Red Hand Day

Red Hand Day marks an international day to raise awareness of the plight of 250,000 child soldiers involved in armed conflicts around the world. Young people at Lisburn YMCA, Northern Ireland, took part in a project, together with Dublin YMCA, to raise awareness of the issue. On the 12th February - Red Hand Day - they set up a stall in the town centre and collected signatures from the general public for a petition calling on the government to challenge those countries who are signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which prohibits the direct participation of under 18s in armed conflict, yet are in flagrant violation of the Convention.