Social Science Research Council

The workshop on Data Collection on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children was organized by the Social Science Research Council in partnership with UNICEF. It took place in New York and brought together more than 35 experts on data collection, displacement and recruitment of children in situations of armed conflict. The workshop launched a pilot data collection project to be undertaken in Angola, Colombia, DRC and Sri Lanka. Participants were drawn from the four countries as well as from UN agencies, international and national NGOs and academic/research institutions. The workshop was funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The objectives of the workshop were to: (1) map existing data on the impact of armed conflict on children with special focus on recruitment and displacement; (2) establish relevant definitions, terminologies and indicators for data collection on the impact of armed conflict on children; (3) identify knowledge gaps and priority areas for data collection; and (4) develop appropriate methodologies and tools for data collection to be pilot tested at the country level. The workshop also aimed to help develop better networking and collaboration between institutions and individuals engaged in data collection on child recruitment in armed conflicts and on displacement of war-affected children.