THE VANCOUVER PRINCIPLES
About
The Vancouver Principles were co-created by the Dallaire Initiative and
the Government of Canada in 2017. The key principles were informed by 10 years of research, experience and gathering of best practices by the Dallaire Initiative on the critical gaps that existed in the current frameworks of the UN and national security forces to address the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
The Vancouver Principles are a set of political commitments endorsed by Member States regarding the prevention of recruitment and use of child soldiers in a peacekeeping context. These intrinsic Principles are geared toward troop and police contributors operating under UN peacekeeping mandates.
The Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers
The purpose of the Vancouver Principles is to prioritize and further
operationalize child protection within UN peacekeeping, with a focus on
tackling the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
Contributions
The Vancouver Principles contribute to the overall effectiveness of UN peacekeeping but require effective implementation for meaningful change. It is at this point that the Dallaire Initiative is working with the Government of Canada on the creation of the Implementation Guidance to accompany the Vancouver Principles that was launched in October, 2019. Further to this will be the need to ensure that the Dallaire Initiative can work with the endorsing states on training, doctrine and policy changes.