The power of partnership : guiding principles for partnerships to end violations against children during armed conflict

Appalling abuses continue to be committed against children affected by armed conflict, despite the substantial strides made by the United Nations Security Council and the international community since the adoption of the Security Council’s six resolutions establishing an architecture for monitoring, reporting and eventually holding perpetrators of violations against children accountable. With the adoption of the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1612 in July 2005, and the creation of the groundbreaking Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict within the Security Council, implementation must focus more than ever on the field, on the local communities under attack and on the most effective ways to operate the nascent UN monitoring and reporting mechanisms (MRM) mandated by Resolution 1612.

Watchlist identifies why both UN agencies and national, local and community-based organizations can profit from operational partnership and outlines their different strengths, these include : local and national partners’ access to information on violations against children in their own communities, their ability in some situations to take immediate action to respond, and the need for local involvement to ensure sustainability. Similarly UN partnership is advantageous for partner organizations because of the UN’s ability to respond to reported violations at a higher level, its ability to provide capacity building support, and the « protection buffer » which working in the UN provides in many situations.

• Read The power of partnership : guiding principles for partnerships to end violations against children during armed conflict (pdf)