Since the mid-1990s the issue of children and armed conflict has garnered increasing international attention and there have been significant developments to protect children in conflict situations. Advances have been made in several areas including: the international- and national legal and normative frameworks; ‘system-level’ and institutional arrangements; and enhanced monitoring and reporting of violations against children.

Notwithstanding these and other positive developments children continue to be killed, injured, displaced, subjected to sexual violence and affected in many other ways by armed conflict. In some instances, while persistent violators have been identified through UN/other reporting mechanisms, these individuals or groups have not been held accountable for their actions.

In March 2009 Conflict Dynamics completed a project – funded by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) – the objective of which was to assess measures the UNSC has taken and could take to hold to account persistent violators of children’s human rights and protections in situations of armed conflict.

The findings and observations arising from the project are presented in a report titled, “Strengthening Protection of Children through Accountability” (March 2009).