Securing the Future: Transformative Justice and Children ‘Born of War’

Baines, Erin; Oliveira, Camile

doi:10.1177/0964663920946430

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…While some PKFC in the DRC reported that their mothers' attitudes towards them were characterised by ambivalence or neglect, others reflected on a sense of solidarity, emotional availability, and closeness to their mothers. Supporting pre-existing literature, we conclude that many of the family and identity-related challenges PKFC experience resemble those of CBOW in other geopolitical and historical contexts (Carpenter, 2007;Baines and Oliveira, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…In the mid-1990s, academics and journalists started exploring the life courses of children born of international armed conflict (e.g., children born during the two World Wars, post-war occupations, the Vietnam War and the Balkan War), creating awareness of their situations in different contexts and temporal periods (Bass, 1996;McKelvey, 1999;Grieg, 2001). Recent developments in the field draw attention to the lived experiences of children born of internal conflict, focusing predominantly on children born of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) including children born to mothers forcibly abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (Apio, 2016;Denov and Cadieux Van Vliet, 2020;Baines and Oliveira, 2021), children born of forced marriage and rape by Boko Haram fighters (Matfess, 2017), and children born as a result of genocidal rape in Rwanda (Banyanga et al, 2017;Denov and Lakor, 2018;Baines and Oliveira, 2021).…”

Section: Children Born Of Warmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Born between war and peace: Situating peacekeeper-fathered children in research on children born of war

Wagner¹,

Tasker²,

Vahedi³

et al. 2022

Front. Polit. Sci.

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In the last two decades, academic research has made significant progress exploring the life courses of so-called “children born of war” (CBOW). Similarly, the unintended consequences of peacekeeping operations, including the experiences of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, and children born of these interactions, have received preliminary academic attention. This paper compares peacekeeper-fathered children (PKFC) to other CBOW to determine how these two groups relate to one another. We draw on research conducted in two peacekeeping contexts where personnel have been accused of fathering and abandoning children (Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo) to empirically situate PKFC within the category of CBOW. We introduce 5,388 micro-narratives from Haitian and Congolese community members (Haiti n = 2,541, DRC = 2,858) and 113 qualitative interviews with mothers/grandmothers of PKFC (Haiti n = 18, DRC n = 60) and PKFC (DRC n = 35) to investigate how PKFC fit in the CBOW paradigm. Our findings demonstrate that many of the multi-level adversities faced by PKFC resemble those of the broader reference group. Given their shared developmental needs and experiences of exclusion, we conclude that PKFC constitute CBOW and ought to be included in conceptualisations pertaining to them. Acknowledging PKFC as CBOW offers new opportunities for policy development to (a) enhance protection and support of all CBOW and (b) remind states of their commitments to uphold the rights of all children.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Children Born Of Warmentioning

confidence: 99%

Born between war and peace: Situating peacekeeper-fathered children in research on children born of war

Wagner¹,

Tasker²,

Vahedi³

et al. 2022

Front. Polit. Sci.

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show abstract

“…PKFC are not victims of SEA in the traditional sense, but they are children born of war, who suffer from fatherlessness and the related economic and social consequences. As such they require support mechanisms that tackle their unique situation by providing them with the resources necessary to thrive as individuals (Baines and Oliveira 2020). In line with the recommendation of the Zeid report (2005), we request that assistance from the Trust Fund is extended to children born of peacekeepers whose identity is unknown or whose parents engaged in consensual sexual relations.…”

Section: Putting Victims Firstmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Peacekeeperfathered children (PKFC), in particular, have little agency in matters of assistance since they are often too young to demand compensation themselves and have little to no information about their fathers (Blau 2016;DeLaet 2007). Moreover, their "victim status" 3 is entangled with that of their mothers, presenting a new form of victimhood that poses challenges to traditional models of justice (Baines and Oliveira 2020). In this article, we will discuss the situation of PKFC in host state communities and explore their rights under UN policies and international frameworks for support.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UNsupported: The Needs and Rights of Children Fathered by UN Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo

et al. 2022

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Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers causes severe physical and psychological consequences. Where SEA leads to pregnancy and childbirth, peacekeepers typically absolve themselves of their paternal responsibilities and paternity suits are largely unsuccessful. The lack of support for peacekeeper-fathered children (PKFC) tarnishes the image of the UN who fails to implement a victim-centred approach to SEA. Analysing shortcomings in the provision of support, this article presents an evaluation of the UN’s accountability system from the perspective of PKFC families. In-depth interviews with thirty-five PKFC and sixty mothers demonstrate local barriers to child support and paternity claims in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We discuss PKFC’s need for assistance and their mothers’ attempts to navigate an opaque international legal system. The findings cast light on their limited access to UN subsidies and offer recommendations to better implement existing UN goals of justice and victim-oriented policies.

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“…Especially studies on forced marriages highlighted that the vast majority (e.g., 98% in a study performed by Annan et al, 2008) of the mothers did not wish to be reconnected with the child's biological father. However, more recent studies have indicated that biological parents and clans do reconnect to support children born of war (Mutsonziwa et al, 2020;Oliveira and Baines, 2020;Baines and Oliveira, 2021) as they seek to "transform relations of violence into relations of care" (Rodriguez Di Eugenio and Baines, 2021, p. 341). We hypothesize that these differences in research outcomes could be connected to the increased need of resources and support when children born in forced captivity grow older, combined with the importance of belonging and identity for children born of war (see further).…”

Section: Influence Of Cultural and Contextual Factors On Trauma Commu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“They Now Know That They Are Children of War”: Forcibly Abducted Mothers and Fathers Balancing Disclosure and Silencing to Their Children Born of War in Northern Uganda

Nutte¹,

Haene²,

Derluyn³

2022

Front. Polit. Sci.

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In recent years, scholars have emphasized the need for a relational understanding of the impact of collective violence pointing to the myriad interconnections between individual and communal experiences and consequences. These interconnections are particularly strong in the (re)integration of formerly abducted children and youth, and their children born of war, since various social, relational and cultural processes play a key role in their wellbeing and healing. One example is the way in which trauma communication is shaped by culture and context, and intersects at the level of the individual and the collective. In this paper, we will explore how forcibly abducted mothers and fathers in post-conflict Northern Uganda perceive the trauma communication about the context in which their children born in forced captivity were conceived. Case study research was used to understand the dynamic trajectories of this trauma communication, placing parents' experiences within broader life histories, and the social and relational context. Repeated interviews were performed with six mothers and four fathers who became parents in forced captivity with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Central in the participants' stories is their agency in the careful, individual choice “to be silent” or “not to be silent” toward their children, family and community members. However, these choices are shaped—and often restricted—by the relational and cultural context. A dynamic interplay of several factors, such as the age of the child, the emotional impact of disclosure, a lack of resources and support in the upbringing of children, identity and belonging, and perceived or potential future stigmatization are explored in this paper. Trauma communication can be seen as a socially negotiated choice, interacting in a complex dialectic relationship between silencing, disclosing, forgetting and remembering. As such, the study revealed important insights into post-conflict healing and reintegration in the day-to-day lives of formerly abducted children and youth, and their children born of war, on an individual and collective level.

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Securing the Future: Transformative Justice and Children ‘Born of War’

Cited by 14 publications

References 52 publications

Born between war and peace: Situating peacekeeper-fathered children in research on children born of war

Born between war and peace: Situating peacekeeper-fathered children in research on children born of war

UNsupported: The Needs and Rights of Children Fathered by UN Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo

“They Now Know That They Are Children of War”: Forcibly Abducted Mothers and Fathers Balancing Disclosure and Silencing to Their Children Born of War in Northern Uganda

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