Weekly Roundup June 4 to 10
June 4th was the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
"Children need peace and protection at all times. The rules of war prohibit the unlawful targeting of civilians, attacks on schools or hospitals, the use, recruitment and unlawful detention of children, and the denial of humanitarian assistance. When conflicts break out, these rules need to be respected and those who break them need to be held to account. Enough is enough. Stop attacks on children."
—UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore
Generations for Peace: Ask the Experts
“Do children and youth in high-conflict areas receive the support they need to lead others away from violent conflict?”
“Generations For Peace is joined by leading NGOs working with children and youth around the globe to answer a new question in honour of International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.”
Canada and partners announce historic investment in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations
“Canada, along with the European Union, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the World Bank, today announced an investment of close to $3.8 billion CAD, marking a fundamental shift toward improving access and reducing barriers to quality education around the world. Today’s announcement represents the single largest investment in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations.”
Bethany Haley Williams – Developing Hope Children and Young Peacemakers
[Podcast] Hear from Bethany Haley Williams, Ph.D., Founder of Exile International and author of Color of Grace!
Community networks central to stopping CAR child recruitment
“CAR became the 167th country to ratify OPAC – the international child soldier treaty outlawing the recruitment and use of children. We hope our new resources can build on this positive step and help strengthen commitments to end the use of child soldiers.”
CHILD SOLDIERS IN AFRICA: RECRUITMENT IN CAR CIVIL WAR IS SURGING, WITH THE U.N. STRUGGLING TO ASSIST CHILDREN
“Yet out of the approximately 12,500 children released from armed groups since 2014, U.N. figures show more than a third of them—about 4,500—are still waiting for assistance. Key reasons include a lack of money—UNICEF’s operations in this area, for example, are almost 90 percent underfunded—and an inability for aid workers to operate in some areas controlled by armed groups.”
“[R]eintegrating child soldiers isn’t any easier than disarming them. All are traumatized, and many resist the offer of a fresh start. Substance abuse is common and can compound the problem ... The next hurdle: returning home. When armed groups release child soldiers, local leaders and aid workers try to ease their transition to civilian life, both for them and their communities. “The message is: Take them back,” says Mongbu. But the stigma attached to their violent past means the community may reject them.”
INVISIBLE CHILDREN OPPOSES RESCISSION OF COMPLEX CRISES FUND
This week, Invisible Children joined more than thirty other organizations to urge Congress to oppose a White House proposal to rescind $30 million from the Complex Crises Fund. READ THE LETTER 34 ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING INVISIBLE CHILDREN, SENT TO CONGRESS
WHY DO WE NEED CREATIVE APPROACHES TO PEACEBUILDING?
“Peacebuilding scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize that sustainable peace requires more than cognitive, rational engagement. In the conflicts that plague our world today, violence too often insinuates itself into the psyches and spirits, the bodies and souls of children and adults. These conflicts are not amenable to transformation through rational processes alone. They require modes of expression that embrace paradox and give voice to thoughts and feelings that defy words. Cultural work and the arts offer resources for waging conflicts nonviolently, transforming relationships in the aftermath of violence and building the capacities required for peace.”
TEDx Kakuma Camp was the first ever TEDx event hosted in a refugee camp for refugees. Held on June 9th, 2018 you can watch the speakers below!
Power the Wildlife Guardians
[Sign the petition] “The Thin Green Line, who work with the world’s top rangers, are asking for our help to train and equip thousands of Wildlife Guardians -- elite protectors to deploy to Africa’s worst poaching hotspots. 300 rangers with this training virtually stopped elephant poaching in one vast area of Kenya.”
