
Our Top Weekend Reads
Great-power politics in Nagorno-Karabakh, the children of the Islamic State, and the meaning of Moldova’s election result.

Will Schools and Universities Ever Return to Normal?
Nine experts on the future of education after the pandemic.

The United Nations Isn’t Jeopardizing Children in Conflict Zones. It’s Protecting Them.
Shaming violators alone won’t stop the use of child soldiers and other human rights abuses. Defending children’s rights requires engagement with governments and armed groups.

The U.N. Secretary-General Is Letting Powerful Countries Get Away With Killing Kids
By removing Saudi Arabia and other serial violators of children’s human rights from the annual list of shame, António Guterres is weakening one of the U.N.’s most effective accountability mechanisms.

The World’s Mothers Are Watching Ever More Babies Die of Starvation
Malnutrition is passed from one generation to the next between mother and child—unless someone commits to stopping the deadly cycle.

In Syria, the Women and Children of ISIS Have Been Forgotten
Leaving thousands of detained Islamic State supporters and their families in poorly guarded camps poses a national security threat for Europe and the United States.

Endless Conflict in Afghanistan Is Driving a Mental Health Crisis
A generation of Afghans came of age amid relentless violence. Saturday’s election offers little hope for help.

Nigeria’s Child Veterans Are Still Living a Nightmare
The war against Boko Haram saw kids drafted by both sides. Now they need assistance and a post-conflict future.

The Dark Legacy of China’s One-Child Policy
On the podcast: The filmmaker Nanfu Wang tells the harrowing story of her own family’s one-child ordeal.

How to Fix the Baby Bust
The relationship among birthrates, gender norms, and work culture is more complicated than you think.

The Kids Aren’t Alright
In an era of great power competition, China and Russia are closing the gap with the United States when it comes to child welfare.

Children Are Paying the Price for Afghanistan’s Endless War
As schools become targets, young Afghans are living and working on the streets — and the government isn’t doing much to protect them.

Trump Is Playing Chicken With Children’s Lives
The U.S. child welfare system is strained to its limits. Family separation could push it over the edge.

The Right to Kill
Should Brazil keep its Amazon tribes from taking the lives of their children?

U.S. Diplomats Stuck in Medical Limbo
State Department officials with special needs children face a byzantine bureaucracy that often denies them critical care.

Seven Years of Syrian Civil War, Through the Eyes of Refugee Children
Photographer Chris de Bode interviewed 7-year-old refugees to mark the seventh year of the Syrian civil war.

U.S. Pushes Back Against U.N. Anti-Violence Resolutions
Wary of creeping international law, U.S. diplomats fight a rearguard action to limit the scope of two U.N. resolutions on women and children.

Putin’s Next Target Is Russia’s Abortion Culture
The Russian president is worried about his country’s shrinking population. His social-conservative allies say they have the solution.

The Trump Administration Has Failed its First Test on Child Soldiers
The State Department’s latest Trafficking in Persons Report only enables serial abusers.