(Huffington Post) – On the International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers, we at Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (“Watchlist”) are alarmed at the recent incidences of child rights violations by UN peacekeepers and other peacekeeping forces. The UN and Member States should ensure that children’s rights are respected and protected by holding security sector actors serving in UN peacekeeping missions to highest standards. Over the past decade, the UN has come to view child protection as a growing concern in peacekeeping operations. The UN Security Council mainstreams child protection in the mandates of peacekeeping operations and political missions. Security sector actors are often the first point of contact with child soldiers in the field, and therefore, the UN has invested in training troops to deal with this phenomenon.
