Meet the Ambassadors of the Child Peace Project
Placing children’s rights at the centre of conflict settings, especially in unrecognised states, is more urgent than ever. Children bear the heaviest burdens of violence and political instability, yet their voices often go unheard. Meaningful child participation therefore deserves a permanent place on the international agenda. The Child Peace Project takes precisely that step: it not only offers children protection, but also gives them a voice in processes concerning peace, justice, and the rebuilding of their future.
 | Jan Pronk, former Dutch minister and UN Special Representative, emphasises how often peace processes fail because the realities on the ground are ignored. He states: “During my years working in and with the United Nations, I saw many peace processes fail because they ignored realities on the ground. Children in conflict settings, especially in unrecognised states, are almost always left out. This project brings their perspectives into peace and justice debates, which is essential for any sustainable peace.” |
Photo: Dida Mulder
 | His words highlight how vital it is to involve children actively in decision-making. Mohamed Barud Ali, Chairperson of the Somaliland National Human Rights Commission, echoes this view and calls for breaking the silence: “Around the world, millions of children grow up under the shadow of conflict and are too often excluded from peace processes. By supporting this project, we make it possible to move beyond silence and contribute to important research, engagement with local communities, and the development of practical ways for children in Somaliland and elsewhere to participate safely and meaningfully in peacebuilding. When children are given space to understand what has happened to them and to speak up, the outcome is not only healing. It is empowerment, resilience, and a stronger foundation for lasting peace within their societies.” |
 | Lisa Macheiner, frontline humanitarian worker with Doctors without Borders, draws on her experience working with children in conflict and crisis settings in Afghanistan, Libya, and Gaza to point to the human dimension of this work. She notes: “Encountering children on the frontlines of conflict has profoundly shaped my perspective. I see them not as abstract "beneficiaries" but as resilient individuals and community members navigating fear, dreams, and hopes for the future. This project reflects the children‘s lived realities, amplifying their own experiences and voices to meaningfully inform peace and justice processes, focusing on overlooked and unrecognized contexts.” |
 | Their words make clear that children need not only protection, but also recognition of their experiences and insights. Kees Mathijsen, Lieutenant General (ret.) of the Royal Netherlands Army and former Force Commander of the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA), has extensive experience in peace operations and conflict settings, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. From these roles, he too expresses his support with a powerful appeal: “In the conflicts that I have served, having seen children being affected and suffering, I have often thought that their future is being destroyed even before it has started and even without them having a voice at all. That is why I support this project. Let us at least see what we can do to give them a voice, a voice towards their own future.” |
Together, these ambassadors show why this project is so urgently needed. Not only to protect children, but to involve them actively in shaping peace and justice, especially in places the world too often forgets.
