New Delhi (NVI): Millennials see catastrophic war as a real likelihood in their lifetime. In fact, most millennials surveyed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) believe war is more likely to happen than a nuclear attack in the next decade.
A survey of more than 16,000 people in 16 countries and territories was conducted last year explored millennials’ views on conflict, the future of warfare and the values underpinning international humanitarian law, such as the use of torture against enemy combatants.
The results indicate that millennials are nervous about the future, and heightened increasing tensions globally are likely to deepen these fears. 47% of the respondents think they might witness a 3rd World War in their lifetime.
“This kind of foreboding may reflect an increase in polarization and dehumanizing rhetoric,” said ICRC President Peter Maurer. “If millennials are right about a 3rd World War, the suffering of countries and regions will be immense. It’s a reminder of how critical it is that the laws of war that protect humanity are followed now and even in the future.”
Encouragingly, 74% of the respondents also believe that wars are avoidable, and nearly the same number (approx 75%) think that limits must be imposed on how wars are fought.
However, the numbers also showed that the people experiencing the war makes them hate the war. In Syria, 98% said it’s never acceptable to use nuclear weapons, 96% said it’s never acceptable to use chemical weapons and so on.
“When you see your friends and family suffer the horrors of warfare, you want absolutely nothing to do with the weapons of war,” Maurer said.
People in war-affected countries are more likely to believe that there will be fewer or no wars in the future, compared to respondents from countries at peace (46 percent vs 30 percent). The responses from countries at war also held a high degree of hope – 69 percent of respondents in Ukraine believe the war in their country is likely to end in the next five years.
Although major concerns of millennials not only includes nuclear weapons, corruption, unemployement, increasing poverty and terrorism issues also topped the list.
Respondents also feel that addressing mental health needs of victims of conflict is just as important as addressing food, water, and shelter.
75% millennials think that 70 years after the creation of the Geneva Conventions, there remains a need to impose limits on the ways wars can be fought.
The ‘Millennials on War’ survey was commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross and carried out by Ipsos. Interviews were conducted among adults aged between 20 to 35 living in countries like Afghanistan, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Russia, South Africa, Syria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and the United States.
