Child Protection Provisions and Peace Agreements

Author: Sean Molloy

Peace agreements often serve as roadmaps for peacebuilding and the reconstruction of the post-conflict state, by delineating issues to be addressed, reforms to be enacted and the groups that are to benefit from them. It follows that what and who is included in a peace agreement matters. This report contributes to ongoing efforts to recognise and support inclusion of child-related provisions in peace agreements, by examining how peace agreements address the issue of child protection.

The report first provides an overview of existing provisions on child protection in 339 peace agreements signed between 1990 and 2022, before analysing the benefits and drawbacks associated with how peace agreements address this issue. The report identifies a need for more clarity in how commitments intending to benefit children are constructed in peace agreements. It also suggests that provisions on child protection must be balanced with provisions on children’s participation, and that children’s views should be incorporated into peace negotiations to help inform how child-related provisions are addressed.