so far focusing on the following questions: How was the conceptual framework developed to analyze CBOW interdisciplinary and internationally? How was the empirical evidence base on CBOW expanded and consolidated? What are the results obtained so far? The article concludes that developing new research programs is a cumbersome and challenging process as basic components of the research field do not exist a priori. With respect to the field of Children Born of War this process is further complicated as the topic is highly sensitive. Nevertheless, by systematically expanding collaboration and research networks, presenting the topic in relevant research settings and engaging in knowledge transfer the research program today has reached a level of consolidation which provides a sustainable basis for future development. It thereby supports further research on the topic. As the best interest of Children Born of War is often neglected, the expansion of this research field may also give this group a higher visibility in national and international politics and facilitate their empowerment in today’s conflict and post-conflict zones

The human rights of children born of war: case analyses of past and present conflicts

"This paper addresses the human rights of 'children born of war' as measured against the standards formulated in the Convention of the Right of the Child. Taking five 20th century cases studies which cover different conflict and post-conflict situations in diverse geographical regions, the paper concludes despite greater awareness of children's rights as evident in their codification throughout the 20th century, there has been no noticeable improvement in the application of these rights to children born of war." (author's abstract

"Children born of war": the life course of children fathered by German soldiers in Norway and Denmark during WWII - some empirical results

'Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit solchen Kindern, deren Menschenrechte in Folge von Kriegen und Konflikten oft vergessen werden. Dies sind Kinder, die als Folge einer Beziehung zwischen einem ausländischen Soldaten und einer einheimischen Frau geboren wurden. Im ersten Teil dieses Beitrags werden Informationen zu Kriegskindern ('children born of war') aus verschiedenen Ländern vermittelt sowie unterschiedliche Kategorien solcher Kinder vorgestellt. Im zweiten Teil, werden auf Basis einer Umfrage einige Aspekte der Lebensverläufe dänischer und norwegischer Kinder präsentiert, die während des Zweiten Weltkrieges von deutschen Soldaten in diesen Ländern gezeugt wurden. Schließlich wird diskutiert, inwieweit die Informationen, die bis jetzt über das Leben dieser Kinder verfügbar sind, zur Erklärung für andere Konflikte im späteren Leben dieser Kinder herangezogen werden können, und inwieweit die vorhandenen Kenntnisse als Basis für die Ausarbeitung von bestimmten Richtlinien dienen können, die grundlegenden Menschenrechte dieser Kinder sichern sollen.' (Autorenreferat)'This paper will address a particular group of individuals whose rights are often forgotten in the aftermath of wars and conflicts, the so-called 'children born of war'. These are children who have been fathered by a foreign soldier and a local woman. In the first part of this paper, evidence from different countries will be presented and different categories of children born of war will be introduced. In the second part of this paper, some aspects of the life course of Danish and Norwegian children fathered by German occupying forces during WWII will be presented based on the results of a questionnaire survey. Finally, it will be discussed whether information accessible so far may be valid for children born of war in different conflicts at different times and to which extent it can serve as a basis for elaborating particular policies which secure the basic human rights of children born of war.' (author's abstract)