This webinar was a panel conversation hosted by the CPC Learning Network, ChildFund Alliance, the Program on Forced Migration and Health at Columbia University, and the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict that brought together a panel of experts to discuss the root causes leading to recruitment and involvement in activities of armed groups as well as the current context in countries such as Sudan, Colombia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and more. Dr. Ezequiel Heffes, Director of Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, moderated a conversation between guest panelists:
- Omar Ahmed, Head of Africa Region, Geneva Call
- Ioana Cismas, Professor at the University of York (UK), Principal Investigator, Beyond Compliance Consortium
- Shyamala Alagendra, International Criminal Lawyer
- Ahmad Salem, Child Protection Advisor, CAFAAG Reintegration, War Child UK
Some insights from this conversation:
- Engagement with most armed groups to prevent recruitment of children is possible. International actors and armed groups find common ground and an ability to engage when international laws and their customs align.
- While international NGOs view childhood as lasting until 18, views of coming of age and legal responsibility vary widely around the world. This sometimes leads to compromises such as the one at the end of the Sierra Leone civil war, where some youth below 18 were still tried for substantial atrocities, despite a push from international NGOs for complete amnesty.
- A wide variety of actors may have inroads with armed groups. For example, the Baptist Convention in Myanmar had "credibility" with the KIO/KIA in Kachin state.
- 'Reintegration' programs must also bring benefits to local communities or risk the perception that NGOs are only interested in a "niche" issue, rather than the broader population harmed by violence.