Data-Driven Peacekeeping and the Vancouver Principles: Towards Improved Monitoring and Reporting for Grave Violations Against Children

Abstract

This article examines the UN‘s move toward ‘data-driven‘ peacekeeping and its implications for the Vancouver Principles, especially implementation of states‘ monitoring and reporting commitments as outlined in Principle 6. I argue that data-driven peacekeeping presents both opportunities and challenges when it comes to monitoring and reporting. On the one hand, it can improve the quantity and quality of the information available about the recruitment and use of child soldiers. It can thereby foster improvements in responsiveness, performance, and accountability, both within peace operations and among other stakeholders. Yet data-driven peacekeeping also comes with challenges. These include data literacy and ‘buy-in‘ among personnel on the ground, concerns about privacy and confidentiality, and political sensitivities around monitoring and reporting. Together these issues highlight the degree to which the Vancouver Principles are interconnected and mutually reinforcing – each affects implementation of the others, and none can be fully operationalized in isolation.