Strengthening African Peacekeeping Capacity on the Protection of Children

Results achieved as of the end of the project (February 2021) include: (1) the full establishment of the African Union Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict providing an opportunity to place children at the forefront of the peace and security agenda; (2) the African Union Peace and Security Division finalized the terms of reference for the new role of the Special Rapporteur on Children and Armed Conflict the focal person and highest political advocate for the protection of children in armed conflict in Africa; (3) the Somalia National Army now has an established structure of child protection focal points in every federal state to advise commanders during operations make referrals handle cases of abuse reported by civilians and train soldiers; (4) 57 trainers from the Somali security sector received training on children’s rights grave violations and their responsibilities during interactions with child soldiers; (5) 70 trainers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) security sector received training on child protection topics including child rights the prevention of recruitment and use of children in armed conflict and related topics; and (6) the DRC endorsed the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers which are a set of political commitments focused on child protection in peacekeeping including all stages of a conflict cycle and comprise 17 principles that focus on preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers by armed forces and armed groups.