The Disempowerment of Inclusion
The Constitutionalism and Governance Research Group presents:
The Disempowerment of Inclusion: Children and Peace Agreements
The substance and form of peace agreements- formal documents produced by discussion with some or all a conflict’s protagonists with a view to ending military conflict- can be important for the advancement of children’s rights after conflict. These documents often include a range of reforms aimed at addressing the underpinnings of war to build a sustainable peace. Yet, existing scholarship tends to focus solely on the omission of child-related provisions in peace accords obfuscating the equally, if not more important, issue of how children have been included when they are. In doing so, existing scholarly contributions miss opportunities to examine and articulate the forms and approaches that ought to be adopted if peace agreements are in fact to help advance children’s rights. This article attempts to address this gap. The overall aim is to sketch out the multiplicity of potential readings of peace agreement provisions on child protection. The intention is to advocate not only for more clarity in how these provisions are constructed but, perhaps more importantly, to champion the need for children’s perspectives to be included in the negotiations that subsequently produce these agreements.