Peer-reviewed article
"There is no peace when you are excluded": exploring peace and peacebuilding with children and youth affected by armed violence.
Baillie Abidi C ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This research explores the perspectives of 50 children and youth who have been affected by armed violence to understand their views on peace and peacebuilding. The study finds that young people prioritize interpersonal peace, learning peacebuilding skills, and their own roles in building peace within families, schools, and communities. The research emphasizes the importance of listening to children and youth voices when developing peace and security policies that affect them.
Key points
- Children and youth affected by armed violence have distinct peace perspectives that should inform policy
- Interpersonal peace is identified as a key component of peace from children's viewpoints
- Young people identify learning peacebuilding skills as important for building peace
- Children and youth see themselves as active participants in peacebuilding in homes, schools, and communities
- Meaningful child engagement in Children, Peace, and Security Agenda development is recommended
Limitations
The document provides limited methodological detail about how the 50 children and youth were selected, their ages, or the specific geographic contexts of armed violence. It is unclear whether findings are generalizable across different regions or conflict types.
Abstract
The global community is becoming increasingly fragile, plagued with intensifying armed violence, fracturing democratic governance processes, diminishing commitments and actions to protect basic human rights, and raging climate crises. Amid these complexities, children and youth are disproportionately impacted, and all signs point to increased precarity of their rights. Young people affected by armed violence are particularly suffering, thus understanding their rights and needs during and post conflict is essential to building effective peace and security. This research features the peace perspectives of 50 children and youth, all impacted by armed violence, and demonstrates the power of listening to young people's visions for peace. The key findings illustrate the importance of interpersonal peace, learning peacebuilding skills, and the essential role that children and youth play in building peace in their homes, schools, and communities. Recommendations for meaningful child engagement in the development of a Children, Peace, and Security Agenda are featured.