ReliefWeb

New Research Challenges Conventional Wisdom that “Violent Extremism” or Ideology is Predominantly Responsible for Driving Children Into Terrorist Ranks

New York, 12 February 2018 – Counter-terror efforts based on widely-held assumptions about the ideological motivations of children and youth recruited into extremist groups are unlikely to be effective, and could backfire, concludes new research released today by the United Nations University (UNU), a UN think tank.

“In many cases, ideology does not appear predominately responsible for driving children into armed groups, even those that are labeled ‘violent extremist’,” says Dr Siobhan O’Neil, lead editor of “Cradled by Conflict: Child Involvement with Armed Groups in Contemporary Conflict,” a new volume based on original field research on three conflict case studies. “Evidence from the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, Mali, and Nigeria suggests that even in cases where ideology plays a role in a child’s trajectory towards an armed group, it is usually one of a number of motivating or facilitating factors.” O’Neil, the Project Lead for the ‘Children and Extreme Violence’ project, suggests that ideology is often intertwined with other important factors like community and identity. “Armed groups like Boko Haram have intertwined their ideologies with a rejection of the State to recruit those who have experienced state oppression and violence into their ranks.”

Cradled by Conflict points to other factors present in conflict areas, such as physical safety and food security, family and peer networks, financial incentives, coercion, and the allure of armed groups, which provide a ready-made community, identity, and status for young people.

“The international community maintains outdated and unrealistic understandings of how armed groups recruit children and maintain their involvement, as well as of how children leave armed groups and their prospects for reintegration in unstable contexts,” continues O’Neil. “These findings have significant implications for policies and programmes aimed at addressing child recruitment, use and exit from armed groups. Misinterpretations of the problem at hand can result in poorly suited programmatic responses and/or lead to children feeling stigmatized and resentful.”

“We have a responsibility to better tailor our policy and programmatic interventions to prevent child recruitment and use by armed groups. Children are our greatest resource. The international community can do more to harness their positive motivations and engage them as partners on the path to peace.“

Cradled by Conflict is the culmination of a two-year research project led by UN University (UNU), in collaboration with UNICEF, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and the governments of Luxembourg and Switzerland.

The volume and other pieces of original research are available for download at https://unu.edu/children-and-extreme-violence.

– END –

About UNU

The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars engaged in policy-relevant research on pressing global issues, specialised postgraduate training and capacity building, and the dissemination of knowledge. UNU functions as a think-tank for the United Nations system. It operates as a global network of institutes and programmes, coordinated by UNU Centre in Tokyo.

About the Children and Extreme Violence project

The United Nations University (UNU), in collaboration with UNICEF, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and Luxembourg and Switzerland, is running a research initiative to fill key knowledge gaps about child recruitment and use by armed groups in contemporary armed conflicts, including those groups listed as terrorist and characterised as “violent extremist”. The initiative also examines the factors that impede child release from such groups. The goal of this project is to use the empirical findings of the research to inform programmatic guidance for actors in the field working to prevent the recruitment and use of children by contemporary armed groups and to effectively disengage children from such groups.

The research initiative combines extensive outreach and rigorous research methodologies, including extensive consultations with experts and practitioners, a wide-ranging desk review, original field research for three conflict case studies (Syria/Iraq, Mali, and Nigeria), and legal analysis. The project is expected to produce several outputs: three ‘State of Research’ Briefs; an edited volume analysing how and why children become associated with, used by, and exit armed groups in contemporary conflict; and technical guidance, informed by the project’s empirical findings, to assist practitioners in their efforts to design and implement effective prevention and release/reintegration programmes for children.

Please visit https://unu.edu/children-and-extreme-violence.