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SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Purely military and security approaches have not proved effective in addressing extreme violence; prevention must be a key component of response strategies. Extreme violence does not occur in a vacuum, which is why it is necessary, as a first step to finding a lasting solution, to identify and address its root causes and catalysts, such as poverty, lack of good governance, political grievances, the alienation of communities and lack of opportunities for youth. Action is required by the international community, regional organizations and individual Member States to mobilize resources to build resilience and strengthen protective environments for children. In countries affected by conflict, education is one tool that can help to prevent social exclusion and promote respect for human rights, peace and diversity, and reduce the vulnerability of children. In addition, the effective reintegration of children associated with armed groups is crucial. Indoctrination and trauma from exposure to extreme violence can increase the complexity of reintegrating children into their former communities. In addition, a new and compounding challenge for Member States is the regular use, by groups perpetrating extreme violence, of propaganda on the Internet and social media to recruit youth and 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
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- [Empowering children through education, skills and livelihood opportunities]: Ensuring children’s access to education is itself a powerful means of protecting them from becoming involved with armed forces or groups in conflict-affected countries or fragile situations. If children attend school, they are busy and less likely to join armed forces or groups because they have other alternatives. In contrast, a lack of access to education leads many young people to see military training as their only opportunity to learn. In situations of armed conflict, when the protective function of schools is most required, schools often become targets for attacks. The use of schools for military purposes equally reduces the likelihood of children attending school, and thus may increase the likelihood of voluntary association of children with armed groups. All stakeholders must therefore ensure that schools are protected. Measures that field-based practitioners in conflict settings have used to prevent schools from being attacked include physical protection, community involvement in protection of schools, alternative delivery of education, negotiations with stakeholders to make schools conflict-free zones, restrictions on the military and political use of schools, and advocacy initiatives.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2014, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Partnerships between concerned Governments, donor countries, the United Nations and civil society must encompass all phases of post-conflict intervention, from recovery to peacebuilding and development. The reintegration needs of children separated from armed forces or groups should be increasingly reflected in peacebuilding strategies with a view to making children and youth programming a foundation for durable peace.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Children constitute the majority of the population in many conflict and post-conflict societies. Conflict destroys social capital and disrupts the development of children and youth, thus acting as a powerful factor of exclusion. Once a conflict has ceased, the lack of educational and socioeconomic opportunities can fuel a legacy of violence and contribute to a relapse into conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 71b
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to the prevention of the recruitment and use of children, the Special Representative calls upon relevant Member States:] To develop prevention strategies, including through the provision of formal and/or informal education services to children and young people, in addition to the establishment of job-creation and income-generation programmes;
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- [Empowering children through education, skills and livelihood opportunities]: Ensuring children’s access to education is itself a powerful means of reducing the risk of joining armed forces or groups in conflict-affected countries or fragile situations. Research has suggested that, in some contexts, the higher the level of education received, the less likely a child is to mobilize voluntarily. If children attend school, they are less likely to join armed forces or groups because they have other alternatives. In contrast, a lack of access to education leads many young people to see military training as their only opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. In situations of armed conflict, when the protective function of schools is most required, schools often become targets for attacks. The use of schools for military purposes equally reduces the likelihood of children attending school. All stakeholders must therefore ensure that schools are protected. Measures that field-based practitioners in conflict settings have used to prevent schools from being attacked include physical protection, community involvement in protection of schools, alternative delivery of education, negotiations with stakeholders to make schools zones of peace, restrictions on the military and political use of schools, and advocacy initiatives.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative encourages national and international partners to focus on developing national capacity for the establishment of community structures to protect children, economic stabilization and the creation of livelihood opportunities, including youth-oriented employment strategies and programmes. Coordinated and holistic interventions are required to build effective and accountable institutions that provide people, in particular children and young people, with education, security, justice and jobs.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Measures to address the structural causes of child recruitment must tackle social exclusion and provide children and youth with education and socioeconomic alternatives. At the national level, measures to reintegrate children must be systematically included in broader recovery and development strategies. The economic dimensions of preventing the recruitment of children and reintegrating them into society need to figure prominently in the peacebuilding, recovery and development agenda of international agencies and bilateral donors.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Addressing the structural causes of fragility to escape "conflict traps" can be achieved only if a country's long-term recovery efforts include priorities for the successful rehabilitation of the lives of conflict-affected children and young people. While there are several reasons why children join armed forces and groups, poverty a lack of education and limited socioeconomic opportunities have been recognized as an important factor for children's association with armed forces and groups in conflict-affected and fragile countries.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Member States should accord priority to funding the strengthening of community-based child protection mechanisms as a critical measure in preventing child recruitment and linking community-based protection systems to formal child protection systems. Children and young people should be provided with alternatives through high-quality education, both formal and non-formal, and national programmes for job creation and income generation for young people should be the main priorities in national prevention strategies.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Studies suggest that there is a strong correlation between a disproportionately large youth population and civil strife. While demographics alone do not instigate conflict, systematically engaging and targeting young people as the beneficiaries of development programmes, particularly in countries with a youth bulge, could mitigate the risk. The need to promote youth employment and the development of skills among young people during peacetime and in post-conflict periods must be an important component of reconstruction and development strategies.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Member States are urged to ensure that child protection concerns, including support for reintegration efforts and youth employment, are also explicitly reflected in relevant peacebuilding mandates and in the work of the Peacebuilding Commission through its country configurations.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The emphasis on institutional reform introduces a number of new issues such as the importance of working with educational experts and officials, the need to undertake legal reform and the urgency of creating economic opportunities for children and young people.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In a particularly important milestone in the reporting period, all Member States concerned by the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign have now concluded a formal written commitment with the United Nations to end the recruitment and use of children in their security forces. In March, the Government of the Sudan signed its action plan; high-level and technical committees have been established to facilitate and coordinate the action plan's implementation. In 2016, progress has also been ongoing in other countries concerned by the campaign. For example, the Government of Afghanistan endorsed age assessment guidelines for use in recruitment processes for its national defence and security forces. The Democratic Republic of the Congo continued to make progress to address the remaining gaps to prevent the recruitment of children into the country's armed forces, including by realizing most of the goals of the 2015 road map that had been developed to expedite the implementation of the action plan. In Myanmar, 101 children and young people recruited as children were released from the army and reintegrated into their communities during the reporting period. Regrettably, the high levels of conflict intensity in Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen had a detrimental impact on children and continued to hamper progress on existing action plans. Despite positive developments in most countries concerned by the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign, gaps nevertheless remain in almost all of these countries as regards ensuring systematic prevention and accountability in relation to the recruitment and use of children. Those gaps are outlined in the most recent report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (see A/70/836-S/2016/360).
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Girls are also significantly affected by recruitment and use, with some estimates indicating that as many as 40 per cent of children associated with armed forces or armed groups are female. In addition to the use of girls in support functions, for sexual purposes or to be forced into marriage, they are also used for combat and to commit violent acts. For example, in a particularly grave example, in Nigeria in 2016, girls were increasingly being forced by Boko Haram to be suicide bombers, and were used for the purpose of avoiding detection by security personnel. Although the advocacy that has taken place since the Machel study has led to increased recognition of the plight of girls associated with parties to conflict, they still face significant obstacles in the process of being released and separated from parties to conflict. For example, it was noted in a recent report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo that out of the 1,004 children who had escaped or been separated from one armed group between 2009 and 2014, only 19 girls had been documented. While there was a significant number of young girls present in camps who were allegedly used as wives, concubines, cooks, and combatants in the ranks, male members of the group claimed that these girls were their daughters. In the light of this repudiation of their role, girls are often less visible and are frequently neglected in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes. When their role is recognized, societal factors have an impact, as girls are sometimes reluctant to join disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, fearing rejection by their families and communities. Further action is required in order to raise awareness of the needs of girls in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes and also of the risks that they face after separation from armed groups, with special attention needing to be given to their reintegration into families and communities.
- 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
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Prevention must complement any legal or military action to counteract extreme violence. Action is required by the international community, regional organizations and individual Member States to mobilize resources to build resilience and strengthen protective environments for children. Identifying and addressing the root causes and catalysts of extremism, such as poverty and the alienation of communities, is a necessary first step in the effort to find a lasting solution. Extremist groups also regularly recruit young people and children from around the world using propaganda on the Internet and social media. This is a new and compounding challenge, and is complex for Member States to address. The Special Representative notes that attention should be given to the recruitment networks of extremist groups, with the aim of preventing the recruitment of children in the first place. Education is one tool that can reduce the appeal of extremist groups and help to prevent social exclusion and promote respect for human rights, peace and diversity.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2014, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative is particularly pleased to note the efforts of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to increase access among refugees and internally displaced persons to education, even in the emergency phases of its operations. The UNHCR focus on access to education as a protection tool to prevent forced recruitment, sexual violence, child labour and early or forced marriages is a step in the right direction. With 51 million persons under its mandate, UNHCR has gone a long way, alongside host authorities, to ensure that education brings a brighter future for young people in difficult circumstances.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- [Empowering children through education, skills and livelihood opportunities]: The recruitment of children into armed forces or groups has been documented as being often closely connected to poverty and social disadvantage. Poverty, often combined with social exclusion, has been found to stir the frustration of young people and create incentives for them to join armed groups. In many post-conflict societies, young people have little choice but to remain unemployed or accept short-term and exploitative work. Accordingly, providing children and young people with alternatives through high-quality education, both formal and non-formal, and national programmes for job creation and income generation for young people should be top priorities in national prevention strategies. Donor agencies should also accord priority to work in this regard. Food security and livelihood measures, tailored to the specific economic context, together with cultural and psychosocial support activities, can also contribute to preventing the recruitment and the rerecruitment of children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- [Empowering children through education, skills and livelihood opportunities]: Evidence from armed conflicts suggests that there is a strong association between recruitment into armed forces or groups, on the one hand, and poverty and social disadvantage, on the other. Poverty, often combined with social exclusion, has been found to stir the frustration of young people and create incentives to join armed groups. In many post-conflict societies, young people have little choice but to remain unemployed or accept short-term and exploitative work. Accordingly, providing children and young people with alternatives through high-quality education, both formal and non-formal, and national programmes for job creation and income generation for young people should be top priorities in national prevention strategies. Food security and livelihood measures, tailored to the specific economic context, together with cultural and psychosocial support activities, can also contribute to preventing the recruitment and the rerecruitment of children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- The weak writ of the State, particularly in peripheral areas, is another contributing factor to conflict and has played a role in exposing children to violence. Where the State is challenged in its ability to provide security, deliver basic social services, adjudicate on grievances and facilitate economic activity, local communities turn to alternative forms of authority. Traditional governance structures and/or justice mechanisms, may take precedence over weak statutory institutions. However, traditional governance structures are often not underpinned by the normative standards and protection mechanisms facilitated by the State. Where conflict is occurring, local communities also often form self-defence groups and frequently enlist young children in the community to fight and defend them against external threats.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
20 shown of 20 entities