In March 2021, Save the Children and the Oxford Programme on International Peace and Security at the Blavatnik School of Government’s Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict (ELAC) Published a critical report on advancing justice for children.
As part of the research carried out in preparation of this report, PJI Directors Kathy Roberts and Max Marcus were consulted as Contributing Experts.
In September 2020, Max and Kathy were invited to attend an expert round table to reflect on concrete steps to strengthen accountability for international crimes and serious human rights violations against or affecting children in situations of armed conflict. The knowledge exchange roundtable gathered a small number of world-leading experts to reflect on the findings and recommendations in the draft of this Save the Children/ELAC research paper in order to develop insight, momentum and practical solutions to promote justice, accountability and redress for crimes and serious violations under international law against children in armed conflict. It was also an opportunity to identify experts and key stakeholders willing to take this agenda forward and initiate the building of a coalition.
During this roundtable, the experts identified existing strengths and gaps in current judicial and non-judicial processes with the potential to address accountability for crimes and serious violations against or affecting children in armed conflict. The exchange resulted in the development of a shared strategy toward the design of a road map to promote accountability for violations of children’s rights. Partners in Justice International welcomes the publication of this research paper, and looks forward to continuing to be part of the coalition that works toward ensuring accountability for children affected by armed conflict.