Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict introduced two new publications at the start of 2013, the note Working Methods 2006-2012: Strengthening the Impact of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and the first-ever Watchlist Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update.
The note on Working Methods 2006-2012 is an update of Watchlist’s previous analyses of the working methods of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict since its inception in 2006. This brief note analyzes and examines trends in the Security Council Working Group’s negotiation processes and in its response to situations of children affected by armed conflict. Watchlist’s main findings are that the time taken to negotiate the Working Group’s conclusions has increased considerably, far exceeding the target negotiation time of two months, and that the Working Group has not made full use of the tools at its disposal to advance the protection of children. Watchlist offers a series of concrete recommendations for improving the negotiation process and for making better use of the Working Group’s toolkit.
On 1 February 2013, Watchlist published the first in a new series of Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Updates. The Monthly Updates highlight forthcoming developments in the Security Council related to children affected by armed conflict, and they provide recommendations for action based on Watchlist’s experience as a network of local, national and international non-governmental organizations striving to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights. Monthly updates will be sent to all Security Council Member States and other stakeholders on the first of each month.
The first monthly update for February 2013 addresses children and armed conflict concerns in the situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali and Sudan and in the context of the planned Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians. Recommendations are also included in relation to the ongoing negotiations of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict on the situation of children and armed conflict in the LRA-affected areas.
