4th Annual Knowledge for Prevention Symposium
Read the K4P 2022 conference report here.
The Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security at Dalhousie University is pleased to have hosted the 4th Annual Knowledge for Prevention (K4P) Symposium: Prioritizing Children in Conflict Prevention in Montevideo, Uruguay. The event took place from Nov 29-Dec 1, with the events on day 1 broadcast virtually on Zoom. Watch the recordings below.
Opening Ceremony
Opening remarks:
Col Rivera Elgue, Vice Minister of Defense of Uruguay
LtGen (ret’d) the Honourable Roméo Dallaire, Senior Fellow and Founder of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security and former Force Commander of UN Peacekeeping Mission in Rwanda
Dr. Shelly Whitman, Executive Director of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security and Intact Senior Fellow
Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development for Canada
Ambassador Isabelle Valois, Canada’s Ambassador to Uruguay
Keynote:
Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG CAAC)
Panel Discussion - The Vancouver Principles: Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Children by Armed Groups
Opening remarks:
Luz Adriana López Medina, Youth involved in the Colombia Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Moderator:
Dr. Shelly Whitman, Executive Director of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security and Intact Senior Fellow
Speakers:
Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG CAAC)
LtGen (ret’d) Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, former Force Commander of UN Peacekeeping Missions in Haiti and the DRC
Ambassador Jacqueline O’Neill, Canada’s Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security
Ambassador Martin Alejandro Vidal, Uruguay’s Ambassador to Canada
In 2017, the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security was contracted by the Canadian Government to co-develop the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers. The Vancouver Principles represent a set of 17 international political commitments aimed at preventing and addressing the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups during UN peacekeeping operations.
To date, 105 nations have endorsed the Vancouver Principles, including 11 states in Latin America. Marking the fifth anniversary of the Vancouver Principles, this session will consider various approaches to their implementation and preventing children's engagement in violence. The session will draw on the experience of Latin American governments, as well as security forces deployed on peacekeeping missions, in advancing the principles both in the region and across the globe.
Click here to learn more about the Vancouver Principles or the Dallaire Institute’s early warning to early action approach.