Led by: Plan International and Grow Strong Foundation
Contact us at: caafag.tf@alliancecpha.org
Our Mission
The overall goal of the Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG) Task Force is to coordinate and collaborate amongst humanitarian responders and development actors and to provide technical support and capacity building to field practitioners to strengthen quality programming in emergencies and protracted crisis that prevents recruitment, facilitates release and responds to the needs of children associated with armed forces or armed groups.
Key Priorities of the Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG) Task Force
- Increase field practitioner access to and use of inter-agency guidance and tools to prevent and respond to child recruitment in armed forces and armed groups.
- Enhance the knowledge, skills and behaviour of humanitarian and development responders to prevent and respond to child recruitment into armed forces and armed groups.
- Share evidence, research, good practices and lessons learned that contribute to a better understanding of CAAFAG issues and effective response.
- Facilitate linkages between the CAAFAG TF and the other global platforms and initiatives, including but not limited to Paris Principles Steering Group and other Task Forces and Working Groups under the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action.
Latest News
Red Hand Day 2025
February 12th marks adoption of the Optional Protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for the protection of children in armed conflict. Also known as ‘Red Hand Day’, this day of international awareness aims to remind the international community to strengthen efforts to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts. In 2024, ongoing escalation of armed conflicts, along...
Red Hand Day 2024
February 12th marks adoption of the Optional Protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for the protection of children in armed conflict. Also known as ‘ Red Hand Day’ , this day of international awareness aims to remind the international community to strengthen efforts to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts. In 2023, the escalation of armed conflicts...
Task Force Member Organisations
Key Tools
Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups Task Force - Offer of Support
This Offer of Support outlines how the Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG) Task Force coordinates humanitarian and development actors to strengthen quality programming that prevents recruitment, facilitates release, and responds to the needs of CAAFAG in emergencies and protracted crises.
It highlights the Task Force’s mission, priorities, and the practical support
Technical Note | Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups: Lessons Learnt and Good Practices on Prevention of Recruitment and Use, Release and Reintegration
This Technical Note provides information on the challenges that girls associated with armed forces and armed groups (GAAFAG) face during their recruitment, their period of association, and their reintegration, as well as lessons learnt and promising practices to implement gender-sensitive and gender-informed prevention, release and reintegration programmes. Very little global guidance is available
Resources
Briefing Note: The Impact of UN80, the Humanitarian Reset, and Funding Cuts on the Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) Agenda
This note outlines how ongoing reforms, in particular the Humanitarian Reset and UN80 Initiative, underpinned by deepening funding cuts, risk undermining the Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) agenda. It provides recommendations to ensure that critical gains that have been made to address the specific vulnerabilities of children in armed conflict are safeguarded and not reversed.
Technical Note | Education Interventions for Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups
The ‘Education interventions for CAAFAG’ Technical Note is based upon an extensive desk study, key informant inter- views with 23 practitioners from a range of roles, including in Child Protection and Education, as well as technical in- put from the CAAFAG Task Force and CAAFAG Education technical note reference group. The members of the reference group work with children associated with armed...
Technical Note | Livelihood Interventions for Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups
Children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG) are often recruited and used due to economic risk factors. Providing livelihood interventions to CAAFAG and vulnerable children can be used to prevent children from being recruited and used by armed forces and armed groups and may encourage children’s exit from armed groups and armed forces and promote their reintegration...
MOOC | Programme Design for Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG)
This six-week (3h per week) course from the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action will introduce the key concepts of programme design for CAAFAG and contextualise your design within the legal and normative framework. The course is self-paced and sponsored for all field practitioners. Guided through the five steps of the project cycle, you’ll learn how to create quality, gender...
Resource Package | Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in CAAFAG Programmes
The CAAFAG Task Force was pleased to contributed to the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in CAAFAG Programmes Learning Package. The MHPSS in CAAFAG Programmes Resource Package (field-test version) is an inter-agency package of resources that aims to support the integration of MHPSS into programmes for the prevention, release, and reintegration of children associated with armed forces and...
Operational Guidance | Negotiating and Implementing Handover Protocols for the Transfer of CAAFAG
March 2022 – Handover protocols are agreements by governments or armed groups to swiftly transfer children allegedly associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG) in their custody, or whom they have encountered, to child protection actors for appropriate support services, including, but not limited to, reintegration assistance. Handover protocols are an explicit recognition by states and...
CAAFAG Programme Development Toolkit: Training Guide and Guidelines
Tips for using the tools within the toolkit: Open the PDF using Abode Acrobat and find the tools identified with the paper clip icon. Then click on the small arrow on the left hand side and then on the paper clip icon to open the list of tools. Introduction: The CAAFAG Programme Development Toolkit was produced by the CAAFAG Task Force of the Alliance for Child protection in Humanitarian Action...
Growing Strong Together: A Parenting Program to Support the Reintegration of Children and Prevent their Recruitment
This Intervention Package aims at supporting practitioners to roll out and implement parenting intervention to protect children, and adolescents and young persons (8-21 years) from recruitment and promote their reintegration following association with armed forces or armed groups. If you would like to implement parenting interventions in CAAFAG contexts, these resources are for you, to help you...
Webinars
Webinar | Healing Futures: Case Management for Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups
Children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG) face unique and complex challenges that impede their reintegration into their family and community. This webinar aims to discuss these challenges and explore effective case management strategies tailored specifically for CAAFAG through the experience of three organizations working with CAAFAG in South Sudan and Nigeria. Key Objectives...
Webinar | Dual Battlegrounds: Protecting Children Recruited by Armed Groups and by Criminal Organisations
*Due to technical difficulties, unfortunately this webinar was not recorded in English. However, you can find the French , Spanish , and Arabic recordings on the Alliance YouTube Channel! The CAAFAG Task Force is pleased to invite you to a webinar on protecting children recruited by armed groups and by criminal organisations on 28 January 2025 at 3:00 pm CET. Interpretation will be provided in...
Webinar | Capturing Voices: Evidence Generation for CAAFAG
Watch the recording in French or Spanish ! The involvement of children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG) in evidence generation, including data collection for research and learning, is often methodologically and ethically challenging. While it is understandable that field practitioners may be hesitant to involve CAAFAG in knowledge generation activities due to the risks and...
Virtual Launch of the Technical Note on Education for CAAFAG
Join the Alliance CAAFAG Task Force for the virtual launch of a brand new technical note on Education and Child Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups! This 60-minute moderated dialogue will feature interventions by panellists on education programming and key recommendations to foster collaboration between the child protection and education sectors. Simultaneous interpretation will be...
Virtual Launch of the Technical Note on Livelihood for CAAFAG
Join the Alliance CAAFAG Task Force for the virtual launch of a brand new technical note on Livelihood and Child Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups! This 60-minute moderated dialogue will feature interventions by panellists on livelihood programming and key recommendations to foster collaboration between the child protection and Food Security and Livelihood sectors. Simultaneous...
Webinar | Prevention of Recruitment and Use of Children
The CAAFAG task force is pleased to invite you to a webinar on the Prevention of Recruitment and Use of Children on 25 May 2023 15.00 – 16.00 CET (Geneva). Interpretation will be provided in French, Spanish and Arabic. This webinar will focus on the prevention of recruitment and use of children in armed forces and armed groups. This is an opportunity to hear from child protection actors about...
Webinar | Children Associated with Armed Groups Designated as Terrorists
The Alliance CAAFAG Task Force is pleased to invite you to a webinar on “ Children associated with armed groups designated as terrorists ” on Tuesday 22nd November 2022 from 15:00 – 16:30 CET (Geneva). Interpretation will be provided in French, Spanish and Arabic. This webinar will focus on a discussion on the legal frameworks for CAAFAG, advocacy strategies for children in detention and on how...
Webinar | Community-Level Prevention: Release and Reintegration of Child Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG)
This webinar will focus on the involvement of the community in the prevention of recruitment and use, the facilitation of release, and the reintegration of children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG). This is an opportunity to hear from child protection actors about their experience in engaging the communities in CAAFAG programming and to discuss good practices, lessons learned...
Webinar | Handover Protocols for the Transfer of Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups, Including CAAFAG in Detention
Find the Concept Note for this event here. Thousands of children in situations of armed conflict are doubly victimized: first, at the hands of armed groups or forces that recruit and use them in their ranks, and then by parties to the conflict who detain them for their alleged association with those groups or forces. Many of these children never receive the reintegration support and services they...
Virtual Launch | Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups Programme Development Toolkit
The CAAFAG Task Force is very pleased to announce the launch of the CAAFAG Programme Development Toolkit on the 16th of February at 9 am EST/ 3 pm CET. Simultaneous Interpretaion in French, Spanish and Arabic will be available during the event! The objective of the toolkit is to provide field practitioners with the knowledge and skills to design quality gender-based programmes for CAAFAG, with the...
CAAFAG and COVID-19 [English]
This webinar will focus on the impacts of COVID-19 on programs related to children associated with armed forces and armed groups. Building from Key Messages and Considerations for Programming for CAAFAG During COVID-19, this webinar will bring together CP practitioners from Nigeria, South Sudan, and the Philippines to discuss challenges, good practices, and lessons learned. Children who spend any...
Webinar | Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups
Register via this Zoom link. The Alliance CAAFAG Task Force is pleased to invite you to a webinar on Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups! Sandra Maignant, CAAFAG advisor for Plan International and writer of the Technical Note on Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups will present the findings of her research and recommendations for gender sensitive programming. The...
Webinar | Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (French version)
Register via this Zoom link. The Alliance CAAFAG Task Force is pleased to invite you to a webinar on Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups! Sandra Maignant, CAAFAG advisor for Plan International and writer of the Technical Note on Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups will present the findings of her research and recommendations for gender sensitive programming. The...
Webinar | Launch of the Technical Note on Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups
Register via this Zoom link. Dear colleagues, We hope you are and your loved ones are well. The CAAFAG Task Force, co-led by UNICEF and Plan International, is excited to invite you to the Virtual Launch of a Technical Note on Girls Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups! The event will include a moderated discussion including two young women along with a discussion of the recommendations...
Webinar | CAAFAG and COVID-19 (French version)
Veuillez vous inscrire par ce Zoom link. Ce webinaire portera sur l'impact de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur les programmes concernant les enfants associés aux forces et groupes armés. A travers les messages clés et les considérations en lien avec ces programmes, ce webinaire réunira des professionnels de la protection de l'enfance travaillant dans les contextes de le Mali, la République démocratique...
