Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Violations against Children discussions facilitated by Justice Rapid Response and UNAMI Human Rights Office and UNICEF

Baghdad, 10 December 2020 – International experts on child protection and Iraqi civil society organizations discussed at a UN-facilitated workshop the best ways to monitor and report on grave violations committed against children, sharing insights and challenges and establishing a peer network for further future collaboration.

The meeting of the Iraq Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism Task Force (MRM TF) on Grave Violations against Children was the fourth since June, facilitated by UNAMI Human Rights Office and UNICEF, in collaboration with Justice Rapid Response (JRR).

At the concluding session today, held online due to COVID-19 restrictions, JRR expert Ms. Véronique Aubert, Lead on Children and Armed Conflict at Save the Children UK, and International Criminal Law and Gender Justice Adviser Danaé van der Straten Ponthoz made presentations on child protection.

Key topics discussed amongst the 13 men and 11 women participants from 10 different NGOs and UN Agencies, were ethical considerations, safety and security measures, interviewing children, remote monitoring tools, analyzing and evaluating information as well as sexual violence. The discussions provoked an exchange of expertise and insights about challenges relating to planning documentation work and interviewing children and other witnesses while protecting the needs of the child survivors and their communities. It was also an opportunity to exchange views on recurrent challenges encountered when documenting grave violations against children and ways to strengthen the existing network.

Participants decided to establish a peer network to serve as a continued exchange platform enabled by UNAMI HRO and UNICEF among the members of the MRM TF to further strengthen their child protection capacity and act as a quick and flexible exchange platform.

Justice Rapid Response Twitter: @J_RapidResponse