Organized by UNETCHAC and  the Institute of Political Studies “S. Pio V” , supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

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18 October 2023 -

TANGAZA University, NAIROBI

10.00 am – 5.30 pm (GMT+3) 

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DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROGRAMME HERE

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The conference is organized within the framework of the project “The National Action Plans on UNSCR1325 and the impact of armed conflicts on children: a study and analysis of the International Universities Network”, carried out by the Universities Network for Children in Armed Conflict in collaboration with the Institute of Political Studies “S. Pio V” and supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

 

The project aims to carry out qualitative and quantitative research and produce an insightful report, by geographical area, of the serious violations against children by armed conflict situations.

The research activity, in addition to being the basis of a Final Report, will be disseminated through the creation of a specific Virtual Map and a short video capable of communicating the results in a visually appealing way, with the aim of reaching a wider audience. A photographic exhibition will also be organized on the condition of children living in armed conflict and will be presented during the regional conferences.

 

Alongside the research activity we want to organize a series of conferences/webinars on the condition of children in armed conflicts with a focus on the comparison between the Italian Action Plan and the National Action Plan of the country where the conference will be held.

 

The project also intends to create an Autumn School on "Judicial and social aspects of violence against children, particularly girls, in armed conflict", consisting of a three-week training course aimed at students in which the specific aspects of the research and focus will be dedicated to the importance of international criminal justice against serious crimes perpetrated against children in armed conflict.

 

 

The Conference

 

Armed conflict subjects children to widespread systematic violations of their human rights with physical, mental, emotional and material repercussions.

 

Armed conflict causes severe direct and indirect consequences for children and most often the indirect consequences are not addressed due to the grave nature of the direct consequences, which are broadly defined as death, injury, recruited as child soldiers and violence against children. The dire consequences of the indirect harm caused to children during armed conflict have lasting impact on these children due to the double-barreled trauma such as gross violations of being abducted, forced removal from their families, illegal detention and recruitment as child soldiers. In addition, these children are also deprived of their fundamental rights to education, shelter, and the right to build a fruitful and holistic life.

 

This conference provides the opportunity to build a comparative analysis of NAP’s of selected African Countries the IV Italian Action Plan in accordance with Resolution 1325.

 

The objective of this conference is to create a narrative and collate ideas on how Resolution 1325 can impact and support the global movement to reduce the direct and indirect impacts of armed conflict on children. To achieve this, we must expand the understanding and impact of Resolution 1325 from its gender perspective to reach children affected by armed conflict as well and create a wider umbrella of sustainable peacebuilding via the 4 pillars of Resolution 1325 – Participation, Protection, Prevention, Relief and Recovery, and Accountability. The impact of armed conflict on children needs to deep dive into the following:

 

• Participation – how can we create a dialog from a gender perspective to mutually include the protection of children under Resolution 1325 and how should the National Action Plans reflect this?

• Protection – how does jurisdiction of the national and international communities work together to create a system of sustainable protection of children from armed conflict under the umbrella of Resolution 1325? (Considering that internal civil wars create a jurisdictional question for international community intervention)

• Prevention – what specific areas of direct and indirect impacts of armed conflict on children can Resolution 1325 address?

• Relief and Recovery – can Resolution 1325 play a larger role in the relief and recovery of children affected by armed conflict (as this is a critical impact point that tends to see a lot of children fall through the cracks)?

• Accountability – how do we improve accountability measures to support children and women affected by armed conflict?

 

During the conference, the Universities Network for Children in Armed Conflict will show a photo exhibition of two Italian photo reporters, Marzia Ferrone and Vittorio Alonzo, on children in armed conflict and post-conflict.

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