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SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 111
- Paragraph text
- In order to maximize the involvement of children in discussions and action on violence, the Special Representative is engaging additional experts on child participation and will further develop the child-friendly space on her website.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2010, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Yet, without good data, national planning is compromised, effective policymaking and resource mobilization are hampered, and targeted interventions are limited in their ability to prevent and combat violence against children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- [Vulnerabilities and risks faced by children who are internally displaced during armed conflict – addressing their rights]: The Guiding Principles assert that children, especially unaccompanied minors, as well as expectant mothers and mothers with young children, are “entitled to protection and assistance required by their condition and to treatment which takes into account their special needs” (Principle 4.2). The Principles also affirm the right of families to remain together and to be rapidly reunified (Principles 7 and 17); protection of children from sale into marriage, exploitation and forced labour (Principle 11); protection of children from recruitment or from taking part in hostilities (Principle 13); the right to documentation in their own names, including birth certificates (Principle 20); and the right to education, including the equal participation of girls (Principle 23).
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Sexual violence is often used to achieve military, political and social objectives through, for instance, the targeting of specific ethnicities or terrorizing populations to force displacement. Data indicate that children are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence in and around refugee and internally displaced population settings, and when they are directly associated with armed forces and groups. Child survivors of sexual violence suffer both physical and psychological consequences, which are often debilitating. This is particularly true for girls who have been raped or forced to "marry" combatants, as well as for their children born of rape.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In this regard, Security Council resolutions 1882 (2009) and 1888 (2009) challenge United Nations actors to put in place more rigorous monitoring and reporting mechanisms on sexual violence. Resolution 1882 (2009) advances monitoring practice by requiring the Secretary-General to list in his annual report on children and armed conflict parties who commit patterns of rape and other grave acts of sexual violence against children in contravention of international law. The Office of the Special Representative is in the process of developing templates, with the assistance of an international legal expert and former prosecutor of gender cases in the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, for action plans to ensure that parties that are listed will enter into agreements with the United Nations to prevent such violations, hold individuals accountable and take action to provide support to the victims.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Although these developments at the level of the General Assembly and Security Council represent critical and complementary advances, it is clear that action at the national level related to the prevention of and response to sexual violence is ultimately of paramount importance. Emphasis must be placed on the development and implementation of comprehensive national strategies to combat sexual violence, particularly in conflict situations and where children are more vulnerable. In this connection, United Nations organizations stand ready to provide technical support to national authorities in developing such strategies, and donors are encouraged to ensure that adequate resources are available for these efforts.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- In the previous report of the Special Representative to the General Assembly, concerns related to internally displaced children were highlighted and the report included an annex specifying the rights and guarantees for this vulnerable group (A/64/254, annex I). The Assembly acknowledged the guarantees in its resolution 64/162 on the protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons. These rights and guarantees include the principle of non-discrimination, the right to documentation, protection from violence and abuse, the right to essential services, and the requirement that when dealing with internally displaced children the best interest of the child must prevail.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In contemporary armed conflicts, children are increasingly the subject of targeted attacks, sexual violence and military recruitment. Many are forced to witness or even to take part in horrifying acts of violence. As a result, it is often difficult to assess whether a child is a victim or a perpetrator; depending on the child’s age and maturity and the forced nature of involvement, it may be both. Hence, in the search for justice for serious violations committed during armed conflict, children are often involved in justice processes in two different and opposite ways: on the one hand, children who have suffered grave violations seek justice for the violations of their rights; on the other, children having been forced by adults to perpetrate heinous crimes are being held accountable for their acts.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- [Accountability of children involved in armed conflict]: In a number of countries, truth and reconciliation commissions have been put in place as an alternative to prosecution and judicial trial for children accused of committing international crimes. Any such commission needs to take into consideration the prevailing view that child soldiers should be regarded primarily as victims rather than as perpetrators, and that the child’s best interests should be the primary concern. This does not mean that atrocities committed by child soldiers should be ignored or that the truth about their acts should not be established. However, commissions operate at their best for children when the purpose is to establish the truth rather than to make a finding of guilt or responsibility on the part of the child.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- [Accountability of children involved in armed conflict]: Traditional justice, aimed at the reintegration of child soldiers, can make a significant contribution to healing, recovery and reintegration. It may employ an array of measures, such as punishment, reparation, truth-telling, involving confession and absolution, and healing or cleansing ceremonies. Traditional justice can be most helpful in assisting reintegration where it focuses on re-establishing the child as a member of the community rather than relying upon punishment or public shaming. Restorative justice is very often the only way of bringing reconciliation to victims and perpetrators alike in a war-torn society where victims of offences suffer, as do child perpetrators, having been forced to commit offences.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- [Attacks on schools and hospitals: an emerging concern]: Attacks on schools and hospitals in armed conflict are widespread and are of increasing concern. Out of 22 country situations reported in the annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (A/65/820-S/2011/250), 15 referred to attacks on schools and hospitals. Apart from the direct and physical damage to schools and hospitals, incidents of closure of schools and hospitals as a result of threats and intimidation, as well as the military use of these civilian institutions, have been documented. In addition, schools are often used as recruiting grounds for children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- [Attacks on schools and hospitals: an emerging concern]: Armed conflict can either directly or indirectly result in the forced closure or the compromised functioning of civilian facilities. Children, teachers and health-care providers can be subject to direct threats and acts of intimidation by parties, which, for example, target Government institutions or medical personnel assisting the other party to the conflict. In other situations, armed elements are opposed to secular and/or girls’ education, or to girls being seen by male medical personnel. The delivery of health-care services to children is also heavily affected by lack of supplies and manpower caused by looting of the facilities and/or access constraints. A general climate of fear and insecurity as a result of armed hostilities can also prevent children, teachers and medical personnel from attending school or seeking medical help. Parents, for example, may find it too risky to send their children to school in a volatile security situation, or children may be denied timely access to hospitals because of checkpoints and roadblocks.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Little is known of the strategies used by armed actors to access children for these acts of violence. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that families are forced to hand over their children to take part in these actions, and there have also been cases of poor families being induced by armed groups to give their children away, through the promise of money. The use of very young children and/or disabled children for such acts is also a horrifying trend of grave concern. There is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap and to reach a better understanding of how these acts could be prevented. Concomitantly, there is a need to better address the stigmatization of, and prejudice against, children suspected of collaboration with armed actors, which lead to other violations including beatings, threats to children and their families, acts tantamount to torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions. In this context, particular attention must be given to young children, girls and disabled children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The detention and prosecution of children for crimes arising from active participation in hostilities should always be a measure of last resort. Many children who are charged with such crimes may themselves have been forced or enticed to join armed groups. During their association with an armed group, children are often abused, beaten, exploited and manipulated by commanders to commit criminal acts, ranging from minor security offences to war crimes. Although the need for some form of formal accountability is acknowledged, diversion from the judicial system is more suitable for children. Alternatives that take the best interest of the child into consideration and promote the reintegration of the child into his or her family and community include non-judicial mechanisms such as restorative justice measures, truth-telling, traditional healing ceremonies and reintegration programmes.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Perceptions of discrimination, social injustice, political exclusion and economic disparity are often motivating factors for children to join armed groups. Compounded with collective identity, defined often in ethnic, regional or religious terms, these perceptions become potent mobilizers of communities, including children. Loyalty to the group sometimes becomes a bargaining tool for armed groups, and members of the community are called upon to play their part and contribute their children to the struggle. Children are susceptible to these demands, not only as a result of social pressure or a sense of obligation, but also as a consequence of personal injustices suffered. When crimes against children are committed with impunity, many join armed groups motivated by a desire for revenge.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Efforts to strengthen the links between the work of the Security Council on children and armed conflict and its sanctions regime is an area of ongoing work. Targeted and graduated sanctions should be applied against persistent perpetrators as a measure of last resort, when all other means have failed to end impunity for crimes committed against children. In its most recent resolution on children and armed conflict (resolution 1998 (2011)), the Security Council reaffirmed its readiness, expressed in previous resolutions and presidential statements, to adopt targeted and graduated measures against persistent perpetrators of grave violations against children, and increasingly to integrate violations against children into its sanctions regimes.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that sustainable, long-term social and economic reintegration is the cornerstone for the durable separation of children from parties to armed conflict, the Special Representative urges donors to provide sustained and long-term support to reintegration in line with the Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups, including in the areas of education, vocational training and income-generating activities, as appropriate, and to support the financial aspects of the implementation of actions plans to end the recruitment and use, killing and maiming of and sexual violence against children, as well as attacks on schools and hospitals.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- [Reparations for children and the restoration of children’s rights]: The experiences of a significantly larger number of victims, and the loss and harm resulting from a wider range of violations, can be acknowledged and repaired through reparations programmes. Any decision on reparations should avoid an overly narrow definition of victims and their eligibility and not limit the violations allowing for reparations. It is important to include those victims who have not participated in court proceedings, maintaining an open list of applicants and conducting a series of registration periods. In deciding who is eligible for reparations, however, the limited human and financial resources must be taken into account. Priority should therefore be accorded to the immediate and direct victims of the crime and their families, including the victims of forced recruitment and the victims and families of the crimes committed by the armed group. Moreover, an assessment of the current needs of the victims is crucial as several years may have passed since the events took place.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- [Reparations for children and the restoration of children’s rights]: Reparations programmes should bear in mind that victims who were children at the time of the commission of the violation may face stigmatization or marginalization as former child soldiers or forced wives, leading to the social exclusion of, in particular, girl child soldiers. Community members may also resent former child soldiers, who they feel are being rewarded for having taken part in hostilities, thus reinforcing existing divisions. The child perpetrator dilemma tends to be confusing for both the child and those who may have been their victims. Reparations, however, could also assist in signalling that past modes of operation will no longer be tolerated and could contribute to dismantling the relationship between former commanders and their victims. A public statement by community leaders on the legal findings of responsibility, followed by an intensive awareness-raising campaign on the judgement and a declaration to the effect that child victims of recruitment should not be held legally or morally responsible for their actions as combatants during the conflict, would be the best guarantee of non-repetition.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- [Strengthening family and community protection mechanisms]: Establishing and strengthening community protection mechanisms and raising the awareness of families, communities and their leaders of the issue are other critical factors for prevention. Child protection and recruitment prevention policies are unlikely to work in contexts in which the community promotes the association of children with armed groups. Children are also most vulnerable to recruitment when family and community protection systems are weakened. In some contexts, children join armed groups because they are encouraged to do so by their families and/or communities. Domestic violence has also been found to be a central factor in the recruitment of children. Abusive families propel children on to the streets, where they are more vulnerable to recruitment, or directly into the ranks of an armed group. In Colombia, for example, the decision of children, mainly girls, to run away and join an armed group has been found to be closely linked to domestic exploitation and physical and sexual abuse.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- [Strengthening family and community protection mechanisms]: Communities can prevent the voluntary or forced association of children with armed forces and groups in several ways. Community-based child protection systems can warn of the threat of recruitment or rerecruitment. Where armed groups depend on the moral or material support of local people, community structures may be able to put pressure on local commanders to release children and provide support for their protection. Community figures such as elders and traditional leaders can also reach non-State parties to promote child protection commitments and prevent recruitment. In Afghanistan, for example, elders have in some cases reached agreements with local commanders to impede the recruitment of children. Community-based child protection systems can also help to reduce the overall vulnerability of children and provide special protection to children living and working in the streets, orphans and separated children, who are at particular risk of recruitment.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- [Strengthening family and community protection mechanisms]: Partnering with and building the capacity of local child protection systems requires a situation analysis of each country in order to identify the strengths of and gaps in child protection systems at both the national and community levels. Community-based child protection mechanisms have been found to be a highly diverse and adaptable approach to child protection in different contexts. In some situations, child protection mechanisms have sprung out of women’s associations and been engaged in collecting information on violations of children’s rights and in protecting children at particular risk of recruitment. Other community-led protection networks spring up spontaneously or are fostered by non-governmental organizations working with the community.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- [Strengthening family and community protection mechanisms]: A common challenge is the creation of linkages between local, community-based protection structures, on the one hand, and elements of the formal child protection system and Government services, on the other. Often, the existence of strong legal and policy frameworks notwithstanding, Government-led services are not filtering down to the communities. In extremely fragile contexts, the weakness of the State and its lack of control over all areas may be a factor accounting for gaps in Government services at the community level. In other contexts, it is a sign of insufficient priority and resources being accorded to the commitments made in the national framework. In the absence of formal mechanisms, community-led mechanisms often step in. These may include groups formed specifically for the purpose, such as child protection committees or community care coalitions, or they may simply consist of existing structures, such as women’s groups, faith-based organizations and other community associations that take on a role in protecting children. To be effective, these mechanisms need adequate funding, capacity and knowledge to deal with child protection issues.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- [Explosive weapons: an emerging concern]: Explosive weapons touch on four of the six grave violations against children and armed conflict, including killing or maiming. They are also used for direct and physical attacks on schools and hospitals, where they may result in forced closure or compromised functioning. Children recruited and used as suicide bombers and victim bombers both carry explosive weapons. In some country situations, children are denied humanitarian access because of the presence of explosive remnants of war. Recent developments in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, the Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic, where thousands of children have been killed and maimed, have confirmed the gravity of the issue.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Member States bear a central and immediate political, legal and moral responsibility for the protection of children and should comply with international law for the protection of children within their territories. The Rome Statute defined the recruitment and use of children in armed forces or armed groups as a war crime. Member States should enact the appropriate legislation to criminalize these violations and hold adult recruiters to account, including military commanders and political leaders, for both the crime of child recruitment and for the crimes that they forced children to commit. They should also take action against other grave violations against children through their national justice systems, including by bringing their laws into line with international obligations and by according priority to child protection capacity and training for the military, the police and law enforcement and judiciary officials in the context of national security sector reform efforts.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Explosive weapons with wide-area effect, such as multiple-launch rockets, high-explosive artillery, mortars, car bombs and other improvised explosive devices, are a particular cause for concern. In 2011, mortar and artillery shells, which are indiscriminate weapons traditionally used against massed infantry, killed and injured children in Libya, Somalia and the Syrian Arab Republic, among others. In Afghanistan and Iraq, there has been an increasing number of complex attacks involving the combination of two or more attacks on one target using explosive weapons by armed groups. These attacks, usually perpetrated against Government institutions, resulted in significant child casualties. Aerial bombardments and drone attacks in countries such as Pakistan and Yemen have also killed and injured children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The criminalization of underage recruitment and the domestication of international norms and standards against the recruitment and use of children are crucial first steps in the prevention of child soldiering. Setting the parameters of who can be lawfully recruited into armed forces and groups, and ensuring that those who do not abide by those parameters may receive punishment, is the basis for regulation. Effective criminalization can be hindered by amnesties and de facto immunities granted to members of armed forces suspected of serious human rights abuses and/or armed groups that will become part of a national army in the framework of a peace process. In developing legal provisions, care must be taken to ensure that amnesties are not applicable to individuals who recruited or recruit children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Where State institutions are weak, prevention must begin at the community level. Establishing and strengthening community protection mechanisms and raising the awareness of families, communities and their leaders of the issue are other critical factors for prevention. Child protection and recruitment prevention policies are unlikely to work in contexts in which the community promotes the association of children with armed groups. Children are also most vulnerable to recruitment when family and community protection systems are weakened. In some contexts, children join armed groups because they are encouraged to do so by their families and/or communities. Abusive family environments can also propel children on to the streets, where they are more vulnerable to recruitment, or directly into the ranks of an armed group. In Colombia, for example, the decision of children, mainly girls, to run away and join an armed group has been found to be closely linked to domestic exploitation and physical and sexual abuse.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Communities can prevent the voluntary or forced association of children with armed forces and groups in several ways. Community-based child protection systems can warn of the threat of recruitment or rerecruitment. Where armed groups depend on the moral or material support of the community, community structures may be able to put pressure on local commanders to release children and provide support for their protection. Community figures such as elders, traditional and/or religious leaders can also reach non-State parties to promote child protection commitments and prevent recruitment. In Afghanistan, for example, elders have in some cases reached agreements with local commanders to impede the recruitment of children and to stop attacks on schools. Community-based child protection systems can also help to reduce the overall vulnerability of children and provide special protection to children living and working in the streets, orphans and separated children, who are at particular risk of recruitment.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Partnering with and building the capacity of local child protection systems requires a situation analysis of each country in order to identify the strengths of and gaps in child protection systems at both the national and community levels. Community-based child protection mechanisms have been found to be a highly diverse and adaptable approach to child protection in different contexts. In some situations, child protection mechanisms have sprung out of women’s associations and have been engaged in collecting information on violations of children’s rights and in protecting children at particular risk of recruitment. Other community-led protection networks spring up spontaneously or are fostered by non-governmental organizations working with the community.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph