Indoctrination and New Forms of Use of Children in Armed Conflict

We often think of the smartphone, air travel, and the internet as tools which have the potential to create a world where all children can grow up happy, healthy, and with their families. However, in the 2023 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, the UN Secretary-General warned that grave violations affecting children, with 27,180 verified instances, had significantly increased. Moreover, for the first time ever a permanent security Council member, Russia, was listed in the annual report. At the same time, these same technologies were used to coerce children into armed forces and armed groups. 

Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict tasked the Columbia University SIPA’s Capstone team with creating a policy paper that documents and examines the indoctrination and new forms of use of children in armed conflict. As the context of this work is varied and multifaceted, the report provided a common language and understanding around this topic for practitioners. The report focused on three case studies: Colombia, Nigeria, and Russia-Ukraine. Each case provided a different perspective where the conflict between armed groups/forces used children in traditional and non-traditional roles. The team formulated the policy paper by conducting a desk review of each case study, conducted interviews with experts/practitioners, and a final synthesis of the data collected. The final report contains their key findings and recommendations for Watchlist.