Chapter 16 – Best Practices

The principle

To share with other Member States and the United Nations best practices and lessons learned on the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers in the context of peacekeeping.

Why is this principle important?

By sharing best practices and lessons learned, Member States can prevent mistakes, reduce operational risk, avoid duplication of effort, increase efficiency and effectiveness, and ultimately, sharpen the collective approach to preventing and addressing the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The sharing of best practices and lessons learned is particularly pertinent in the context of the Vancouver Principles, given its relatively recent launch and the nascent stage of this implementation guidance. This implementation guidance is a first step, and is meant to serve as a catalyst to initiate a dialogue on best practices in preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers through peacekeeping. The endorsing community shares the responsibility to further identify, communicate, and harness new practical measures that can support the effective implementation of the Vancouver Principles.

How can this principle be implemented?

Gather best practices and lessons learned related to the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers: Member States should deliberately and consistently gather best practices and lessons learned related to the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers. Such observations can be collected during and following the conduct of operations, and at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. In particular, Member States should consider undertaking the following measures:

• Conducting after-action reviews (AARs) of tasks related to the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers: During and after peacekeeping operations, Member States should conduct AARs of tasks related to the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers. To be timely, AARs should be completed when memories are clearest, sources are still available, and the strategic environment remains relevant.
• Consulting child protection actors on lessons learned: Member States should consider consulting civil society partners and UN actors with specialised roles in child protection – such as the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO), UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Save the Children, and/or the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG/CAAC), in the analysis of after-action reports, so that appropriate lessons learned can be identified.

Review and update national policy, doctrine and directives, based on best practices and lessons learned related to the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers: Member States should periodically review relevant national doctrine, policies, and directives, as well as training and education materials, with an aim to adapt these guidance documents to emerging operational challenges and best practices.

Disseminate best practices and lessons learned on the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers, including by:

• Proactively sharing best practices and lessons learned with Member States, the UN, peacekeeping training centers, and regional organizations, as appropriate: Member States should disseminate lessons learned and best practices through a variety of multilateral organizations and mechanisms. In particular, best practices can be shared with the UN DPO Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training’s (DPET) Child Protection Team, the UN DPO Integrated Training Services (ITS), UNICEF and/or the Office of the SRSG/CAAC. In addition, Member States can submit relevant material to the UN Peacekeeping Resource Hub,^{Endnote 159} and should use best practices to inform their input into UN guidance and training materials, mission strategic reviews, and deliberations in the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34). Member States can also communicate key findings to the UN Security Council, including the UN Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), the UN Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations, open debates on CAAC, or in the drafting of thematic resolutions on CAAC.

  Member States can also share lessons learned and best practices with peacekeeping training centres, including with organizations such as the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres (IAPTC), as well as regional associations, such as the Association of Latin American Peacekeeping Training Centres (ALCOPAZ) and the Association of Asia-Pacific Peace Operations Training Centres (AAPTC).

• Funding the translation of UN guidance material and lessons learned on child protection: Member States can support the dissemination of best practices by funding the translation of core UN guidance materials – particularly the 2017 DPKO-DFS-DPA Policy on Child Protection in United Nations Peace Operations – into additional languages.
• Organizing and funding conferences, workshops, seminars, and/or side-events: Events to engage with academics, civil society, the UN, Member States, and other relevant actors should be aimed at increasing awareness, facilitating the transfer of knowledge and best practices, generating new ideas, and inspiring new research on CAAC. Member States could consider supporting new stand-alone events, or alternatively, they could consider sponsoring side events that leverage existing communities of practice, such as on the margins of the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) in New York.

Examples and resources

UN Peacekeeping Resource Hub: Developed by the UN, this website “is designed to serve as the primary resource for [UN] Member States, Peacekeeping Training Institutes, and the UN’s partners on peacekeeping-related issues. It serves as a repository for all official DPO and [Department of Operational Support (DOS)] training and guidance materials, and provides links to other related UN documents and resources. It also offers links to real-time news and updates in the [UN] peacekeeping world. The Peacekeeping Resource Hub also provides access to communities of practice, a platform where peacekeeping practitioners and [UN] Member States can share and exchange information and ideas about the latest peacekeeping issues as well as collaborate on training and guidance materials.”^{Endnote 160}

Implementation checklist

To implement this principle, Member States should undertake the following:

• Gather best practices and lessons learned related to the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers, including by undertaking the following:
  • Conducting after-action reviews (AARs) of tasks related to the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers; and,
  • Consulting child protection actors on lessons learned.
• Review and update relevant national policy, doctrine, and directives, based on best practices and lessons learned related to the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
• Disseminate best practices and lessons learned on the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers, including by:
  • Proactively sharing best practices and lessons learned with Member States, the UN, peacekeeping training centers, and regional organizations, as appropriate;
  • Funding the translation of UN guidance material and lessons learned on child protection; and,
  • Organizing and funding relevant conferences, workshops, seminars, and/or side events.