We are a global partnership committed
to ending the use and recruitment of child soldiers worldwide

What’s New?

RMC Expedition

This year the RMC Expedition Club, with its Kenya 2014 and Guatemala 2014 expedition teams, is going to raise funds to renew their partnership with the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative. The Club aims to raise a minimum of $10,000 for the Dallaire Initiative. To donate to the RMC Expedition page click here!

Field Dispatches

Follow our team as we work in the field from Sierra Leone to our home offices in Halifax and everywhere in between. Check out our most recent Field Dispatches here!

Child Soldiers: A Handbook for Security Sector Actors

On February 12th the Dallaire Initiative will introduce the second edition of “Child Soldiers: a Handbook for Security Sector Actors”. This updated handbook continues to be a first of its kind training guide and resource for security actors in the prevention for use and recruitment of child soldiers.

“You have the tools, you believe the time is right, you see the future up close and you want to shape it. You are not going to merely hope for change you will make it.”

Get Involved Today

A few things about the handbook….

Core Competencies

Currently, more than 10 peace operations (UN and AU) are being conducted in countries where child soldiers are being recruited and used, however no individual country or regional organisation has yet developed coherent policies or military and police doctrine for dealing with child soldiers during complex peace operations. Widespread standardized training for security sector actors is one crucial way to address this lack of preparedness. In 2013 The Dallaire Initiative developed a set of core competencies for training of security sector actors on this issue. These guide our online and face to face trainings.

Updated Handbook

Based on the Core Competencies, the second edition of Child Soldiers: A Handbook for Security Sector Actors will be launched on February 12^th 2014, the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers. This handbook, which will be available in French and English, provides knowledge and tools for security sector actors to better prepare for interactions with child soldiers in conflict situations. Look back in February for a link to the full PDF version.

E-Learning

In partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Dallaire Initiative will be launching as e-learning course on the prevention of the use and recruitment of child soldiers. The primary audience of the training course will be military and police personnel involved in peace operations in conflict and post-conflict environments. Please look back in spring of 2014 for updated on the course launch.

Our Vision…

is a world where children are no longer recruited or used as weapons in war.

How we achieve our collective vision

Research

Conduct rigorous academic research at a world-class university to build—and share—knowledge, which in turn leads to new solutions;

Training

Deliver comprehensive, prevention-oriented training to military, police and prison personnel, which are often the first point of contact for child soldiers in the field.

Advocacy

We engage in high-level advocacy to promote universal adherence to all international conventions that prohibit the use of children in war.

Contact

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info@childsoldiers.org
Phone: +1 (902) 494-6637
Fax: +1 (902) 494-3825

By Mail

The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative
Dalhousie University
P.O. Box 15000
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
B3H 4R2

Physical address

Suite 301, Henry Hicks Building
Dalhousie University
6299 South Street, Halifax, NS