This month marks a decade since the UN Security Council Resolution 1612 was passed unanimously, establishing a monitoring and reporting mechanism (MRM) to gather accurate, timely and objective information on six grave violations committed against children in armed conflict. In recent years, however, there have been signs that political interests of powerful states are increasingly threatening the integrity of this mechanism. Parties to conflict, which should be monitored, named and held accountable for committing egregious violations against children, are being let off the hook.
Conversely, scrutiny on contexts that should be monitored is being prematurely lifted. At a time when a growing number of complex conflicts around the world are posing new challenges to child protection, this ten-year anniversary marks an important opportunity to look back at some achievements and identify impediments.
The MRM is formally triggered in a conflict situation when one or several parties to that conflict are added to the “list of shame” in annexes to the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict. In the past, only parties that recruited and used children were included in the annexes. Since 2009, other grave violations can “trigger” listing: killing and maiming, sexual violence, attacks on school and hospitals, and abduction of children.
