51 Resources Found
International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Best Practice on the Documentation of Sexual Violence as a Crime or Violation of International Law [Second Edition]
1 March 2017
This resource contains guidelines for the best practice of documenting and investigating sexual violence as a crime under international law. It is designed to assist human rights practitioners, international and national authorities, civil society, and investigators with practical guidance on managing risks, collecting and handling evidence, and addressing trauma. Chapter Sixteen (p.244-262) is dedicated to sexual violence against children, including the legal framework, ethical considerations, and guidance on engaging child witnesses and survivors. The first edition of the resource can be found on the same page in various languages including English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Serbo-Croatian, Farsi, Burmese, Albanian, and Swahili.
Child Protection in Emergencies: Coordination Handbook
1 January 2016
The purpose of this Handbook is to provide actors with guidance on how to coordinate child protection responses in humanitarian contexts in order to ensure more predictable, accountable and effective child protection responses in emergencies around the world. This Handbook is designed for situations where the international community is formally engaged with the humanitarian response and where the cluster system has been activated, and may be useful for contexts where there is no cluster approach. Chapter 8 "Monitoring and reporting grave violations of children's rights" on page 116 covers accountability for violations against children in armed conflict.
Enforced Disappearance and Extrajudicial Execution: Investigation and Sanction (A Practitioners Guide)
1 March 2015
This resource supports investigating and punishing crimes of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial execution. It is based off a series of seminars and includes the perspectives of judges, prosecutors, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, journalists, and human rights practitioners. In addition to contextualizing both crimes under international law and in armed conflict, the resource includes guidance for investigation, using forensic science, and identifying direct and indirect victims of enforced disappearance. It discusses three specific situations (p.48-56) in which children are considered victims of enforced disappearance: when subject to enforced disappearance; when born during the captivity of a mother subjected to enforced disappearance; and when a parent, legal guardian, or other relative is subject to enforced disappearance. This resource was written in Spanish and translated to English, and is available in both languages.
Children in Armed Conflict Accountability Framework: A Framework for Advancing Accountability for Serious Violations against Children in Armed Conflict
This Framework is a practical resource that promotes accountability for serious violations of international law committed against children in armed conflict (CAC). It responds to the significant gap that exists in preventing and remedying these serious violations - and is designed to assist policymakers and practitioners working at all levels to bridge this gap. It provides individuals and organizations working in child protection, justice, peacebuilding, and related fields with a comprehensive definition and structure for understanding CAC accountability and practical guidance for developing well-informed, context-specific, and feasible options for advancing CAC accountability.
Marco de Rendición de Cuentas frente a los niños, las niñas y los jóvenes afectados por los conflictos armados
This resource is the Spanish version of the "Children in Armed Conflict Accountability Framework." El Marco de Rendición de Cuentas frente a los niños, las niñas y los jóvenes afectados por los conflictos armados es un recurso práctico que promueve mecanismos para abordar casos de violaciones graves derecho internacional cometidas contra los niños, las niñas y los jóvenes en situaciones de conflicto armado (rendición de cuentas sobre NNJ). Elaborado como respuesta al importante vacío existente en materia de prevención y reparación de este tipo de violaciones, este Marco aporta los siguientes elementos: 1. una definición completa y estructura para entender la cuestión de la rendición de cuentas sobre NNJ; 2. orientaciones metodológicas prácticas que pueden ser adaptadas y aplicadas en diferentes contextos con el objeto de aumentar las acciones de rendición de cuentas sobre NNJ.
Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict
In response to the use of schools and universities by parties to armed conflict, this resource establishes six guidelines to protect schools and universities. These guidelines are intended to assist actors planning military operations and organizations monitoring armed conflict. The annexes include the international legal framework and examples of domestic law and practices.
International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Basic Standards of Best Practices on the Documentation of Sexual Violence as a Crime under International Law
11 June 2014
This resource lays out the basic principles for the documentation of sexual violence as a crime under international law. Human rights and justice practitioners, as well as national and local security, judicial, law enforcement and investigative institutions may use these guidelines to establish an investigation and documentation process, conduct interviews, and manage evidence. Page 42 provides guidance on identifying child survivors and witnesses. Page 59 provides instruction on interviewing children.
Field Manual: Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on Grave Violations Against Children in Situations of Armed Conflict
This resource is intended for practitioners implementing the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) and covers technical components of the MRM. It considers issues such as guiding principles, monitoring, information management, reporting, and engaging with parties to the conflict, as well as guidance on both establishing and phasing out the MRM. The annexes include action plan templates, listing and delisting criteria, and the international legal foundations. This field manual is part of the MRM Tools website, which also includes the MRM Guidelines, Training Toolkit, and Global Good Practices Study.
Guidelines: Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on Grave Violations against Children in Situations of Armed Conflict
This resource describes the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) and its efforts to achieve accountability and compliance with international law and child protection standards. Intended for practitioners implementing the MRM, this resource outlines the roles and responsibilities for implementing actors, reporting requirements, and linkages between the MRM and response and advocacy. These guidelines are part of the MRM Tools website, which also includes the MRM Field Manual, Training Toolkit, and Global Good Practices Study.
Protection Checklist - Addressing Displacement and Protection of Displaced Populations and Affected Communities along the Conflict Cycle: a Collaborative Approach
The checklist is intended to provide guidance and increase understanding for OSCE field staff and other OSCE actors working on displacement and protection in the conflict cycle. Throughout the resource, consideration is given to children in conflict and displacement. Stages in the conflict cycle include early warning and prevention, crisis management in acute conflict, conflict management in protracted conflict, and post-conflict transition and rehabilitation.
Best Practices Manual for the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Violence Crimes in Post-Conflict Regions: Lessons learned from the Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
30 January 2014
This resource shares lessons learned and best practices from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and outlines the need for a global strategy to deal with the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence crimes. It recognizes that sexual violence is committed against women, men, and children. It examines the investigation phase, pre-trial and trial phase, and appeal and post-trial phase. Annex D provides an example investigation work plan. Annex E provides an interview checklist.
The Role of Communities in Protecting Education from Attack: Lessons Learned
This resource lays out guidelines for implementing programs that protect education from attack. Included is a 10-step guideline for working in collaboration with local communities, examples for various case studies around the world, and strategies for staffing, working with local partners, and using child participation. The document uses Cote d’Ivoire as a case study of how communities worked with UN agencies and international NGOs and presents key findings.
Annex XVII: Model legislative provisions on the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict
23 May 2013
Part of the Manual on Domestic Implementation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), this resource provides two possible model legislative provisions intended to guide States in the drafting of legislation which prohibits the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict. The first model text uses the “straight 18” approach while the second text follows existing provisions in treaty and customary law. This resource provides commentary on the models, as well as sources from international law, national legislation, and other practice.
Listen and Learn: Participatory Assessment with Children and Adolescents
This resource outlines an ethical approach to participatory assessment with refugee children and adolescents and provides guidelines on conducting participatory workshop. Part of UNHCR’s tool for participatory assessment in operations, it was developed to provide guidance on suitable ways to specifically engage with girls and boys. Included are several participatory workshop methods, a participation and protection checklist, and sample activities.
A Framework for the Protection of Children
This resource provides an overview of UNHCR’s policies and practice regarding child protection and shares UNHCR’s guiding principles and approaches. It articulates UNHCR’s six goals regarding the rights of children and relevant benchmarks. The annex includes UNHCR’s policy framework for the protection of children.
Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action
This resource aims to establish common principles amongst child protection actors. It provides guidance on strengthening coordination, improving the quality of programming, and improving accountability within child protection work. Standard 11 on page 102 examines children associated with armed forces or armed groups and provides key actions, measurements, and guidance notes on advocacy, awareness, prevention, release, identification and verification, interim care, family tracing and reunification, reintegration, and family reunification. Standard 14 on page 128 discusses justice for children and provides key actions and measurement indicators.
Working with Men and Boy Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Forced Displacement
Intended to emphasize programs on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) that include men and boys, this resource provides guidance on accessing survivors, providing protection, and delivering medical, legal, and social services. It contains key considerations for inclusive SGBV programming and a list of key resources.
Field Handbook for the Implementation of UNHCR BID Guidelines
This resource serves as a compliment to the 2008 UNHCR Guidelines for Determining the Best Interests of the Child. It provides an overview of the international and national legal frameworks and places determination of best interest within a child protection framework. It also explains the process for determining the best interests of the child and includes guidance on principles and procedures for communicating with and interviewing children.
Children and Armed Conflict: A Guide to International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law
This resource provides an overview of the international legal framework, and explains the practical applicability of the law and standards as they relate to children and armed conflict. This resource also discusses internally displaced children; sexual violence against children; child labor; children and landmines and cluster bombs; children and small armed and light weapons; child victims, witnesses and perpetrators of crimes; and the role of children in peace processes.
Operational Guide to the Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards
This resource is intended to accompany the Integrated DDR Standards (IDDRS) document. As an operational guide, this resource summarizes key guidance from each IDDRS module. Guidance 5.20 and 5.30 focus on youth and children DDR; it examines reintegration programming, advocacy, and prevention of recruitment.
Putting Children at the Centre: a practical guide to children’s participation
Intended for Save the Children staff at headquarters and field offices who work on children’s participation, this resource provides practice standards, a toolkit of activities, and guiding questions for planning participation activities. This resource also provides guides to including children in advocacy and campaigning, fundraising, media and communications, recruitment, governance, and emergencies.
Guidelines on International Protection No. 8: Child Asylum Claims under Article 1(A)2 and 1(F) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees
22 December 2009
This resource is intended to provide legal interpretive guidance for governments, legal practitioners, decision makers, the judiciary, and other practitioners who need assistance carrying out refugee status determination in the field. This resource also provides guidelines on carrying out this determination in a child-sensitive manner and includes an overview of the relevant international legal framework.
Handbook on Legislative Reform: Realising Children’s Rights, Vol. 1
In order to support implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), this resource examines constitutional and legislative reforms in favor of the rights of children. Taking a human rights-based approach, it considers various guiding principles, rights of victims, prevention, criminalization, and processes and entry points for constitutional and legislative reforms.
Guidance Note of the Secretary-General: UN Approach to Justice for Children
This resource is intended to provide guidance for children’s activities in pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis contexts, with particular attention to achieving justice for children at the national level. This resource includes nine guiding principles and a framework for a justice approach to child protection and child participation.
We’ve Got Something to Say - Promoting Child and Youth Agency: A Facilitator’s Manual
Intended for those who work with Christian Children’s Fund programs, this resource aims to strengthen child and youth involvement. It discusses preparing a child friendly enabling environment and consulting, planning and implementing programs with children and young people. The appendices provide tools and activities to engage children and youth.
UNHCR Guidelines for Determining the Best Interests of the Child
This resource builds on the practices of domestic child protection systems and details UNHCR’s formal procedure for the ‘best interests determination’ (BID) of a child. This process is designed to facilitate adequate child participation without discrimination. This resource includes guidance on setting up a BID procedure, collecting information, balancing competing rights, and informing the child and follow-up measures.
UNHCR Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls
This resource provides an overview of the legal standards and responsibilities to protect women and girls. It discusses issues such as displacement, prevention, reintegration, participation in peacebuilding processes, and the administration of justice during displacement for formal, traditional, and transitional mechanisms. Chapter 6 provides an overview of the international and regional legal framework. This resource is intended for UNHRC staff, both at headquarters and in the field, and protection partners.
The Participation of Children and Young People in Emergencies
Written for staff and managers of relief agencies and children’s agencies active in emergency response, this resource provides a guide for programming with children’s participation in emergencies. This resource considers: providing information for children; involving children in assessments, planning and decision making; feedback and complaint mechanisms for children; and children’s and young people’s associations in emergencies.
Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
This resource is intended as a practical guide for explaining and implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the two Optional Protocols. This resource summarizes each article and provides comments, recommendations, and an implementation checklist. The appendices include a list of other key legal and policy instruments.
IASC Gender Handbook: Women, Girls, Boys and Men: Different Needs – Equal Opportunities
This resource is intended to assist field practitioners responding to humanitarian emergencies in meeting standards for integrating gender issues. It offers checklists for monitoring gender equality programming and focuses on major cross-cutting issues such as camp coordination and management, education, food issues, health, livelihoods, non-food items, registration, shelter, and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene).
Implementing Victims’ Rights: A Handbook on the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation
This resource was created as a companion to the UN’s Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. It was intended to help guide non-governmental and civil society organizations advocate for victims’ rights as primary concern in state action.
Protecting Children from Sexual Exploitation & Sexual Violence in Disaster & Emergency Situations: A guide for local & community based organisations
This resource aims to provide guidance for local grassroots organizations in the protection of children from sexual violence and sexual exploitation. It explores relevant legal and policy frameworks and existing protection frameworks. This resource also includes key actions to minimizing the risks of sexual violence, such as advocacy and campaigning, protection committees, creating safe spaces, and psychosocial support and education. The annex includes checklists for action.
Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards
This resource is intended to guide practitioners on a range of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration activities and programs. Module 5.20 looks specifically at youth and DDR and considers socio-economic reintegration strategies for youth and young-ex-combatants, gender issues, and socio-political integration. Module 5.30 examines children and DDR and considers programming, access of children to DDR programs, prevention of recruitment and re-recruitment of children, and DDR programming for girls.
Rule-of-Law Tools for Post-Conflict States: Truth Commissions
This resource establishes principles and standards for the creation of truth commissions and explores core operational activities such as statement-taking, building a database, research and investigations, public hearings, public outreach, and report writing. It also explores the link between truth commissions, prosecutions, reparations, vetting, and reforms. The role of national and international NGOs in truth commissions is considered. Meant to assist field missions and transitional administrations, this resource uses lessons learned from previous UN field missions in Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste.
Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law
This UN General Assembly resolution provides principles related to State's obligations concerning reparations to victims of international humanitarian and human rights abuses. Victims have a right to be treated humanely and with respect, to access justice and relevant information, and to be afforded adequate and effective reparation without discrimination.
Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children and Adolescents in International Settings: Guidelines and resources
This resource aims to provide guidance to program managers and researchers on collecting information from and about young people on their health and social welfare conditions, as well as those who have experienced trafficking, abuse, or displacement. It considers basic ethical principles regarding children’s participation. The annex includes a sample survey and consent form.
Fighting back: Child and community-led strategies to avoid children’s recruitment into armed forces and groups in West Africa
Using case studies from Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, this resource focuses on strategies to prevent children’s recruitment in armed forces and groups. Strategies to prevent recruitment include developing targeted messages, avoiding separation, providing alternative care, schooling and skills training, and improving livelihoods. Intended to inform initiatives by governments, the UN, and non-governmental organizations, this resource also provides an overview of what constitutes voluntary and forced recruitment.
Guidelines for Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings: Focusing on Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence in Emergencies
Intended to assist humanitarian actors and communities, this resource provides guidance on planning and implementing interventions to prevent and respond to sexual violence during the initial emergency phase. Guiding action points for minimum prevention and response in areas such as coordination, assessment and monitoring, protection, and education are available beginning on page 15. Annex 2 includes a sample monitoring form. Annex 3 contains a sample incident report form.
Conflict-sensitive approaches to development, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding
This resource provides frameworks and guidelines to conflict-sensitive programming in the fields of development, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding. It examines conflict-sensitive planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, sectoral approaches, and approaches for mainstreaming conflict sensitivity.
Inter-Agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children
This resource focuses on children affected by armed conflict who become separated from their families, as well as unaccompanied children and orphans. It includes principles and guidelines for special issues related to refugee children and promoting children’s rights. The annex provides a list of key international instruments relating to separated children.
Gender-Based Violence: Care & Protection of Children in Emergencies, A Field Guide
Intended for staff in emergency situations, this resource focuses on the prevention of gender-based violence in emergency field operations. It includes Save the Children’s programming framework, principles, and process. Section III on page 9 provides an overview of international legal and policy instruments. Page 46 includes an implementation checklist.
Human Rights Standards and Practice for the Police: Expanded Pocket Book on Human Rights for the Police
Part of OHCHR’s professional training series, this resource organizes major human rights topics for police. Relevant international human rights standards on topics such as investigations, arrest, detention and the use of force are explored. This resource is designed to complement OHCHR’s International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement and Human Rights and Law Enforcement: A Trainer’s Guide.
Separated Children: Care and Protection of Children in Emergencies
This resource provides a thematic overview of key child protection concerns, including international law and policy instruments, and guidance on programming in emergencies. The appendix includes sample forms and assessment questions. The annex includes sample forms to use with separated children and assessment questions.
Guide to the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
This resource aims to help child protection actors within governmental and non-governmental organizations advocate for the ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC). This resource emphasizes the monitoring and reporting requirements of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Guidelines for Prevention and Response
This resource provides guidance for protection of refugees against sexual and gender-based violence. It provides guiding principles and considers prevention strategies through transforming socio-cultural norms, rebuilding community support systems, improving accountability systems, and monitoring and documenting of sexual and gender-based violence. The annex includes a code of conduct and sample report forms.
Children Participating in Research, Monitoring and Evaluation - Ethics and your responsibility as a manager
This resource considers ethical issues and challenges around involving children in M&E programs given children’s right to part to participate. It provides an overview of what participation means and issues such as accountability, protection of children’s best interests, informing children, informed consent, and equity and non-discrimination. It also includes a checklist of questions for research and monitoring and evaluation managers when including child participation in research.
Human Rights and Law Enforcement: A Trainer’s Guide on Human Rights for the Police
Part of OHCHR’s professional training series, this resource provides an outline of training on human rights topics, group exercises, instructions, guidance for trainers, and handouts, including on the protection of juveniles. This resource is designed to complement OHCHR’s International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement and the Human Rights Standards and Practice for the Police: Expanded Pocket Book on Human Rights for the Police.
Child Soldiers: Care & Protection of Children in Emergencies, A Field Guide
Intended as a practical reference for practitioners in emergency settings, this resource is designed for field, headquarters, and Save the Children partner organization staff members who design and manage children and war programs. It discusses child soldiers and their vulnerabilities, the international framework, and a programming framework that includes demobilization and reintegration, and a process for program design.
Monitoring and Investigating Human Rights Abuses in Armed Conflict
This resource considers monitoring human rights abuses in situations of armed conflict and provides information required to prepare for fact-finding missions, as well as guidelines on how to investigate and verify information and determine sufficient proof. The annexes include relevant international and regional human rights laws in Africa. An overview of human rights abuses against children in situations of armed conflict is provided on page 33.
Ukweli: Handbook on Monitoring and Documenting Human Rights Violations in Africa
This resource defines key activities related to human rights contact-building, monitoring, fact-finding, and documenting. It also defines the principles of accuracy, confidentiality, impartiality, and gender-sensitivity for conducting research on human rights violations. Based on the experience of African human rights defenders, this resource provides guidance for national and local human rights organizations and activists who are new to human rights research and human rights law. An accompanying ‘A Handbook for Community Activists’ is also available.
Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care
Intended for UNHCR staff and its operational partners, this resource provides guidelines on the protection and care of refugee children. It includes an overview of treaty standards, cultural considerations, psychosocial well-being, personal liberty and security, legal status, education, and unaccompanied children. The Annex provides UNHRC’s policy on refugee children.
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