Although committing on paper, this does not seem to have changed institutional attitude.Ĭhildren need to be recognized as competent right holders and therefore full stakeholders in the humanitarian response. (I)NGOs, especially child rights oriented ones, have started to implement children’s participation at a policy level. The obligation the humanitarian community has, to conform to the UNCRC, includes confirmation to its participation rights. However, this is not apparent from the accountability structures (I)NGOs employ towards their child beneficiaries. The legal status of non-state actors, including (I)NGOs, has changed in recent years. The research findings have indicated that humanitarian organisations do not share their power with children and even though they intent to use the ideas children have, they have failed to use the full potential children’s participation has to offer. It can be used by practitioners and academics alike, with either little or greater knowledge of the subject. The ultimate aim of this research has been to make a comprehensible, multi-facetted overview of all aspects of children's participation in the non-governmental humanitarian response. Our research was guided by four sub research questions, moving from the international arena to field level and finally the overarching opportunities and challenges.
This thesis employed an extensive secondary literature review on the subject and complemented by interviews with informants in the field, specifically from humanitarian organizations in Yogyakarta and Banda Aceh, Indonesia and DG ECHO in Brussels, which is one of the largest humanitarian donor organizations in the world.
Our main research question guiding this research was: To what extent is children’s participation in the humanitarian (non-governmental) response a goal in itself, and to what extent is it a means to an end? We tried to determine whether their ‘best interest’, ‘well-being’ and their ‘empowerment’, as stated in the preamble of the UNCRC, is served. Children are overrepresented as victims/survivors of humanitarian emergencies.īy means of this thesis we tried to examine whether they are equally represented in the response to these emergencies. We examined participation rights as part of the United Nations Convention to the Rights of the Child, specifically in the non-governmental humanitarian response. Abstract: This thesis explores the field of Children’s Participation in Humanitarian Action.
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