Children in Armed Conflict

This checklist for mediators and those involved in negotiating peace terms will assist in ensuring that child protection is represented in the language of peace agreements. Acknowledging the significance of incorporating children early on in the peace process, this source provides guidance on the effective release and reintegration of child soldiers and integrating the six grave violations against children during armed conflict into transitional justice mechanisms to end impunity and ensure children's access to justice. It also outlines the role of former child soldiers in the transition to peace as primarily victims who must be reintegrated into society with long-term support rather than other armed group members who may be integrated into the regular armed forces.

This case example is a complementary resource to the "Children in Armed Conflict Accountability Framework". It demonstrates the practical application of the Framework in Colombia. This is the second in a series of case examples by Conflict Dynamics International to demonstrate how individuals and organizations working in child protection, justice, peacebuilding, and other fields can apply the CAC Accountability Framework in a specific context. The information presented in this case example is intended to illustrate the practical application of the Framework in the context of Colombia. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive review of the state of accountability for serious violations of international law committed against children in armed conflict in Colombia. This tool is also available in Spanish in this database and on the webpage above "CAC Accountability Framework".

Este ejemplo de caso es un recurso complementario del "Marco de Rendición de Cuentas frente a los Niños, las Niñas y los Jóvenes Afectados por los Conflictos Armados: Un marco para la promoción de la rendición de cuentas a las violaciones graves cometidas contra los niños, las niñas y los jóvenes afectados por los conflictos armados" (“Marco de Rendición de Cuentas sobre NNJ”), que muestra la aplicación práctica del Marco de Rendición de Cuentas sobre NNJ en Colombia. Ésta es la segunda de las series de ejemplos de casos por la Conflict Dynamics International que muestra cómo las personas y las organizaciones trabajan en la protección de la niñez y la juventud, la justicia, la consolidación de la paz, y otros campo pueden aplicar al Marco de Rendición de Cuentas sobre NNJ en un contexto específico.

This case example is a complementary resource to the "Children in Armed Conflict Accountability Framework". It demonstrates the practical application of the Framework in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This is the first in a series of case examples by Conflict Dynamics International to demonstrate how individuals and organizations working in child protection, justice, peacebuilding, and other fields can apply the CAC Accountability Framework in a specific context. This tool is also available in French in this database and on the webpage above "CAC Accountability Framework".

Cet exemple de cas constitue un complément au «Cadre relatif à l’obligation redditionnelle afférente aux enfants dans les conflits armés : Un Cadre pour la promotion de l’obligation redditionnelle pour violations graves commises contre les enfants en période de conflit armé (ECA) » (« Le Cadre relatif à l’obligation redditionnelle ECA »). Il présente l’application pratique du Cadre relatif à l’obligationredditionnelle ECA en République démocratique du Congo (RDC). Il s’agit de la première d’une série d’exemples de cas réalisées par Conflict Dynamics International afin d’illustrer la façon dont les personnes et les organisations travaillant dans les secteurs de la protection de l’enfant, la justice, la consolidation de la paix et autres domaines peuvent appliquer le Cadre relatif à l’obligation redditionnelle ECA dans un contexte précis.

This Framework is a practical resource that promotes accountability for serious violations of international law committed against children in armed conflict (CAC). It responds to the significant gap that exists in preventing and remedying these serious violations - and is designed to assist policymakers and practitioners working at all levels to bridge this gap. It provides individuals and organizations working in child protection, justice, peacebuilding, and related fields with a comprehensive definition and structure for understanding CAC accountability and practical guidance for developing well-informed, context-specific, and feasible options for advancing CAC accountability.

This resource provides an overview of the UN's Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM), which documents the six grave violations perpetrated against children in situations of armed conflict. It aims to provide tools for non-governmental organizations participating in the MRM to mainstream their engagement. Tools include guiding questions, checklists, self-assessments and sample language. The resource also considers case studies from the Gaza Strip, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Colombia.

The checklist is intended to provide guidance and increase understanding for OSCE field staff and other OSCE actors working on displacement and protection in the conflict cycle. Throughout the resource, consideration is given to children in conflict and displacement. Stages in the conflict cycle include early warning and prevention, crisis management in acute conflict, conflict management in protracted conflict, and post-conflict transition and rehabilitation.

This resource examines including children and youth in outreach programming for transitional justice measures. It provides components and structural approaches to planning outreach programs and addresses issues such as security and protection, psychosocial support, and coordination with external actors. The appendix includes a sample image release form and UNICEF Principles for Ethical Reporting on Children.

This resource outlines an ethical approach to participatory assessment with refugee children and adolescents and provides guidelines on conducting participatory workshop. Part of UNHCR’s tool for participatory assessment in operations, it was developed to provide guidance on suitable ways to specifically engage with girls and boys. Included are several participatory workshop methods, a participation and protection checklist, and sample activities.

This short video is intended to share steps to establishing complaints and response mechanism (CRM). It features the Complaints and Response Mechanisms (CRM) Pilot in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya in 2011. Complaints handling is part of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) Standard for accountability and quality management.

This resource provides guidance on creating a complaints and response mechanism (CRM) in a child-friendly manner. Using a pilot case study from Ifo Camp, Dabaab, North Eastern Kenya, this resource provides information on setting up a CRM, awareness raising, recording complaints, challenges, and lessons learned. The annex includes a stakeholder mapping tools used during their consultations with children.

This resource is intended to inform the work of child protection advocates and organizations, legal experts and other professionals in their efforts to protect the rights of children involved in truth and reconciliation processes. It includes emerging good practices and recommended procedures for children’s participation in truth commissions. The annex also provides model checklists for taking statements from children and model memorandum-of-understanding (MOU) agreements between truth commissions and child protection agencies.

Intended for Save the Children staff at headquarters and field offices who work on children’s participation, this resource provides practice standards, a toolkit of activities, and guiding questions for planning participation activities. This resource also provides guides to including children in advocacy and campaigning, fundraising, media and communications, recruitment, governance, and emergencies.

This two-page fact sheet describes transitional justice; where it came from and how it is used as a response to systematic or widespread violations of human rights. The aims of transitional justice will vary depending on the context but these features are constant: the recognition of the dignity of individuals; the redress and acknowledgment of violations; and the aim to prevent them happening again. Transitional justice is often approached in the following forms: criminal prosecutions, truth seeking/fact finding, reparations, reforms. More information is also available on the International Center for Transitional Justice website: https://www.ictj.org/about/transitional-justice

Intended for those who work with Christian Children’s Fund programs, this resource aims to strengthen child and youth involvement. It discusses preparing a child friendly enabling environment and consulting, planning and implementing programs with children and young people. The appendices provide tools and activities to engage children and youth.

Developed in collaboration with UN agencies, government, and non-governmental and community-based organizations, this resource sets out the process for developing a standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) in various stages of an emergency. An SOP template is available beginning on page 7.

Chapter 11 of this resource examines protection of persons with specific needs in a camp setting, including boys and girls, youth, women, and persons with disabilities. Each chapter includes a checklist for a camp management agency and a list of tools. This resource also considers camp issues such as participation and community involvement, protection, gender-based violence, education, and livelihoods.

This resource provides an overview of the legal standards and responsibilities to protect women and girls. It discusses issues such as displacement, prevention, reintegration, participation in peacebuilding processes, and the administration of justice during displacement for formal, traditional, and transitional mechanisms. Chapter 6 provides an overview of the international and regional legal framework. This resource is intended for UNHRC staff, both at headquarters and in the field, and protection partners.

This resource considers commitments and obligations for children’s civil rights and civic engagement in East Asia and the Pacific. It aims to strengthen children’s civil rights and provides guidance on capacities, structures, and resources needed to strengthen children’s civil rights. The annex includes a checklist to assess children’s citizenship and civil rights at the national level. This resource is intended for decision-makers at the national level and service providers to realize civil rights for children.

This resource provides a practical guide for implementing effective reparations programs. It focuses on establishing out-of-court reparations programs to redress gross and serious violations of human rights in conflict settings. It also examines kinds of benefits, financing reparations, linking with other justice measures, and making programs gender-sensitive.

Section 5 of this resource focuses on psychosocial support for children in emergencies. It includes materials necessary for a two day training course on psychosocial support for children in an emergency. Documents include a training schedule, worksheets, handouts, and exercises.

Prepared for UNICEF staff working to assist children and women in emergencies, this resource assists in identifying and prioritizing needs of children and designing and implementing interventions in unstable environments. It covers topics such as education, children separated from families, protecting the rights of the child, internally displaced children and women, child combatants, and juvenile justice.

This resource provides guidance on vetting in post-conflict settings. It includes an overview of factors that determine a vetting process, designing a vetting process, different types of vetting, and other relevant institutional reforms. The annex includes a vetting checklist, a capacity and integrity framework, and relevant conventions and codes for vetting in security and judicial sectors.

This resource aims to provide guidance to program managers and researchers on collecting information from and about young people on their health and social welfare conditions, as well as those who have experienced trafficking, abuse, or displacement. It considers basic ethical principles regarding children’s participation. The annex includes a sample survey and consent form.

This resource is intended to assist field staff design gender-based violence (GBV) services and GBV legal aid using a participatory approach. Intended for actors in the humanitarian, justice, and security sector, this toolkit provides a preliminary assessment tool, action planning worksheets, and guidelines and indicators on monitoring and evaluating gender-based violence programs.

Developed by the IASC Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, this resource details steps taken when NGO staff or UN agency staff are suspected of sexual exploitation and abuse of women or children. Intended to build a consistent approach across all agencies, this resource provides an overview of complaints mechanisms, investigation guidelines, and interviewing witnesses and victims. Interview guidelines pay special attention to interviewing children.

Intended for staff in emergency situations, this resource focuses on the prevention of gender-based violence in emergency field operations. It includes Save the Children’s programming framework, principles, and process. Section III on page 9 provides an overview of international legal and policy instruments. Page 46 includes an implementation checklist.

This resource provides a thematic overview of key child protection concerns, including international law and policy instruments, and guidance on programming in emergencies. The appendix includes sample forms and assessment questions. The annex includes sample forms to use with separated children and assessment questions.