Cradled by Conflict: Implications for Programming
Preventing and Responding to Child Recruitment and Use in Contemporary Conflicts
This Technical Note aims to help guide programming intended to prevent and address the recruitment and use of children by armed groups in today’s conflicts. It is an output of the United Nations University’s (UNU) Children and Extreme Violence Project, which sought to fill key knowledge gaps about how and why children become associated with, are used by, and leave armed groups in contemporary conflicts, particularly those groups deemed “terrorist” or “violent extremist”.
This note is based on the research findings in UNU’s Cradled by Conflict: Child Involvement with Armed Groups in Contemporary Conflict (2018) and extensive consultations with practitioners and children to determine how existing programming and practice might be strengthened to respond to the particular challenges facing child protection practitioners in contemporary conflicts