On 8 April 2014, the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations hosted a launch event for the new UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) child protection training standards, Train, Act, Protect: A new standard in child protection training for military peacekeepers. Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, former force commander of the UN mission deployed to Rwanda during the genocide, and founder of the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, a Watchlist Associate Member, participated in the event.
The new training standards, which include modules inspired by the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative’s work, aim to train 100,000 peacekeepers on their behavior towards children in conflict situations. The training also raises awareness on how to prevent and report violations against children and ensure coordination with other child protection actors. Save the Children, a Watchlist Advisory Board Member, welcomed the new standards, but urged the United Nations to make child protection training mandatory for all military and police forces participating in peacekeeping missions.
In March, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2143, which underlines the importance of pre-deployment training in child protection and recommends for troop and police- contributing States to undertake targeted and operational trainings to effectively recognize, report and respond to violations committed against children.
