EDITED BY SIOBHAN O’NEIL & KATO VAN BROECKHOVEN EDITED BY SIOBHAN O’NEIL & KATO VAN BROECKHOVEN Table of Contents ABOUT THIS VOLUME 7 Trajectories of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 8 2 ABOUT THE AUTHORS 10 Children Into and PREFACE 14 Out of Non-State EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 16 Armed Groups By Siobhan O'Neil 1 INTRODUCTION 38 A Methodology and Value of Approach 38 Child Recruitment B Evidence Base 38 1 C Organizing Principles 40 and Use by Armed 2 THE STATE OF RESEARCH ON CHILD TRAJECTORIES INTO NSAGS 43 Groups in A Structural-Level Analysis: Necessary and Conducive Contextual Conditions 43 Contemporary B Social-Level Factors That Influence Child Trajectories into NSAGs 50 Conflict C Individual-Level Factors That Influence Child An Introduction Trajectories into NSAGs 54 By Siobhan O'Neil 3 CHILD USE AND EXPERIENCES WITHIN NSAGS 67 1 INTRODUCTION 24 A Roles 68 B Indoctrination and Group Processes 68 2 THE PROJECT 26 C Drugs and Alcohol 69 3 PROJECT COMPONENTS 28 D Identity 69 E Trauma 72 4 TERMINOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY 30 F Differences by Demographics 72 5 A NOTE ABOUT CHILD AGENCY 32 4 HOW AND WHY CHILDREN EXIT NSAGS 74 6 ABOUT THE CHAPTERS IN THIS VOLUME 33 A Desistance and Disengagement 74 B How? 74 C Why? 75 D Why Didn’t They Leave? 75 E Recidivism/Side-Switching 76 5 CONCLUSION – PROSPECTS FOR REINTEGRATION 77 A Complex “I Am Nothing 3 Programming 4 Without a Weapon” Landscape Understanding Child Recruitment and Use by The Prevention of and Armed Groups in Syria and Iraq Response to Child By Mara Revkin Association with Non-State with research assistance by Ahmad Midhi Armed Groups and Mazn Najmaldeen Saber By Kato Van Broeckhoven 1 INTRODUCTION 104 1 INTRODUCTION 80 2 METHODOLOGY 106 2 A SELECTIVE OVERVIEW OF THE PREVENTION 3 OVERVIEW OF NSAGS 107 A Ahrar al-Sham (AS) 108 AND RELEASE AND REINTEGRATION B Groups Self-Affiliated with the PROGRAMMING LANDSCAPE 81 Free Syrian Army (FSA) 108 A Child Protection In Emergencies 81 C Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) 108 B Prevention of Child Association with NSAGs 82 D Hizbullah 109 C Release and Reintegration: The United Nations E Islamic State (IS) 109 Approach to Post-NSAG-Involvement F Jaysh al-Islam (JI) 110 Programming for Children 84 G National Defense Forces (NDF) 110 H People’s and Women’s Protection 3 PREVENTION, RELEASE AND REINTEGRATION Units (YPG/YPJ) 111 IN TODAY'S COMPLEX CONFLICT LANDSCAPE 91 I Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) 111 J Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) 112 A Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism 91 B State of Knowledge 96 4 WHY AND HOW DO NSAGS RECRUIT OR 4 INSIGHTS FROM OTHER FIELDS 97 COERCE CHILDREN INTO THEIR RANKS? 112 A Criminology 97 A Why Recruit Children? 112 B Public Health 98 B Techniques of Recruitment 114 5 CONCLUSION 100 5 WHAT INDIVIDUAL, SOCIAL, AND STRUCTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCE CHILD TRAJECTORIES INTO NSAGS? 116 A Individual-Level Factors 117 B Social-Level Factors 119 C Structural-Level Factors 123 6 WHAT ARE THE EXPERIENCES OF AND ROLES FOR CHILDREN IN NSAGS? 128 A Relationships and Identity 128 B Training and Indoctrination 128 C Roles 129 7 HOW AND WHY DO CHILDREN EXIT NSAGS? 132 A Individual-Level Factors 132 B Social-Level Factors 132 C Structural-Level Factors 132 8 OBSTACLES TO DISENGAGEMENT AND REINTEGRATION 134 9 CONCLUSIONS 137 Table of Contents “I Joined to Save Beset on All Sides 5 My People” 6 Children and the Landscape of Conflict in North East Nigeria Children and Non-State By Hilary Matfess, Armed Groups in Mali Graeme Blair, and Chad Hazlett By Jaimie Bleck, Marc-André Boisvert, and Boukary Sangaré 1 INTRODUCTION 178 2 METHODOLOGY 180 1 INTRODUCTION 142 3 CHILDREN’S PATHWAYS INTO 2 BACKGROUND TO THE CONFLICT 144 ARMED GROUPS 181 3 MALIAN NSAGS 146 A Child Recruitment into Boko Haram 181 B Child Recruitment into Vigilante Forces 187 4 THE USE OF CHILDREN BY NSAGS 150 5 DATA AND METHODOLOGY 151 4 CHILDREN’S ROLES IN ARMED GROUPS 6 MODES OF CHILD RECRUITMENT 151 IN NORTH EAST NIGERIA 191 A Boko Haram 191 7 PATHWAYS INTO MALIAN ARMED B Children’s Roles in the CJTF and Other GROUPS 152 Vigilante Groups 197 A Structural-Level Factors 153 B Social-Level Factors 159 5 EXIT FROM ARMED GROUPS AND LIFE C Individual-Level Factors 163 AFTER DISENGAGEMENT 198 A Exiting from Boko Haram 198 8 ARMED GROUPS’ USE OF CHILDREN 170 B Exiting from Vigilante Groups and the CJTF 201 9 EXIT – HOW AND WHY CHILDREN LEAVE NSAGS IN MALI 171 6 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASSISTING DISENGAGED CHILDREN 202 10 CONCLUSION: OBSTACLES TO RELEASE AND REINTEGRATION 174 7 CONCLUSION 205 7 Navigating 8 The Road to a Challenges in Child Better Future By Siobhan O’Neil and Kato Van Broeckhoven Protection and the with research assistance by Kabba Williams Reintegration of 1 INTRODUCTION 236 2 KEY INSIGHTS 237 Children Associated A Multidimensional Causality 237 B The Narrative of Violent Extremism vs. with Armed Local Realities 237 C Terminology Matters 238 Groups D The Fallacy of Neutrality 239 E Community Mobilization vs. By Mark Drumbl and Gabor Rona Individual Recruitment 239 F The Fluidity of Association and Membership 240 1 INTRODUCTION 210 G Differences Inside and Outside Conflict Theatres 240 H Risks, Needs, and Resilience 241 2 THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK 213 I The Appeal of Armed Groups 241 A Scope of Application of the Three Main J Old Problems, Continued Challenges 242 International Legal Frameworks 213 K Disengagement and Desistance 246 B Content of International Human Rights Law and L Reintegrate into What? 247 International Criminal Law Applicable to Children 216 3 PROGRAMMING IN CONTEMPORARY 3 TODAY’S REALITY FOR CHILDREN IN ARMED CONTEXTS 247 CONFLICT AND COUNTER-TERRORISM: A Enduring Challenges and New Dynamics 249 PROTECT OR PUNISH? 220 B The Nature of Today’s Conflicts and the A Contemporary Realities 220 Groups Fighting Them 250 B What Happened to Cause This Shift? 222 C PVE/CVE 251 C Why This Matters 224 D Nature of the State Response 253 4 APPLYING THE “BEST INTERESTS OF THE 4 CONCLUSION 253 CHILD” PRINCIPLE IN CONTEMPORARY ARMED CONFLICTS 225 A Targeting 225 B Grounds and Procedures for Deprivation of Liberty 226 C Treatment of Children Deprived of Liberty 227 D Trials / Due Process 227 5 ADDITIONAL ISSUES FOR POSSIBLE FUTURE ELABORATION 228 6 CONCLUSION 232 6 TAMBO, COLOMBIA A girl plays at the playground of her school in Tambo Colombia, which is located in front of a police station and has been caught in the cross fire betweeen the police and armed groups for years. —August 2016 Diego Ibarra Sánchez 7 About This Volume The United Nations University (UNU) is a global think tank established by the United Nations General Assembly. The mission of UNU is to contribute, through collaborative research and education, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems of human survival, development, and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations, its Peoples, and Member States. UNU’s Centre for Policy Research, in Tokyo, and its Office at the United Nations, in New York, are at the forefront of the University’s efforts to bring evidence into United Nations policy processes. This initiative was established as a joint project of the two UNU entities, with the support of UNICEF, the DDR Section of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and the Governments of Switzerland and Luxembourg. In July 2018 the UNU Centre for Policy Research will relocate to New York and merge with the UNU Office at the United Nations. The new institution will remain an independent think tank within the United Nations system, combining research excellence with deep knowledge of the multilateral system to generate innovative solutions to today’s and tomorrow’s global public policy challenges. Acknowledgments This edited volume and the research it represents would not have been possible without the generous support and partnership of UNICEF, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and the Governments of Luxembourg and Switzerland. This initiative benefit- ed greatly from UNICEF funding that was provided by the European Union through its Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). The editors wish to thank representatives from these institutions who served as members of the Project Steering Group and who provided support and guidance over the last two years, particularly Ibrahim Sesay, Saudamini Siegrist, and Tasha Gill of UNICEF; Isabella Castrogiovanni of the UNICEF Middle East and North Africa regional office (MENARO); Simon Yazgi, Thomas Kontogeorgos, and Christopher O’Donnell of the Disarmament, Demobi- lization and Reintegration (DDR) Section of DPKO; Hanna Bodenmann of the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York; Marielle Mumenthaler of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs; and Olivier Maes and René Lauer of the Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the United Nations. We are indebted to colleagues at UNU who provided key support in the production of this edited volume, notably James Cockayne, Alexandra Cerquone, Serwah Asante, Julia Blocher, Nadeshda Jayakody, Sebastian von Einsie- del, Adam Day, and Cale Salih. We owe a debt of gratitude to UNICEF and DPKO field staff (particularly Solange Vasse and Ndiaga Diagne of MINUSMA) and other partners in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Mali, and Nigeria, who facilitated research visits. The project would not have been possible without their unfailing support. We wish to express our appreciation to members of the Project Advisory Group for their advice and counsel over the course of this project.