Publicação
Improving Compliance of Children’s Rights in Armed Conflict by Non-State Armed Groups: Towards Engagement-based Initiatives
| Resumo: | The impact of war on children is widely acknowledged, yet the full scale of this crisis often remains underestimated. Children, around the world, continue to live under attack, deprived of their own liberty, and subjected to the so-called “six grave violations” in armed conflict: recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction, attacks against schools or hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. This thesis examines the accountability and compliance mechanisms applicable to non-state armed groups, assessing how international legal and policy tools, monitoring systems, and engagement-based initiatives may better shape non-state armed groups behaviour towards child protection. Drawing on two Non-State Armed Group case-studies – Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and Syrian Democratic Forces – this research analyses the bridge between formal accountability, achieved through international criminal law, sanctions, monitoring and reporting, and a pragmatic compliance pathway, by means of dialogue, action plans, deeds of commitment, and reintegration guarantees. It evaluates how some mechanisms encourage restraint and constant compliance, while others may remain inconsistent and only attain a temporary change. The results of this study demonstrate that child protection requires acknowledging the presence of non-state armed groups and actively engaging with them. Reinforcing accountability through consistent monitoring and reporting mechanisms, while empowering non-governmental organisations as key intermediaries in dialogue, offers the most effective path to improving compliance with children’s rights in armed conflict. |
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| Autores principais: | Coelho, Catarina Morais Garrido Pedro |
| Assunto: | Non-State Armed Groups Armed Conflict Child Protection Accountability Compliance Grupos Armados Não Estatais Conflito Armado Proteção Infantil Responsabilização Conformidade |
| Ano: | 2025 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso restrito |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório Institucional da UNL |
| Resumo: | The impact of war on children is widely acknowledged, yet the full scale of this crisis often remains underestimated. Children, around the world, continue to live under attack, deprived of their own liberty, and subjected to the so-called “six grave violations” in armed conflict: recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction, attacks against schools or hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. This thesis examines the accountability and compliance mechanisms applicable to non-state armed groups, assessing how international legal and policy tools, monitoring systems, and engagement-based initiatives may better shape non-state armed groups behaviour towards child protection. Drawing on two Non-State Armed Group case-studies – Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and Syrian Democratic Forces – this research analyses the bridge between formal accountability, achieved through international criminal law, sanctions, monitoring and reporting, and a pragmatic compliance pathway, by means of dialogue, action plans, deeds of commitment, and reintegration guarantees. It evaluates how some mechanisms encourage restraint and constant compliance, while others may remain inconsistent and only attain a temporary change. The results of this study demonstrate that child protection requires acknowledging the presence of non-state armed groups and actively engaging with them. Reinforcing accountability through consistent monitoring and reporting mechanisms, while empowering non-governmental organisations as key intermediaries in dialogue, offers the most effective path to improving compliance with children’s rights in armed conflict. |
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