Attachments
Conference report, Wednesday 23 – Friday 23 March 2012
Summary and key points
Representatives of civil society organisations working with children in countries affected by armed conflict; representatives from across the United Nations system, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict; representatives of governments in both the global south and north, including the current Chair of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict; academics and legal experts met to take stock of progress on the issue of children affected by armed conflict, identify emerging challenges and develop ideas for moving the agenda forward.
Key issues discussed include:
• the significant progress made over the last ten years for the protection of children affected by armed conflict and the need to guard, build and advance on these gains, including through the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict and the work of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict;
• future challenges to which the children and armed conflict agenda must respond, include: identifying effective measures to hold persistent perpetrators to account, including greater use of targeted measures; increased engagement with local level actors and local values and cultures; greater focus on tackling the root causes of conflict and harm to children in situations of conflict; responding to the changing nature of what children face in today’s conflicts; and better addressing the long-term nature of the impacts of conflict;
• the role of the ‘continuum of protection’ in responding to children and armed conflict in order to address children’s protection needs pre-, during and post-conflict, including: the role of different actors in this continuum; the centrality of a systems approach to child protection; and the need for a greater focus on all children living in situations of conflict, not simply those associated with armed groups; and
• the role of children in promoting peace and enhancing stability pre- and post-conflict.