Our Approach
At the Dallaire Institute, our approach is to pursue meaningful engagement that prioritizes the safety of children and equally recognizes the moral dilemmas faced by the security sector actors operating in areas where children are being recruited and used. We aim to help all parties fully understand the long – term socio-economic, psychological, and structural harm caused by recruiting and using children for armed violence. In doing so, we aim to change attitudes and behaviour patterns, as we support partners through the processes required to prevent child recruitment and use – from the security sector to the policy makers and in collaboration with local community organizations and networks. For a more detailed statement on our approach, please review our statement here.
The Dallaire Institute’s approach uses a dual lens that prioritizes the protection of children as well as the operational impacts upon the security sector. It is collaborative and interdisciplinary, with a commitment to co-production with our partners, informed by priorities that are shaped at the point of implementation, as reflected in our three strategic priorities, outlined below. For more information, including specific outcomes for our work, please review our Strategic Plan 2022-2025.
Where Theory Meets Action
At the Dallaire Institute, we put theory into action. Our research and learning agenda informs the content, design and implementation of our capacity building programs, policy advocacy, and community engagement.
Accelerating Action on the Vancouver Principles
The Vancouver Principles aim to prevent the recruitment and use of children as soldiers as critical to achieving lasting peace and security. These principles operationalize child protection within UN peacekeeping by taking a more proactive and preventative stance on child recruitment in the context of peacekeeping operations. By endorsing and implementing the Vancouver Principles, Member States ensure that their peacekeepers are prepared to prevent the recruitment and use of children as soldiers.
Strengthening and building the capacity of the security sector to prevent the recruitment and use of children
The recruitment and use of children in violence is a tactical and strategic element of current conflicts that must be addressed through proactive, prevention-oriented training. Security sector actors are often the first point of contact for children recruited and used in violence, therefore, any meaningful efforts to prevent violations against children must include a focus on security sector preparedness. The Dallaire Institute is the only organization in the world that adopts a dual lens approach to preventing the recruitment and use of children. Our unique dual lens approach to prevention focuses on prioritizing the protection of children from factors that make them susceptible to recruitment, as well as understanding the significant distressing psychological impacts and operational challenges faced by security sector actors who come face to face with children who have been recruited.
View our Handbook for security-focused organizations engaged in peace operations and learn more about capacity building programs.
Definition of ‘Children in Armed Conflict’
According to the Paris Principles, “‘a child associated with an armed force or armed group’ refers to any person below 18 years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including, but not limited to, children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities.”
Capacity Building with the Security Sector
The Dallaire Institute works to strengthen the operational effectiveness of security institutions to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed violence.
Increasing the Effectiveness of the Security Sector
More than 100,000 military and police personnel are deployed globally on peace support operations each year, most of whom are in conflict zones where children are recruited and used by armed forces and armed groups. Therefore, any meaningful steps to prevent this grave violation must also focus on the security sector. In partnership with national, regional, and international security sector training institutions, the Dallaire Institute develops and delivers scenario-based, prevention-oriented training to prepare military, police, and civilian personnel to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed violence.
Through our capacity building programs, we develop and integrate curricula on preventing the recruitment and use of children into security sector training doctrine at national, regional and international levels. Through the integration of these curricula, the Dallaire Institute builds and strengthens the capacity of security sector actors to prepare them for operations in zones where children are used and prevent their recruitment in places where it is more likely to occur