#ExileInternational

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Red Hand Day

Show Your Red Hand to the World

Help stop the spread of child soldiering by raising awareness this #RedHandDay, advocating against the use of children in armed conflict worldwide. Painting hands red symbolizes the blood shed by children forced to commit acts of violence as child soldiers. 

250,000+ children as young as seven are enslaved as child soldiers — kidnapped and forced to fight and kill at the expense of their own lives. Any number of children is too many, and it's time to take a stand.

Photo credit: Exile International

To mark the International Day against the use of Child Soldiers, the Special Representative is launching the Children and Armed Conflict Primer

"To continue the efforts to end and prevent grave violations against children and to mark this year’s Red Hand Day, the Special Representative is proud to announce the launch of an online course, the Children and Armed Conflict Primer. This course has been developed by the Office of the Special Representative and the United Nations System Staff College thanks to the financial support of the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta, and builds on the lessons learned of the pilot Virtual Summer School on Child Protection in Armed Conflict organized in 2022."

This free and self-paced online course is open to all and targets a diverse range of professionals, including from, governments, the United Nations, regional organizations, civil society, and academia.

Registration for the CAAC PRIMER: https://www.unssc.org/courses/children-and-armed-conflict-primer

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Monthly Roundup - June 2020

[WEBINAR] YOUTH, COVID-19, AND CRISIS RESPONSE IN CONFLICT AFFECTED AREAS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Bright Colors on a World Canvas

“In the world’s largest refugee camps, Max Frieder is using art to fight COVID-19 and gender-based violence, and heal the scars of genocide.”

The Rohingya have no written language, making art a critical medium for public health messaging. (Photo: TC Archives) 

Painting Peace with Former Child Soldiers | The Poza Project w/ Exile International & Jeremy Cowart

Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programming With Colombia’s Youth

“This paper argues for further recognizing, facilitating, and enhancing the young Colombians’ role in the reconciliation process as well as in guaranteeing the successful, collective, and community-based socio-economic reintegration of FARC ex-combatants. Including Colombian youth as key agents in the reconciliation and reintegration process is particularly relevant in the context of resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) adopted in December 2015 by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which recognizes “the important role youth can play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and as a key aspect of the sustainability, inclusiveness, and success of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.” The YPS resolution has been a landmark in changing the long-standing narrative that portrays youth as a security threat to be contained, victims of conflict, or simply passive beneficiaries of post-conflict peacebuilding. It recognizes their potential to be agents of positive change and highlights their own peacebuilding efforts.”

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Bi-Weekly Roundup April 22 to May 5

NEW UN CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR ACTION TO PROTECT CHILDREN AFFECTED BY WAR

“On April 2, 2019, at the launch of a new UN campaign on children and armed conflict, Watchlist urged the United Nations, its Member States, fellow civil society, and other stakeholders to strengthen actions to protect children affected by war.”

“Over the next three years, the campaign will seek to strengthen collaboration between the United Nations, civil society, States, regional actors, and other stakeholders, in order to support actions designed to end and prevent grave violations committed against children in situations of conflict. Under the banner “ACT to Protect,” the advocacy campaign will push for concrete actions to protect the rights of children in conflict.”

Barclay believes in Exile

“Barclay Stockett is a four time competitor on American Ninja Warrior. As you can see from the video, she has a big heart and a determined spirit. [E]xcited to announce that Barclay will be traveling with our US Executive Team to Congo at the end of this month to help our African team build a Ninja course for the children in Exile’s programs!”

** UPDATE **

After further consideration I have decided to move forward with “Monthly Roundups” instead of bi-weekly posts. To maximize impact there will be a new post at the beginning of each following month. Thank you for your support and see you in May! 

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Weekly Roundup June 4 to 10

June 4th was the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression 

"Children need peace and protection at all times. The rules of war prohibit the unlawful targeting of civilians, attacks on schools or hospitals, the use, recruitment and unlawful detention of children, and the denial of humanitarian assistance. When conflicts break out, these rules need to be respected and those who break them need to be held to account. Enough is enough. Stop attacks on children."

—UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore 

Generations for Peace: Ask the Experts

“Do children and youth in high-conflict areas receive the support they need to lead others away from violent conflict?”

“Generations For Peace is joined by leading NGOs working with children and youth around the globe to answer a new question in honour of International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.”

Canada and partners announce historic investment in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations

“Canada, along with the European Union, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the World Bank, today announced an investment of close to $3.8 billion CAD, marking a fundamental shift toward improving access and reducing barriers to quality education around the world. Today’s announcement represents the single largest investment in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations.”

Bethany Haley Williams – Developing Hope Children and Young Peacemakers

[Podcast] Hear from Bethany Haley Williams, Ph.D., Founder of Exile International and author of Color of Grace! 

Community networks central to stopping CAR child recruitment 

“CAR became the 167th country to ratify OPAC – the international child soldier treaty outlawing the recruitment and use of children. We hope our new resources can build on this positive step and help strengthen commitments to end the use of child soldiers.”

CHILD SOLDIERS IN AFRICA: RECRUITMENT IN CAR CIVIL WAR IS SURGING, WITH THE U.N. STRUGGLING TO ASSIST CHILDREN

“Yet out of the approximately 12,500 children released from armed groups since 2014, U.N. figures show more than a third of them—about 4,500—are still waiting for assistance. Key reasons include a lack of money—UNICEF’s operations in this area, for example, are almost 90 percent underfunded—and an inability for aid workers to operate in some areas controlled by armed groups.”

“[R]eintegrating child soldiers isn’t any easier than disarming them. All are traumatized, and many resist the offer of a fresh start. Substance abuse is common and can compound the problem ... The next hurdle: returning home. When armed groups release child soldiers, local leaders and aid workers try to ease their transition to civilian life, both for them and their communities. “The message is: Take them back,” says Mongbu. But the stigma attached to their violent past means the community may reject them.”

INVISIBLE CHILDREN OPPOSES RESCISSION OF COMPLEX CRISES FUND

This week, Invisible Children joined more than thirty other organizations to urge Congress to oppose a White House proposal to rescind $30 million from the Complex Crises Fund. READ THE LETTER 34 ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING INVISIBLE CHILDREN, SENT TO CONGRESS

WHY DO WE NEED CREATIVE APPROACHES TO PEACEBUILDING?

“Peacebuilding scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize that sustainable peace requires more than cognitive, rational engagement. In the conflicts that plague our world today, violence too often insinuates itself into the psyches and spirits, the bodies and souls of children and adults. These conflicts are not amenable to transformation through rational processes alone. They require modes of expression that embrace paradox and give voice to thoughts and feelings that defy words. Cultural work and the arts offer resources for waging conflicts nonviolently, transforming relationships in the aftermath of violence and building the capacities required for peace.” 

TEDx Kakuma Camp

TEDx Kakuma Camp was the first ever TEDx event hosted in a refugee camp for refugees. Held on June 9th, 2018 you can watch the speakers below!

Power the Wildlife Guardians 

[Sign the petition] “The Thin Green Line, who work with the world’s top rangers, are asking for our help to train and equip thousands of Wildlife Guardians -- elite protectors to deploy to Africa’s worst poaching hotspots. 300 rangers with this training virtually stopped elephant poaching in one vast area of Kenya.”