The project 'STRIVE Juvenile: Preventing and Responding to Violence against Children by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups' is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and partner countries, Indonesia, Iraq, and Nigeria, with the aim of preventing and countering violent extremism affecting children, in full respect of human rights, gender equality and international law.
The phenomenon
In recent years, the international community has increasingly been confronted with the recruitment and exploitation of children by a variety of terrorist and violent extremist groups all over the world, making this a truly global issue. Children may be groomed and indoctrinated; exploited as servants, sexual slaves, spies and/or informants; or directly involved in the preparation and delivery of attacks. There is no single path to recruitment, but once associated with these groups, children are subjected to multiple forms of physical and psychological violence.
The Challenge
Governments are faced with several common as well as specific national challenges when dealing with the phenomenon of child recruitment and exploitation and its consequences and combining an effective counter-terrorism agenda with the fulfilment of child rights. UNODC implements STRIVE Juvenile - in line with other EU STRIVE initiatives around the world - with the aim of enhancing government strategies, policies, and mechanisms to disrupt terrorist groups’ recruitment and exploitation of children, while supporting their rehabilitation and reintegration and strengthening their resilience. The empowerment of these children and their communities plays a key role in building long-lasting peace and stability at the international, national, and regional levels.
UNODC Added-value
UNODC is uniquely positioned to support partner countries in their efforts to provide comprehensive responses to the complex challenges raised by children’s recruitment and exploitation by terrorist and violent extremist groups given its dual mandates and expertise in the areas of violence against children and counter-terrorism. Drawing on its experience under the Global Programme to End Violence Against Children, UNODC promotes a common approach and coherent strategies to better serve and protect children against terrorist and violent extremist group agendas and has developed a series of related guidance tools including the UNODC Roadmap on the treatment of these children. At the core of this approach, is the principle that preserving public safety and protecting child rights are two complementary objectives to be pursued concomitantly with the aim of achieving long-lasting peace and security.
The implementation
STRIVE Juvenile prioritizes national ownership throughout the design and implementation of activities. The crucial involvement of the Office of the National Security Advisor (ONSA), the lead coordination agency for STRIVE Juvenile Nigeria, ensures that issues related to the protection of children from terrorism and violent extremism remain a priority on the national agenda.
As executing agency, UNODC has designed and implemented STRIVE Juvenile targeted, innovative, and demand-driven interventions, including effective strategy and policy development, legislative review and harmonization, capability development, and regional and trans-regional cooperation, which aim to ultimately achieve:
1) Improved government strategies, policies and mechanisms related to child recruitment and exploitation by terrorist groups through:
2) Increased resilience of vulnerable children against terrorist groups agendas through:
The Awareness-raising Campaign
As part of implementation of activities of the STRIVE Juvenile project, UNODC is carrying out a youth-led awareness raising campaign in Nigeria “#SeeTheChild”, which aims to fuel community acceptance and eliminate stigmatization of reintegrated children in the targeted LGAs of Borno state, namely Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere, as well as to contribute to overall reconciliation and peace building. This campaign will contribute to the prevention of further recruitment of vulnerable children and those already reintegrated into the communities. In line with the national priorities outlined in the National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Terrorism (NAP-PCVE), the STRIVE Juvenile awareness raising campaign aims to build the resilience of key stakeholders, including children and youth, traditional leaders, religious leaders, youth groups, women’s groups, people living with disability, Almajiri (Traditional Qur’anic students), online users, government within Maiduguri metropolitan council, and state and federal authorities. All activities planned in the framework of this campaign will be conducted with the engagement and guidance of community leaders and Youth Peace Champions (YPCs), selected and trained by the STRIVE Juvenile team to contribute to the validation and dissemination of key messages; the resolution of low-level conflict; the identification of emerging dynamics; and the promotion of peace through the effective use of social media platforms.