Brian Milne

Lost Childhoods: Conflict, Migration, and the Fight for Children’s Rights with Brain Milne

Today, I’m joined by author and academic Brian Milne. Brian is a social anthropologist who specializes in the human rights of children. His work has taken him to around 40 countries, most of them developing nations; at least four have been in a state of conflict or war, bringing him to the front line in two. Brian’s theoretical work began with migration.

He has worked on, written about, and published research on citizenship and is generally best known as an ‘expert’ on the human rights of children. In this episode, we discuss the rights of children in conflict and ask whether our modern societies have become desensitized to their suffering. Brian was an excellent guest, so I hope you’re sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.

We started our conversation by examining the current status of children’s rights around the world (04:23) before discussing the use of images of children in the media (09:41). We then explored the widespread kidnapping during the invasion of Ukraine and how children are protected (15:11), followed by a discussion on child mortality in the Palestinian conflict (19:29).

Next, we focused on the criminalization of children and how it is perceived globally (29:01). I asked Brian about the role of religion and its impact on children’s rights (41:00). We concluded our conversation by reflecting on the past and how it can help shape future policies on child protection (45:30).

Show Notes

• Brian’s publication on the rights of the child
• Brian at The European Network

For more, hear my previous conversation with Brian as well as my talk with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Ken Foxe, and Niamh Delmar.

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