“Who Will Care for Us?” Grave Violations Against Children in Northeastern Nigeria

Between March and May of 2014, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict conducted a six-week research mission in Nigeria to shed light on grave violations perpetrated against children. Among their findings, the mission reported attacks on schools, abduction of both girls and boys, recruitment of children, and other grave violations against children.

These findings have been used to form recommendations to strengthen child protection response in the region, and assist with the establishment of the UN-led Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM). Key recommendations are provided for the Nigerian Federal Government, State Governments in the region, the Nigerian armed forces, to civilian groups, donors, other stakeholders, and to JAS (Boko Haram).