PeaceRep and partners have published a new dashboard on children and youth in peace agreements, based on the PA-X database..
The dashboard accompanies Sean Molloy’s report, ‘Child Soldiers and Peace Agreements’, which was released this week and draws on the dataset.
The interactive dashboard allows users to explore and gain insights into references to children and youth in peace agreements.
New dashboard on children and youth in peace agreements released
Browse the interactive dashboard
A comprehensive interactive dashboard offering unique insights into references to children and youth (C&Y) in peace agreements signed between 1990 and 2022 is now available.
About the C&Y dashboard
The interactive dashboard is the latest addition to PeaceRep’s suite of PeaceTech data tools. It is based on Dr Sean Molloy’s new ‘Children and Youth in Peace Agreements Database and Dataset’, which was created using 348 peace agreements from the PA-X database that code for general references to children and youth.
The dataset takes a closer look at the identified provisions and categorises them into specific topics, including child soldiers, children’s rights, children and transitional justice, children and third-party actors and children and references to their inclusion, protection and provision.
Alongside the interactive dashboard, a new report by Sean Molloy, ‘Child Soldiers and Peace Agreements,’ was released this week. The report finds that of the 252 peace agreements signed between 1990 and 2022 that include references to children, 77 address child soldiers. The report also includes recommendations on how peace agreements can best address the issue of child soldiers.
Molloy shares insights on why further research is needed on children and how they feature in peace agreements, as well as the creation of the dataset:
Peace agreements offer important opportunities to ensure that peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction efforts place children at their centre. Yet, there is relatively little known about how peace agreements address children, whether child-focused provisions are implemented, and what impact, if any, they have. This dataset helps to address the first of these gaps. It provides important data on when and how various types of peace agreement include commitments targeting children. In doing so, this database also facilitates future research on whether and how peace agreement provisions on children are implemented and the effects of this implementation on children’s lives post-conflict.
Initially conceived of as a database on children in peace agreements, the final iteration also includes provisions relating to youth. Varying definitions of ‘child’ and/or ‘youth’ in different countries represented a challenge in the development of the database, so including provisions relating to both terms will assist users in determining where youth references might also pertain to children.
Additional background on the dashboard
Dr Sean Molloy is a PeaceRep Associate and NUAcT Fellow in Law based at Newcastle Law School (Newcastle University). His research focuses on children’s rights, peace processes and transitional justice.
The dashboard was developed by PeaceRep Fellow in Data Engineering, Niamh Henry. A codebook is also available to assist users in navigating the dashboard.
This dashboard is our most recent addition to a collection of PeaceTech data and digital tools aimed at aiding policy and practice. PeaceRep is dedicated to PeaceTech innovation, particularly enhanced data for facilitating adaptive peace and transition process management.