Children’s voices are critical to achieving global peace and security

As an essential part of our mission to prevent the recruitment and use of children in conflict, the Dallaire Institute ensures that children’s rights are brought to the fore in global, regional and local conversations and initiatives. We believe that children’s voices and viewpoints are not merely valid but absolutely central to tackling big challenges and shaping a better future.

Unfortunately, child advocates are rare. Even when they are given a platform – as in the case of Greta Thunberg or Malala Yousafzai – it’s hard to shake the sense that many leaders and institutions are humouring a prodigy rather than genuinely listening or making space for young people. 

“More than a quarter of the world’s population is 18 years old or younger – and that number is even higher in places like Africa, South Asia and the Middle East,” says Amara Bangura, Community Engagement and Capacity Building Advisor. “Once you realize that, it’s no longer possible – or sensible – to think of children as being marginal. That’s why we’re advocating that children and youth need to take part in the processes that impact their future. Their voices need to be heard and their rights prioritized in conversations about peace, stability and security.”  

By prioritizing the needs of children and championing their roles as key agents of change and advocates of peace, we can further strengthen a global peace and security agenda. With that approach, Dallaire Institute helps to build bridges between otherwise opposed or unaligned groups in peace-building processes, providing an important site of agreement that can open up paths to collaboration.  

In 2021, the Dallaire Institute launched its podcast, Children Peace and Security, which highlights the real-life stories and voices of children. We hear from youth with lived experience, such as Nassu Kanden, who, in her own words, shares her harrowing experience of being abducted by rebel fighters in Sierra Leone when she was only 14, and from youth advisors, including Giants of Africa ambassador, Myra Oloo. The podcast is a forum to bring together political leaders, security–sector representatives, child-protection experts, social activists and community members to talk about the welfare of children, and how security forces can strengthen conflict prevention and protections for these most vulnerable members of society.

Part of our work is raising awareness among children and their communities, developing initiatives to let them know they have resources and support to make good choices and protect their young people. During the pandemic, the Dallaire team launched a radio show in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to continue to engage people despite the inability to travel or meet with community groups. We also partnered with the United Nations to launch awareness-raising comic books in the DRC and Colombia, using the power of images to start conversations about the rights of children.

Of course, promoting children’s rights and perspectives also remains central to the Institute’s core training programs, aimed at equipping peacekeepers, security-sector actors and others with the knowledge and skills they need to prevent the recruitment and use of children in conflict. The Dallaire Institute’s monitoring and evaluation team, lead by Nisreen Abou Mrad, rigorously tracks the impact of these training programs, critical in ensuring the successful delivery and sustainability of our work.    

Recently, we’ve interviewed more than 50 people who took part in our prevention-focused training in places like Sierra Leone, Uganda and South Sudan. Our findings show that participants really do experience a shift in perspective about children in conflict, as well as reporting they feel better equipped with practical steps to follow when they encounter children in sites of real or potential conflict.

This kind of evaluation helps us to understand how we can make our programs even more targeted and impactful in future. And it demonstrates to other organizations the value of evidence-based programs and interventions. But perhaps most importantly, it helps our own team know we’re on the right track – that bringing children’s rights to the fore is a powerful way to drive positive change through our core training and more innovative kinds of outreach.