Activites in Knowledge Transfer and Advocacy
Children Born of War often do not have a voice as they are either too young to speak out, too shy, trumatised or because they are often forgotten by policy makers and other stakeholders around the world. The CBOW Project is engaged in various knowledge transfer and advocacy projects in order to change this. Through our interventions at national and international levels, we aim to achieve that the interests of children born will be heard and translated into effective policies.
Members of the Children Born of War project engage in diverse knowledge transfer activities. These include amongst others advice to national governments, non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations and courts. Furthermore, the members frequently serve as interview partners to the media and write comments, blog-articles and reports, which are published in different media outlets. They are committed to sharing knowledge on the children born of war to wider societal audiences, such as schools, voluntary associations, informal networks, local politicians and others interested in learning about the topic. Finally knowledge transfer takes place through culture and art, such as academic advice in movie documentary, arts, exhibitions and in the gaming industry.
CBOW Project team members have been advisor amongst others to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Global Survivors Fund, dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation, Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, Kindernothilfe, Society for Threathend Peoples, UNICEF, and ‘Nobody’s Listening’.
Selection of activities
Bridging Academia and Humanitarian Response to Support Children and vulnerable Population
29 November 2023, Bratislava
Ingvill Constanze Ødegaard gave a keynote at the international conference “BRIDGING ACADEMIA AND HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE TO SUPPORT CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE POPULATION” in Bratislava, Slovakia, organised within the framework of the partnership between UNICEF and Comenius University Bratislava in the project “Supporting social work interventions with the refugee population and strengthening the overall social service workforce capacity within the refugee response in Slovakia”. T
Her key note was on “Children affected by war in Ukraine” with special focus on the historical and comparative perspective of the group of children born of war. She emphasized that if we want to be efficient in emergency response, we need to bridge at the operative level as there is so much data, research, and practical competence available which is not efficiently used and bridged between academia, civil society, and policy.
A summary of her keynote will be made available shorty by UNICEF
Expert Roundtable on Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Breaking Down Barriers to the Rights to Identity and Nationality
27 June 2023, Geneva
CBOW Project Managing Director and Chairwoman, Ingvill Constanze Ødegaard, participated in a roundtable event, hosted by Global Survivors Fund (GSF), which included diverse stakeholders from humanitarian, transitional justice and child protection sectors, as well as civil society representatives, victim/survivor activists, academics and a range of UN bodies. The mission was to create a solution-oriented roundtable focusing on breaking down barriers for children born of CRSV accessing their rights to identity and nationality.
Prof. Ødegaard represented the CBOW Project, giving a key address on the evidence to date on needs and outcomes of children born of war, and specifically children born of CRSV, and presenting the vision of our foundation for the future; a (virtual) CBOW hub that will facilitate systematic collaboration and information sharing, prevent siloes and ensure the rights and needs of CBOW are at the centre of evidence, advocacy, training and policy efforts from researchers, survivor organisations, CBOW organisations, governments, courts and non-governmental organisations.
CBOW Project has endorsed the ‘Call to Action’ and ‘Platform for Action’ on Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
1 November 2022, Cologne
The Children Born of War Project on November 1st 2022 endorsed the Call to Action and committed to all priorities in the Platform for Action which are:
Priority One: Building Evidence and Understanding on Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
Priority Two: Promoting Effective Laws, Policies & Practices
Priority Three: Empowering Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Advocating With/on Behalf of Them
Priority Four: Focusing on the most vulnerable children
The Children Born of War Project has officially endorsed the Call to Action and committed to the all priorities under the Platform for Action.
Intervention to the UN Statement to the UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva in February-March 2021
CBOW Project submitted an intervention to include a UN Statement to the UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva in February-March 2021. In our statement, we called on the UN to routinely acknowledge the existence of children born of war and their needs in any case of conflict-related sexual violence. Specifically, we demanded changes of Iraqi laws that would be critical for the integration of children born of war within the Yazidi community. Regarding children born of war within the Rohingya community, we demanded that they be better protected from the imminent abuse and violence against this particularly vulnerable group in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Report on the situation of children born of war within the Rohingya communit
A report on the specific situation of children born of war within the Rohingya community was published in 2020 with our support. In this context, we had the honour to be invited to a high-level event with the UN Representatives on the situation of children born of war within the Rohingya community. This group of Rohingya victims of the 2017 genocide is thus far not being considered in many international and civil society interventions helping the Rohingya. This made our conversation with the Special Rapporteur of Myanmar, Tom Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, Mama Fatima Singhateh, Special Rapporteur on human trafficking, Siobhan Mullaly, all the more important. We are grateful that as a follow-up to this conversation, the CBOW Project was invited to submit expertise on the threats of abuse and trafficking that children born of war face.
Oslo Conference: “Ending Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Humanitarian Crises”
23-24 May 2019, Oslo
In May 2019 the international conference “Ending Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Humanitarian Crises” took place in Oslo, Norway. The conference was hosted by Norway, Iraq, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, UN OCHA, UNFPA, ICRC and other partners. It was the first time the Children Born of War were addressed at a donor meeting. Board member Ingvill C. Ødegaard (formerly Mochmann) was invited to give an overview on major topics and stat-of-the art knowledge on children born of war at the session “Forced motherhood and children born of war”.

Key note by Ingvill C. Mochmann at “Stigma and Children Born of War. Workshop at LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security”
25 September 2017, London
On 25 September 2017, the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security held a workshop on the issue of Stigma and Children Born of War. The workshop aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange, critical reflection and dialogue between academics, policymakers and civil society. The recommendations of the workshop has been published in: Joanne Neenan “Closing the protection gap for Children Born of War”, 2018.

United Nation Comprehensive Strategy on Assistance and Support to Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by United Nations Staff and Related Personnel
15 July 2005, Bergen
2005 Invited input to the development of the United Nation Comprehensive Strategy on Assistance and Support to Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by United Nations Staff and Related Personnel’ A/RES/62/214 which was published 21 December 2007. The recommendations: Suggestions for a best practice. Ensuring the Human Rights of Children born by UN peacekeeping personnel and local women
Older activites of advocacy & knowledge transfer since 2008
For further activities since 2008 see here