Almost half of all millennials think it’s more likely than not there will be a third world war in their lifetime, a new Red Cross survey finds.
That’s the result of a global survey of 16,000 millennials on their attitudes to war, conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). An Australian Red Cross survey conducted in parallel found war and climate change top Australians’ list of global concerns.
Yvette Zegenhagen, Head of International Humanitarian Law at Australian Red Cross, said it was revealing that Australians of all ages think that the most important issues faced by the world are war and climate change; more critical than unemployment, healthcare and terrorism.
The ICRC ‘Millennials on War’ report is a snapshot of the top concerns of millennials surveyed in 16 countries and territories at peace and at war around the world. Seven countries surveyed were experiencing armed conflict, including Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Colombia. Nine peacetime countries surveyed included the United States, United Kingdom and France.
“Our global survey reveals that millennials are nervous about their future and see cataclysmic war as a real likelihood in their lifetime,” said Yves Daccord, Director-General of the ICRC. “It is very concerning that almost half of all millennials think it’s more likely than not that there will be a third world war in their lifetime.”
An overwhelming number of Australians surveyed also said that there is a need to impose limits on the way wars are fought, suggesting strong support for the values which help the Red Cross around the world to protect and assist victims of war and armed violence.
Ms Zegenhagen said it was heartening that more than three in five Australians believe that the laws of war, underpinned by the Geneva Conventions, reduce suffering in armed conflicts.
“The global results show that the majority (54%) of millennials think that the Geneva Conventions reduce suffering in war. Our survey results also confirm that Australians demonstrate even greater commitment to these values, with three out of five (59%) millennials believing that the laws of war make a difference and reduce suffering,” she said.
