The Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict is a global network of local, national and international non-governmental organizations (NGO

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...

s) which strives to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights. Together with its partners, Watchlist strategically collects and disseminates information on violations against children in conflicts in order to influence key decision-makers to create and implement programs and policies that effectively protect children. Watchlist’s three main activities are Monitoring & Reporting, Advancing the Children and Armed Conflict Agenda and Strengthening Local Capacity.

Monitoring & Reporting

Through its country reports, Watchlist provides critical, timely and reliable information on violations against children in situations of armed conflict and makes practical recommendations to policy makers to ensure protection and assistance for children. Watchlist has published http://watchlist.org/field-monitors/ reports on the situation of children in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Colombia, D.R. Congo, Liberia, OPT/Israel, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Sudan.

Advancing the Children and Armed Conflict Agenda

Watchlist provides policy advice to high-level decision makers towards improving child protection programs and policies, with a focus on the UN Security Council and the UN-led Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on Children and Armed Conflict (MRM). Watchlist has also published a series of policy papers and statements. http://watchlist.org/global-advocacy/

Strengthening Local Capacity

Watchlist strengthens field-level monitoring, reporting and response to violations against children by building partnerships, enhancing the technical capacity of local NGOs and linking local voices with international policy makers.http://watchlist.org/capacity-strengthening-program/