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Children’s Right to Mental Health in Contemporary Armed Conflicts: Rethinking State International Responsibility in Light of Human Dignity and Bioethics
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Mohammad Mehdi Seyednasseri *1    , Mohammad Soroosh Golchi |
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Abstract: (44 Views) |
Background and Aim: Structural transformations in contemporary armed conflicts have extended the harm inflicted upon children beyond physical injuries to include profound psychological, cognitive, and identity-related damage. Despite this reality, international law remains largely focused on the protection of physical integrity, while the mental dimension of children’s right to health lacks a coherent normative framework. This study aims to examine children’s mental health as a fundamental component of the right to health and to reconceptualize the international responsibility of States for conflict-related psychological harm in light of human dignity and bioethics.
Methods: This research employs a descriptive-analytical approach based on library research and an examination of international legal instruments, human rights bodies’ jurisprudence and interpretative documents, as well as scholarly literature in international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and bioethics.
Ethical Considerations: In all stages of writing the present research, the ethical aspects of library-based study Including the originality of the texts, honesty and trustworthiness have been observed.
Results: The findings demonstrate that contemporary forms of conflict, including hybrid warfare, cognitive operations, forced displacement, the collapse of protective environments, and the normalization of violence, generate severe and long-term consequences for children’s mental health. The study further reveals that the principles of human dignity, the best interests of the child, non-maleficence, protection of vulnerable persons, and responsibility toward future generations provide a normative basis for recognizing and strengthening the protection of children’s right to mental health and for expanding States’ obligations in this field.
Conclusion: Children’s mental health should be recognized as a fundamental component of the right to health and an integral element of human dignity. Accordingly, the international responsibility of States in contemporary armed conflicts cannot be confined to the prevention of physical harm but must also encompass preventive, protective, therapeutic, and reparative obligations regarding psychological injuries suffered by children. From this perspective, the right to mental health is emerging as a distinct and fundamental right within contemporary international law, requiring both the development of existing norms and a reconceptualization of State responsibility in situations of armed conflict. |
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| Keywords: Right to Health, Children’s Mental Health, Armed Conflict, International State Responsibility, Human Dignity |
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Full-Text [PDF 743 kb]
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Type of Study: Original Article |
Received: 2026/03/30 | Accepted: 2026/05/3 | Published: 2026/07/23
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