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| Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers | |
|---|---|
| Name | Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | London |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Leader title | Director |
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers is an international network of non-governmental organizations, human rights groups, and advocacy actors formed to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers in armed conflicts. It operates through research, advocacy, policy engagement, and public campaigning to influence United Nations systems, regional bodies such as the African Union, and national authorities. The Coalition has engaged with instruments like the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and processes led by the UN Security Council and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
Founded in 1998 amid global attention to conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Coalition emerged as a coordinated response involving groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Save the Children. Early work intersected with initiatives by the International Criminal Court and advocacy surrounding the Rome Statute. The Coalition contributed to debates preceding adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and engaged with the Geneva Conventions framework on international humanitarian law. Its history includes campaigns during the Kosovo War, the Second Congo War, and conflicts in Myanmar and Colombia.
The Coalition's mission focuses on preventing the recruitment and use of children by armed groups and armed forces, promoting demobilization and reintegration aligned with standards from the United Nations Children's Fund and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Objectives include strengthening legal protections through instruments like the Paris Principles and influencing sanctions measures applied by the European Union and the United States Department of State in country-specific listings. The Coalition also aims to improve monitoring under the UN Secretary-General's annual reports on children and armed conflict and to secure accountability via mechanisms such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia precedent and Special Court for Sierra Leone practices.
Organizationally, the Coalition functions as an umbrella network with a small secretariat based in London and member organizations spanning continents, including regional partners in West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Membership comprises international NGOs like International Committee of the Red Cross, regional charities, academic centers at institutions such as the London School of Economics and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and local groups operating in countries including Sudan, Iraq, and Guatemala. Decision-making uses working groups focused on legal advocacy, research, and country monitoring; the Coalition engages with donor entities like the European Commission and philanthropic actors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Major campaigns have targeted recruitment practices in contexts such as Myanmar's internal conflicts, Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army, and recruitment by armed actors in the Central African Republic. The Coalition has lobbied for inclusion of parties in UN Security Council listings and for demobilization programs coordinated with UNICEF and the World Bank. It has campaigned during high-profile processes like the negotiation of the Rome Statute implementation and regional disarmament talks involving the African Union and the Organization of American States. Advocacy has included public reports, briefings to bodies including the European Parliament and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and targeted campaigns against recruitment by non-state actors such as Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State.
The Coalition produces country surveys, thematic reports, and policy briefings drawing on field investigations and partner documentation. Publications have addressed topics including recruitment trends in Syria, the effects of demobilization in Liberia, child recruitment in Colombia linked to FARC, and gendered dimensions in contexts like Afghanistan. Research outputs have informed submissions to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, amicus briefs before the International Criminal Court, and training materials used by UN peacekeeping missions and humanitarian actors. Reports often reference legal standards from the Geneva Conventions and interpretive guidance from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The Coalition collaborates with UN agencies such as UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights; with regional bodies including the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; and with academic partners at universities such as Oxford University and Columbia University. It works alongside humanitarian organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières and development actors such as the World Bank. Strategic collaborations include joint reports with Human Rights Watch and coordination with national ministries of defense and justice in states implementing child protection reforms.
Impact includes contributions to stronger legal norms, enhanced monitoring within UN reporting mechanisms, and influence on disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs implemented in post-conflict settings like Sierra Leone and Nepal. The Coalition's advocacy has been cited in national legislation reform and in Security Council resolutions addressing children in armed conflict. Criticism has come from some member organizations and analysts who argue the Coalition's focus on documentation can expose local partners to security risks in contexts such as Somalia and South Sudan, and that engagement with state actors—for example, in Myanmar—has sometimes strained principles of impartiality. Debates persist about balancing advocacy, field protection, and the complexities of negotiating with non-state armed actors such as Hezbollah and Taliban.
Category:International human rights organizations