Seen, but not Heard: Placing Children and Youth on the Security Governance Agenda

336 Pages·2008·1.76 MB·English

David Nosworthy (Ed.)

Seen, but not Heard:
Placing Children and Youth on the
Security Governance Agenda
Geneva Centre for the
Democratic Control of Armed Forces
(DCAF)

________
LIT
Seen, but not Heard:
Placing Children and Youth on the
Security Governance Agenda

edited by

David Nosworthy

________
LIT
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Contents

Foreword – Graça Machel vii
Foreword – Theodor H. Winkler ix

About This Publication xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Glossary xv
Acronyms xix
List of Tables, Illustrations and Boxes xxi
Part I: Introduction
1 Placing Children and Youth on the Security Governance 3
Agenda
David Nosworthy
Part II: Children, Youth and Security in Context
2 Health Indicators and the Impact of Insecurities on Children 35
Aleya El Bindari Hammad

3 Child Development and Resilience 55
Margaret McCallin

4 Creating a Secure Environment for Children 81
David Nosworthy
Part III: The Security Sector and the Protection of Children’s Rights
5 Civil Society and the Security Sector 107
Eden Cole and David Nosworthy
6 The Juvenile Justice System, a Key to Human Security 127
Policy Reform
Bernard Boëton

7 Independent Oversight and the Security of Children 145
Brent Parfitt
Part IV: Children, Armed Conflict, and Post-conflict Peacebuilding
8 Children in Peacebuilding and Security Governance 169
David Nosworthy

9 Children and DDR 191
Irma Specht

10 Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Engaging a New 219
Constituency of Actors
‘Funmi Olonisakin

11 Engaging Armed Non-state Actors on the Issue of Child 239
Recruitment and Use
Philippe Gazagne

12 Children and Young People in Post-conflict Peacebuilding 259
Claire O’Kane, Clare Feinstein and Annette Giertsen
Part V: Conclusion
13 Moving Forward – Conclusions and Recommendations 287
David Nosworthy
Annexes

List of Key Legal Instruments 307
List of Contributors 313
Foreword

Graça Machel

Children in every country, and in every culture, occupy a central place in
society. They are a symbol of innocence, and they represent the continuity of
life. However, the translation of this centrality into the building of a
protective environment for them has failed almost universally.
The extent to which children’s security, in its broader sense, has been
compromised has only been acknowledged relatively recently with
recognition that children have rights, globally institutionalised through the
adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Continuing concerns
that the provisions of the Convention were not sufficient in protecting
children from additional threats, led to the introduction of two protocols.
These instruments together provide a comprehensive framework of rights for
increasing the protection of children and ensuring a climate that enhances
their security and well-being.
However, I remain gravely concerned by the exploitation of children
during wars and conflicts, and have participated in relentless efforts to bring
these horrendous crimes to the attention of the wider public. I have urged
condemnation and elimination of such practices – and while the plight of
children affected by armed conflicts has been brought to the attention of the
world, it is nevertheless far from being consigned to history – and continues
to be a real and menacing issue today.
Neither poverty, nor trafficking, nor the health conditions of children
have been adequately addressed, and these conditions individually and
collectively continue to account for the precarious situation that children find
themselves enduring.
The following figures speak for themselves! An estimated 20 million
children have been forced to flee their homes and live as refugees or
displaced persons. More than 2 million have died as a direct result of conflict
in the last 10 years, and at least 6 million children have been permanently
disabled or seriously injured. Behind each statistic is a child, a dramatic
story that is unfolding in front of our eyes, and that we all should be doing
something about.
viii
It is in effect an admission of our collective inability to protect
children today that we do not recognise sufficiently, or have the imagination
and commitment to carve through, the obstacles that continue to threaten
them. This is despite the advances that have been made in the effective and
up-to-date machinery of politics and the media. However, progress has also
meant that the same communication and information technologies that have
taken us forward have also been turned upon children by those who would
exploit them.
The role of society at large, including communities and families,
cannot be underscored enough. But, above all is the challenge that the
security sector, in particular parliament, faces in ensuring that children are an
integral consideration within their responsibility for the protection of their
peoples and their society, and to recognise themselves as prime duty-bearers
in protecting children’s rights.
For all those who read the pages of this important study, they will
undoubtedly appreciate the important responsibility the security sector has
towards children.
It will enable them to think through how child protection strategies
can become an integral part of efforts to create a more secure and better
world.
What is particularly impressive is that the reflection and arguments
presented here bring together and combine a common vision of the priorities
that influence the security sector and civil society, and this fact alone is full
of promise for it envisages investments in children today that will benefit the
young people who will become the leaders of tomorrow.
Foreword

Theodor H. Winkler

Why should children’s security matter? 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.
What role model do we show them in not taking their concerns into
account? How can children and youth be encouraged to play an active role in
their societies to ensure their long-term positive contribution to social
development? And how can we adapt security provision if we do not
acknowledge children and youth as crucial stakeholders in security?
Developing a better understanding of how security impacts on
children and youth means listening to their views and opinions, and
considering them when defining security policy. This may be challenging in
environments where security structures and institutions have been weakened
or destroyed, but is particularly relevant to the establishment of reform
processes that address the root causes of conflict and aim to break cycles of
violence.
Graça Machel’s groundbreaking report of 1996 highlighted the impact
of armed conflict on children, and in her report a reoccurring theme at the
centre of the protection of children was the peace and security agenda.
However, there still appears to be a gap between the security sector and
those working to promote the well-being of children. This publication aims
to initiate a discussion that will lead to a closing of this divide.
The security sector is a key duty-bearer in relation to respect for
human rights, and to ensuring freedom from fear. States are required to
ensure that appropriate legal and political measures are taken in order to
realise their obligations in this area. Security sector actors, including armed
forces, peacekeepers, police, border guards, other law enforcement agencies
and the judiciary, but also parliaments, all have a vital role to play.
Through this study a first step has been taken in a process that should
bring a better understanding of the dynamic between children and security.
In exploring the role and responsibilities of the security sector in
x
guaranteeing children’s rights, recommendations will be elaborated aimed at
integrating child rights principles into the process of security sector reform.
It is hoped that this discussion will assist practitioners and policy-
makers in exploring gaps in the implementation of national legislation and
procedures, and the obstacles and barriers that exist to effective child
protection. The primary target of the publication is a broad spectrum of
security sector actors, including security providers, government agencies,
democratic institutions and civil society organisations whether engaged in
the protection of children or security issues. Governments and donors should
benefit from the publication as a resource for guiding the development of
policies and approaches towards security sector reform.
To inform and enrich the publication a series of ‘expert papers’ have
been commissioned on selected topics with the aim of eliciting the
experiences of practitioners working on specific child protection issues, and
these form the basis of a number of the chapters.
Focussing on the governance agenda, the importance to democratic
institutions and civil society in the protection of children is highlighted, as is
the importance of developing strategies that enable the voices of children
and youth to inform policy-makers on the security issues that affect them.