WPS, children, and armed conflict

Like Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), the issues of Children and Armed Conflict (CaAC), and more recently Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) have become significant cross-cutting themes of the UN Security Council’s work. There are important overlaps in their protection agendas and in the goal to render the experiences of marginalized groups in armed conflict visible. However, there are also important differences around age, experience, competency, and agency. This chapter examines the intellectual and policy-based opportunities for collaboration across the three agendas, but also identifies the areas where distinction is necessary. It recognizes that further alignment can reap rewards for these agendas, but that this must be pursued cautiously and reflectively so as to avoid endangering the potential each has to advance a better understanding of the relationship between each group, and peace and security. This chapter argues that while there are structural and technical benefits to alignment of these agendas, they are conceptually unique and must be recognized as such.