Book contents
- Child Perpetrators on Trial
- Child Perpetrators on Trial
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 International Standards on Child Perpetrators of Atrocities
- 3 Putting International Standards into Practice
- 4 Rwanda: Setting the Context
- 5 Rwanda’s Responses, in Law, Policy and Practice, to Child Génocidaires
- 6 International Actors and the Rwandan Child Génocidaire
- 7 UNICEF Rwanda’s Policy and Advocacy: A Strategic Approach
- 8 Evaluating UNICEF Rwanda’s Approach
- 9 Child Perpetrators and Child Rights: Rwanda and Beyond
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index
9 - Child Perpetrators and Child Rights: Rwanda and Beyond
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 October 2019
- Child Perpetrators on Trial
- Child Perpetrators on Trial
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 International Standards on Child Perpetrators of Atrocities
- 3 Putting International Standards into Practice
- 4 Rwanda: Setting the Context
- 5 Rwanda’s Responses, in Law, Policy and Practice, to Child Génocidaires
- 6 International Actors and the Rwandan Child Génocidaire
- 7 UNICEF Rwanda’s Policy and Advocacy: A Strategic Approach
- 8 Evaluating UNICEF Rwanda’s Approach
- 9 Child Perpetrators and Child Rights: Rwanda and Beyond
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 9 synthesises the main findings of the study and gestures towards the implications of the research on a broader level as well as questions raised. It draws insights for advances in theories on human rights promotion in post-conflict societies, making the case for principled pragmatism: an approach predicated on contextual interpretation and application of standards whilst remaining true to human rights principles, and on the use of constructive and collaborative strategies and techniques in policy development and advocacy. The chapter presents lessons that can be learned from Rwanda: how children’s involvement in violent crimes can dramatically influence the perception of childhood, a factor which should be taken into account when seeking to promote child rights at the community level; whether the prosecution of children was preferable to non-prosecution; whether UNICEF was right to become involved with the issue of child perpetrators in Rwanda; and what approaches to child perpetrators UNICEF should be promoting, briefly exploring alternative modalities of accountability, including truth-seeking and indigenous justice and reconciliation mechanisms. Whilst affirming the role of UNICEF, it concludes by emphasising that ultimately it is the state that decides on accountability and that is responsible for implementation of, and compliance with, international standards.
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- Child Perpetrators on TrialInsights from Post-Genocide Rwanda, pp. 276 - 290Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019