Watchlist/IPI Roudtable – "Voices from the Field: Protecting Children from Conflict and Strengthening Accountability of Armed Actors"

To promote discussion on accountability for persistent perpetrators of grave violations and protect the Children and Armed Conflict agenda at the United Nations, in the framework of the 2012 Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, Watchlist and the International Peace Institute held a roundtable discussion, Voices from the Field: Protecting Children from Conflict and Strengthening Accountability of Armed Actors, on 17 September 2012, which aimed to bridge the perspectives of local child rights advocates from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, and Colombia and New York-based global policy-makers. The discussion focused on two main topics: (1) how the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) established by Security Council Resolution 1612 (2005) has contributed to better protect children from the effects of armed conflict; and (2) ways to strengthen accountability of armed actors violating children’s rights.

Click here to read the IPI Meeting Brief on the roundtable discussion

Click here to read the Global Observatory Analysis on the rountable discussion

The event produced several important messages for child protection actors and policymakers: The Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) has become a fundamental framework for organizations working to protect children in the field also while amplifying local voices at the global level; the issue of impunity must be addressed while  national judicial systems and international justice mechanisms are reinforced; alternatives to action plans ought to be considered when navigating the obstacles to negotiating with nonstate armed groups; and action plans must be more transparent in order to allow local actors to hold perpetrators accountable to their commitments