(Child Soldiers International) – The 26th of July marks 10 years since the UN Security Council established the monitoring and reporting mechanism (MRM): a global process designed to hold to account those who commit grave violations of children’s rights during armed conflict. After recent criticism of the UN for its failure to apply MRM standards to Israel, this anniversary is an opportunity to take stock and identify challenges that impede the functioning of the mechanism. Indeed, the strong influence of Security Council Member States and other powerful governments over the process has, in certain instances, politicised the mechanism and undermined its primary objective of being an evidence based tool with the potential to have a tangible and positive impact on the lives of children in conflict-affected countries. This paper, produced by Child Soldiers International and the Child Rights International Network (CRIN), briefly reviews how the MRM works and proposes a series of recommendations based on its potential and current challenges.
