Protecting children in peacekeeping missions - promoting the Vancouver Principles

This project aims to make United Nations (UN) peace operations more effective in preventing child soldier recruitment by helping UN member states better understand how to implement the Vancouver Principles. This guideline that protects children in conflict zones. It supports the watchlist on children and armed conflict. The project’s activities include: (1) conducting a baseline comparative study on the implementing the Vancouver Principles and using the study’s findings to inform the subsequent activities; (2) conducting training sessions on the Vancouver Principles for UN member states’ representatives of members of the UN Security Council and other child protection stakeholders; and (3) launching a public campaign on the Vancouver Principles for representatives of UN member states other UN agency stakeholders and broader policy audiences.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved understanding of the Vancouver Principles among State representatives and other stakeholders; (2) increased ability of civil society to support States in endorsements of the Vancouver Principles; (3) increased capacity of States to effectively implement the Vancouver Principles in field operations; (4) increased awareness of Vancouver Principles application in respective contexts among State representatives their respective capitals and other stakeholders; and (5) enhanced empowerment of States to align their strategies with the Vancouver Principles .