Throughout the entire history of humanity, children have been playing various roles in international politics. However, the roles that children play in the politics of war and peace have changed with the change of ideas that adults have about the value and vulnerability of childhood. Childhood is not only a biological category, but also a socio-cultural construction. In today’s world where ideological power of ideas such as democracy and freedom slowly fade, the child has become the new symbol of liberal values and a motive for action of the Western world. Childhood can be used as an instrument and as an object of international security policy. The political capital of children is exploited through their indirect involvement in political and war propaganda in which they act as: symbols of national identity, political currencies, icon of war, peace zone, means of ideological indoctrination, etc. Children are mediums through which adult perception and motivation is formed. However, children are also directly involved in armed conflicts every day, either as victims or as perpetrators. Thus, childhood becomes an object of international security. It is estimated that around three hundred and fifty million children live in conflict zones, more than eleven million children are currently in refugee camps around the world, while three hundred thousand serve as child-soldiers. The evolution of so-called new wars, followed by the trend of proliferation of armed groups, privatization of violence, and shifting of war goals from political to economic sphere, has enabled even more intense exploitation of children in conflicts. Great efforts have been made to create effective international legal protection for children. However, various contradictions in international law and mismatch with national legal systems make us wonder whether effective international child protection is even possible.