Disarming Children and Youth: Raising Awareness and Addressing the Impact of Small Arms

This report outlines a strategic framework for the disarmament, reintegration, and prevention of the arming of children and youth, focusing on policy mainstreaming, education, and peace-building efforts to address the impact of small arms and light weapons (SALW).

• The framework for the disarmament of armed children and youth emphasizes the need to include children in peace agreements, document the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process through data collection on weapon quantities and child numbers, and conduct baseline surveys on attitudes toward arms.
• To prevent the rearmament of children and youth, the document proposes monitoring non-conscription commitments, raising awareness among security forces and non-state actors, and expanding vocational training and psychosocial care for ex-combatants, including women and girls.
• The strategy for mainstreaming small arms and light weapons (SALW) issues involves coordinating with UN agencies like UNICEF and UNHCR, developing guidelines for dialogue with non-state actors, and collaborating with national commissions on small arms and human rights organizations.
• Educational and developmental goals include establishing gun-free zones, introducing non-violence training and small arms issues into primary and secondary school curricula, and linking education to agricultural sector strategies.
• Peace-building and justice initiatives focus on conducting research on juvenile laws and the age for weapons possession, promoting judicial reform, and providing peace education training within prisons.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2003). Disarming Children and Youth: Raising Awareness and Addressing the Impact of Small Arms. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/conference-reports/12-sep-2003-conference-report-disarming-children-and-youth-raising-awareness-and-addressing-the-impact-of-small-arms-accra-8-12-september-2003/context

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Disarming Children and Youth: Raising Awareness and Addressing the Impact of Small Arms. 2003. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/conference-reports/12-sep-2003-conference-report-disarming-children-and-youth-raising-awareness-and-addressing-the-impact-of-small-arms-accra-8-12-september-2003/context.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Disarming Children and Youth: Raising Awareness and Addressing the Impact of Small Arms |date=12 September 2003 |url=https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/conference-reports/12-sep-2003-conference-report-disarming-children-and-youth-raising-awareness-and-addressing-the-impact-of-small-arms-accra-8-12-september-2003/context |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2003disarming, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Disarming Children and Youth: Raising Awareness and Addressing the Impact of Small Arms}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2003}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/conference-reports/12-sep-2003-conference-report-disarming-children-and-youth-raising-awareness-and-addressing-the-impact-of-small-arms-accra-8-12-september-2003/context}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }