On 15 July 2014, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict and the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination convened an all-day private policy workshop, entitled “Addressing Child Protection in Conflict Mediation: Charting a Way Forward,” at the Princeton Club in New York. The objective of the workshop was to build upon and complement the existing efforts towards mainstreaming child protection in conflict mediation, whilst exploring policy linkages between the UN’s Children and Armed Conflict mandate and conflict mediation.
The workshop opened with a keynote speech by the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Leila Zerrougui, and was attended by the experts from child protection and conflict mediation communities, as well as NGO colleagues and UN staff. The workshop consisted of two main working sessions, the first of which covered an overview of the latest developments in the fields of child protection and mediation, and the second that offered an opportunity for exchange of participants’ practical experiences with child protection and mediation and/or dialogue. The report featuring insights and recommendations from the closed discussions is forthcoming.
