How does Security Sector Reform (SSR) affect children? What are the roles of children and youth in supporting improved security and post-conflict peace building? This paper analyses these questions from the perspectives of rights obligations, protecting social capital, demographics, and breaking the cycle of violence.
Armed conflict is particularly detrimental for young people. It leads to insecurity about the future, lack of access to services such as education, the availability of small arms, and breakdown in the rule of law. These factors can be used by ‘peace spoilers’ to push young people into violence, crime, or radicalism. The restoration of justice and security through SSR and transitional justice are priorities of post-conflict peace building.
However, children and youth rarely receive consideration in these efforts. One challenge is the tendency to categorise issues thematically, for example in considering ‘child soldiers’ and ‘trafficking’. A compartmentalised approach risks ignoring children’s realities and diverts attention from building robust protective systems for those affected by domestic violence, drug abuse, bullying and neglect. Children’s security requires special attention in post-conflict environments because:
- The security sector has a moral and legal obligation to protect and promote the rights of children. Children have additional rights to universal human rights that recognise their particular dependence, development and protection needs.
- Protecting child rights and preventing violations are integral to peace-building efforts. Engaging with them will improve the design and delivery of SSR, and provide insights into potential or evolving threats.
- A social capital and human security perspective sees security as a public good, which should be available to children as well as adults regardless of their legal status in a particular jurisdiction.
- Children and young people typically make up over 50 per cent of the population in these environments. This ‘youth bulge’ can pose either a threat to stability or an opportunity for social and economic development.
- Exposure to destabilising factors can lead disaffected children and youth into conflict with the law. Children’s experience of justice can have long term and profound effects on their future.
- The state’s ability to realise its obligations to respect and promote children’s rights is a core indicator of good governance and provides an insight into the state’s development status.
Children and youth have their own perspectives on their experiences of insecurity. SSR and Transitional Justice programmes need to be more relevant to the concerns of young people, and more reflective of their needs and aspirations. Listening to the views of young people who have experienced conflict is the first step to engaging them in peace building.
- Focusing on the governance aspects of public security places children firmly on the justice and security agenda.
- Transitional justice and SSR are mutually supportive. Hybrid courts are useful while rebuilding national institutions. Supporting the juvenile justice system and separating adult and child detention are critical.
- Civil society organisations (CSOs) can protect and promote children’s rights through oversight of SSR and justice reform, although their role and influence has received little systematic attention.
- Fostering children’s engagement requires extensive training and sensitisation among a range of national and local agencies and CSOs, with careful sequencing of activities.
