UNOY Summer school 2009
Children’s rights at stake: participation of children and young
people in peacebuilding
Session outline
1. Impact of armed conflict on children and young people
2. Connecting the Culture of Peace with Children’s rights: Participation
3. Case Uganda: Participation - How do children and young people contribute to peace?
Debate
Statement
Adults are more able to contribute to peace than children and young people.
1. Impact on children and young people
Machel Review
• 33 countries / territories• 1 billion children < 18 affected• 300 million < 5 • 6 million refugee children• 9 million internally displaced
children
• Machel Review Study video
Quote
“Whoever wins the war, children are always the losers and their lost childhood never comes back.”
Quote
“I can help bring peace in Northern Uganda if only my views are heard and acted upon. I don’t hold a gun anymore; I hold the power of my voice.
When visitors come to see us in the centers they normally ask us about our experiences and how we managed to escape… But, they should also be asking us how we can participate in the peace process ourselves because we also fought in the war.”
Six ‘gravest’ violations
UN Resolution 1612
1. Killing and maiming of children2. Recruiting and using children3. Attacks on schools and hospitals4. Rape and other forms of sexual violence 5. Abduction6. Denying humanitarian access
Northern Uganda conflict: Impact on Children’s rights
Affected populations pyramid
From IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings
• Psycho trauma, PTSDSpecialised
services
Focused,non-specialised supports
Community and family supports
Basic services and security• Resilient individuals
Machel Review
Strategic review of Graca Machel study: Impact of Armed Conflict on Children (1996)
“Although we have made advances, especially in developing a solid framework of norms and standards, much more must be done to ensure compliance, to fight impunity and to protect children’s rights.”
Machel Review (cont.)
All peacemaking and peacebuilding processes should be child-sensitive, including through
• specific provisions in peace agreements, • the participation of children in those processes and • the prioritization of resources
Adult’s War and Young Generation’s Peace
International research and evaluation, covering 4 countries
Children• Have a holistic understanding of
peace• Identify all factors involved in
conflict• Are able to connect individual
and collective aspects • Identify key stakeholders• Know their own situation best
Adult’s War and Young Generation’s Peace (cont.)
Recommendation One:• Key adult institutions and actors should undertake increased
efforts to ensure children’s rights and children’s voices are included in peace processes, peace agreements, and other political processes affecting children.
Recommendation Two:• Key adult institutions and actors should undertake more
systematic efforts to promote and support meaningful, sustainable children’s participation processes, including support to child led peace initiatives, and child led organisations.
Seen, but Not Heard
The reality is that children, their families, and their communities are first to be impacted by a lack of security.
Children and youth may be seen everywhere, but they remain largely invisible on the security agenda.
And although the children and youth of today are tomorrow’s leaders, their voices are generally not heard.
Seen, but Not Heard (cont.)
• Children are active agents in their own lives and in their own development, with positive contributions to make, whether to post-conflict peacebuilding or tackling street violence.
• Their energy, enthusiasm and creativity needs to be harnessed and tapped for the positive contribution that they can make to society.
2. Connecting the Culture of peace with Children’s rights
• Theory• Programming practice
How do children and young people contribute to peace?
What could you think of?
Culture of Peace andChildren’s rights
• Knowledge– Learn to know
• Values– Learn to be
• Skills– Learn to live together
• Action– Learn to do
• Awareness– Children have rights
• Beliefs– Children are actors
• Practices– Children can participate
• Systems– Children’s best interests are
considered
Machel Review “Youth demand action”
• We want our rights to be respected.• We want justice and to be safe from violence.• We want to learn.• We want to be healthy.• We want jobs and a means to survive.• We want more support and care for the excluded
and forgotten.• We just want to be children.• We want to participate.
What is the UN Convention on the rights of the child?
• 1989/1990• A Holistic Framework covering Economic/Social/Cultural, and
Political/Civil Rights … more “complete” than any other human rights instrument
• Defines rights that cut across cultural, religious and other frontiers
• Almost Universal Ratification … 192/194 … the most of any Human Rights Instrument, highly “legitimising”
Why a UN Convention on the rights of the child?
• Children not always accepted as holders of rights and actors in their own lives – sometimes as “possessions” of parents or communities
• Children have specific needs relating to their childhoods in contrast to adults … the special nature of childhood recognised in the UDHR, children’s evolving capacities in UNCRC
• Children, being “voiceless” have been relatively “invisible”• Children often do not have the capacity to protect
themselves, from abuse, from exploitation• Children’s rights were “scattered” over other HR instruments
Categories of Children’s rightsSurvival Rights: - rights to life, and needs basic to a child’s existence
Development Rights: - things children need to achieve their full potential
Protection Rights: safeguards children are entitled to against all forms of neglect, abuse, exploitation
Participation Rights: rights that allow children to take part in affairs that affect their livesAccountability: rights that allow children to know that their rights are being fulfilled
Common perspective on children• Sees children (especially small children) as passive, vulnerable and helpless,
• Views adults as the norm and sees childhood as a period of becoming, (of being in transition to adulthood)
• Holds that adults “know” and assume what is best for children
• Follows “trickle down theory” implying that children benefit automatically from benefits that reach their families
• Bases models of children and childhood in development projects on social science research based on “Western” centred development psychology and pedagogy
• Tends to overlook gender and other dimensions (class, disability, ethnicity, etc.)
• Emphasises children's needs rather than children's rights
Participation: life cycleSystematic and structural oppression based on the dominant ideology. From the moment we are born, ideology influences all the institutions we come into contact with. (E.g. violence or non-participation)
As adults, we build up a set of generalized beliefs. Based on these interpretations, we DISCRIMINATE when we act out these beliefs. They are then passed on to the next generation. (Do not recognize participation as a key social value thus it is not transmitted to the next or current generation)
As young people, we look around us and see many things happening that replicate our personal experiences, giving rise to STEREOTYPES through practicing of adult behaviors and discriminatory behaviour by adults (practicing of peer violence/humiliation etc. and non- participation of children in family, schools, community etc.
As children we experience the world through social institutions – our individual personal experience gives rise to PREJUDICE through practicing of adult behaviors (E.g. violent/aggressive means seen as methods to resolve conflict or similarly lack of child participation in families/communities/etc.)
As old people, we tend to reinforce the same stereotypes and bias behaviors back into the society
Individual acts create and maintain
A Rights- Based Development Approach
Duty bearersfulfil their obligationstowards right holders
People(right holders)
demand their rightsfrom duty bearers
Changes inpeople’s lives
Rights- basedorganisation
Strengthen accou
ntability
of duty bearers
Support right holders to demand their rights
Changes in:- Policies- I nstitutions- Attitudes- Participation- Equality
A rights based development approach
Survival
And Developmen
t
Best interests
Non-discriminatio
n
Participation
CRC /CRP Principles
make decisions in which children’s best interests are a primary considerationensure the
survival and development to maximum extent possible
avoid discrimination that threatens the realisation of rights
consider children’s informed views and opinions in decision making
ACCOUNTABILITY
“Three Pillars” Programming
Practical Actions on Violations and Gaps
in Provision
Strengthening Structures
and Mechanisms
Building Constituencies
of support
CHILD RIGHTS SITUATION ANALYSIS
Practice standards Participation
• Standard 1: An ethical approach: transparency, honesty and accountability
• Standard 2: Children’s participation is relevant and voluntary
• Standard 3: A child-friendly, enabling environment• Standard 4: Equality of opportunity• Standard 5: Staff is effective and confident• Standard 6: Participation promotes the safety and
protection of children• Standard 7: Ensuring follow-up and evaluation
Activities by children and young people
Example: Uganda peace talks 2005 / Juba
• “Recognize and consider the experiences, views and concerns of children.”
• “Protect the dignity, privacy and security of children in any accountability and reconciliation proceedings.”
• “Ensure that children are not subjected to criminal justice proceedings, but may participate in reconciliation processes.”
• “Encourage and facilitate the participation of children in the processes for implementing this agreement.”
3. Case Uganda: Participation - How do children and young people
contribute to peace?
War Child in Uganda, examples of children and young people’s
contributions to peace
• Clubs
• Parliament / debates
• Cultural events
• Publications / Radio Broadcasting
• Exhibitions
• Peace Camps (exchange)
Inter-parish (village) sport tournaments
Performing 4 Peace
ICT 4 Peace
Sources
• UN - Machel+10 Report: http://www.un.org/children/conflict/_download/msr2_en.pdf
• DCAF - Seen, but Not Heard: http://www.dcaf.ch/publications/kms/details.cfm?lng=en&id=95946&nav1=5
• SCN – Adult’s war, Young Generation’s Peace: https://www.reddbarna.no/default.asp?V_ITEM_ID=19028