Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Encyclopedia
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (CSUCS) is a UK-based non-governmental organization
that was formed to prevent the recruitment and exploitation of children in warfare and to ensure their reintegration into larger society by means of research, advocacy, and capacity building. The primary function of CSUCS is to act as an informational resource center for related NGOs, child advocacy organizations, and international legislative bodies.
By acting in accordance with the above mission statement, CSUCS hopes to achieve the following charitable objectives:
, Human Rights Watch
, International Save the Children Alliance
, Jesuit Refugee Service
, Quaker United Nations Office
, and Terre des Hommes
) were later joined by the following organizations:
In 2002, the CSUCS became a limited company and then registered as a charity on January 6, 2003. Previously, the coalition was known as The Child Soldiers Coalition Educational and Research Trust and The Child Soldiers Coalition Educational and Capacity Building Trust. On March 31, 2008, the charity was re-named The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, as it is known today.
, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
, and less frequently, to the European Union
. The coalition's contributions to UN policy-making are substantive and valued, as are those by similar NGOs. According to UN documents, in relation to the adoption and enforcement of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
, the CSUCS plays "a key role in ensuring implementation at every level."
, an amendment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC). The CRC is a United Nations
treaty that dictates international standards for children's rights in political, social, and cultural areas, among others. The Optional Protocol amendment called for signatories to ensure that members of their armed forces under 18 years of age were not compulsorily recruited nor made to take direct part in hostilities.
Several countries in the UN Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict
, which had been formed to draft the treaty, were in staunch disagreement over the 18 year minimum age for participation in combat. To incite them to action, six NGOs united to form the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and together, they launched a global campaign that generated international support and put political pressure on the working group to finish drafting the protocol.
The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was enforced in February of 2002 and later signed by more than 120 nations. The CSUCS has since been working closely with other human rights NGOs to convince the remaining 61 countries to ratify the treaty. To do so, the coalition is employing a multifaceted strategy: encouraging people to write to the ambassadors of these countries, publishing more research and analyses on youth in armed conflict, and lobbying for the immediate demobilization of all child soldiers.
Every three to four years, the CSUCS publishes the "Child Soldiers Global Report". The report includes information about armed forces recruitment legislation and the trends of child soldier activity in 197 countries around the world. The most recent report was published in 2008.
For the 2009-10 fiscal year the CSUSC had an annual income of £824,887, an 80% increase from 2006.
The coalition spent £627,790 during the year, as of March 2010, leaving a total of £197,097 in revenue.The ratio of income to spending was 76.1% in 2010, decreased from 2006 by 15.8% when the NGO was spending 91.9% of its income. The majority of the coalition's spending was utilized for charitable activities (£553.6k), with the second-largest portion being used to obtain grants and other large donations (£53.3k).
One challenge for the CSUCS is that they are heavily reliant on grants to fund their operations; many of which are attributed with time and/or purpose restrictions, and distributed on an annual basis. This process makes it difficult for the NGO to respond to immediate changes in funding needs. Should a lull in grants or donations arise, the CSUCS keeps a substantial unrestricted reserve to prevent operations from being curtailed or suspended.
The structural organization of the coalition is made up of its members and a board of trustees. In 2008, two of those representatives resigned. To maintain the same level of governance, additional trustees were co-opted onto the board in July 2009. A total of eight people are employed by CSUCS, supplemented by two volunteers.
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
that was formed to prevent the recruitment and exploitation of children in warfare and to ensure their reintegration into larger society by means of research, advocacy, and capacity building. The primary function of CSUCS is to act as an informational resource center for related NGOs, child advocacy organizations, and international legislative bodies.
Mission Statement
"We are a coalition to stop the use of child soldiers, both girls and boys - to prevent their recruitment and use; to secure their demobilization; and to promote their rehabilitation and reintegration. We work to achieve this through advocacy, research and monitoring."By acting in accordance with the above mission statement, CSUCS hopes to achieve the following charitable objectives:
- Advocating for the establishments of durable mechanisms to prevent the military recruitment and use of children in hostilities
- Seeking the release and reintegration of children recruited or used in hostilities
- Contributing to obtaining redress for and relieving the needs of such children
- Carrying out research, monitoring and publishing information on the above issues
- Supporting local and national NGOs working with and for children in affected regions
History
The coalition was founded in May 1998 by six international non-governmental organizations to promote shared human rights objectives. The six core founders (Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, International Save the Children Alliance
International Save the Children Alliance
The International Save The Children Alliance is a worldwide non-profit organisation which aims to improve the living of children. There are 27 Save the Children member organisations around the world....
, Jesuit Refugee Service
Jesuit Refugee Service
The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international Catholic organization that aids refugees, forcibly displaced peoples, and asylum seekers. JRS operates at national and regional levels. Founded in November, 1980 as a work of the Society of Jesus, JRS was officially registered on March 19, 2000 in...
, Quaker United Nations Office
Quaker United Nations Office
The Quaker United Nations Office is a non-governmental organisation representing the Religious Society of Friends at the United Nations. Parent bodies of QUNO are the Friends World Committee for Consultation, American Friends Service Committee and Quaker Peace and Social Witness...
, and Terre des Hommes
Terre des Hommes
Terre des hommes may refer to:* Terre des hommes , a 1939 philosophical memoir by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry...
) were later joined by the following organizations:
- Defence for Children InternationalDefence for Children InternationalDefence for Children International is an independent non-governmental organisation set up during the International Year of the Child to ensure on-going, practical, systematic and concerted international and national action specially directed towards promoting and protecting the rights of the...
- World Vision InternationalWorld Vision InternationalWorld Vision International, founded in the USA in 1977, is an evangelical relief and development umbrella organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good...
- regional non-governmental organisations from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
In 2002, the CSUCS became a limited company and then registered as a charity on January 6, 2003. Previously, the coalition was known as The Child Soldiers Coalition Educational and Research Trust and The Child Soldiers Coalition Educational and Capacity Building Trust. On March 31, 2008, the charity was re-named The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, as it is known today.
Regions
The coalition is headquartered in London and operates in 26 countries on four continents, concentrated in Africa and southern Asia.Policy making
On a regular basis, the CSUCS contributes research reports to the United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Committee on the Rights of the Child
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is a body of independent experts that monitors and reports on implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by governments that ratify the Convention...
, and less frequently, to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. The coalition's contributions to UN policy-making are substantive and valued, as are those by similar NGOs. According to UN documents, in relation to the adoption and enforcement of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Annex I of a resolution on 25 May 2000.The protocol came into force on 12 February 2002....
, the CSUCS plays "a key role in ensuring implementation at every level."
Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
In 1998, the coalition played a critical role during the conception of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed ConflictOptional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Annex I of a resolution on 25 May 2000.The protocol came into force on 12 February 2002....
, an amendment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...
(CRC). The CRC is a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
treaty that dictates international standards for children's rights in political, social, and cultural areas, among others. The Optional Protocol amendment called for signatories to ensure that members of their armed forces under 18 years of age were not compulsorily recruited nor made to take direct part in hostilities.
Several countries in the UN Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict
Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict
One of the results of the in 2005 was denouncing the use of children in armed conflicts. Yet, to this date, of the world are still being forced to bear arms and wage war side by side with adults...
, which had been formed to draft the treaty, were in staunch disagreement over the 18 year minimum age for participation in combat. To incite them to action, six NGOs united to form the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and together, they launched a global campaign that generated international support and put political pressure on the working group to finish drafting the protocol.
The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was enforced in February of 2002 and later signed by more than 120 nations. The CSUCS has since been working closely with other human rights NGOs to convince the remaining 61 countries to ratify the treaty. To do so, the coalition is employing a multifaceted strategy: encouraging people to write to the ambassadors of these countries, publishing more research and analyses on youth in armed conflict, and lobbying for the immediate demobilization of all child soldiers.
Publications
In partnership with UNICEF, the coalition published the Guide to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in December 2003. The coalition's guide summarizes the process of the treaty's adoption, its fundamental provisions, and recommends that certain activities be undertaken to ensure its full enforcement. It is a practical tool written to aid other NGOs, humanitarian groups, and legislative bodies in implementing the standards of the Optional Protocol.Every three to four years, the CSUCS publishes the "Child Soldiers Global Report". The report includes information about armed forces recruitment legislation and the trends of child soldier activity in 197 countries around the world. The most recent report was published in 2008.
Funding and organizational structure
The coalition is funded by grants from six national governments, various foundations and trusts, in addition to individual member contributions. Individuals can contribute by direct donation and through partnerships with online shopping outlets, who donate a percentage of each purchase to CSUCS.For the 2009-10 fiscal year the CSUSC had an annual income of £824,887, an 80% increase from 2006.
The coalition spent £627,790 during the year, as of March 2010, leaving a total of £197,097 in revenue.The ratio of income to spending was 76.1% in 2010, decreased from 2006 by 15.8% when the NGO was spending 91.9% of its income. The majority of the coalition's spending was utilized for charitable activities (£553.6k), with the second-largest portion being used to obtain grants and other large donations (£53.3k).
One challenge for the CSUCS is that they are heavily reliant on grants to fund their operations; many of which are attributed with time and/or purpose restrictions, and distributed on an annual basis. This process makes it difficult for the NGO to respond to immediate changes in funding needs. Should a lull in grants or donations arise, the CSUCS keeps a substantial unrestricted reserve to prevent operations from being curtailed or suspended.
The structural organization of the coalition is made up of its members and a board of trustees. In 2008, two of those representatives resigned. To maintain the same level of governance, additional trustees were co-opted onto the board in July 2009. A total of eight people are employed by CSUCS, supplemented by two volunteers.
External links
- http://www.child-soldiers.org/
- Interview: Children Abucted for Terrorism in Sri Lanka