This chapter focuses on the approach of the Indonesia-based Tanoto Foundation as a Global South-originated philanthropy with a far broader Asian and even global perspective, and on how it leveraged partnerships for impact. Now into its fortieth year of operations, the Tanoto Foundation has shown how philanthropy that is originated in the Global South is able to engage in knowledge exchange via global communities of practice to help create regional platforms to inspire collaboration. The pandemic has illustrated the importance of an evidence-based approach in the Global South whose results can be measured before they are scaled up and where collaboration is critical. Indonesia is a case in point, having suffered from natural disasters in the midst of the pandemic, challenging both humanitarian relief and disaster recovery. To help meet these challenges, the Foundation partnered with local (district) and national (ministry) government bodies, international development organisations, business entities, and philanthropic organisations both local and overseas. Successes in responding to the pandemic included the harmonisation of data-collation methodologies at the national level and the sharing of newly codified knowledge from the Foundation’s work. This chapter details how Tanoto Foundation built its internal institutional capacity, and maximised its impact by leveraging multiple relationships that can amplify resources, capacity, and knowledge.

This chapter outlines and discusses the policies and practices relating to the protection of civilians within the United Nations (UN) system. First, it reviews the policy work of the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) with respect to UN peace operations. It then considers efforts to protect civilians by a range of UN agencies and bodies. These include the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which is responsible for drafting the Secretary-General’s reports to the Security Council on the protection of civilians; the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which engages in protection at field level as well as providing guidance on international standards; UNICEF, which seeks to protect children affected by armed conflict; UNHCR; and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The formation of UNICEF in 1946 was a major turning point in humanitarian aid to children, and is discussed in Chapter 7. The United Nations (UN) initiated the World Refugee Year in 1959–1960 which was based on ideas of humanitarian rights – the right to access humanitarian aid. Children formed a major part of these campaigns in fundraising and drawing on support. While UNICEF did not promote adopting, it retained the Western model of fundraising support in Southeast Asia through campaigns of aid and development. Chapter 7 considers the role of UNICEF Australia in the region during the Vietnam War. Its campaign did so by depoliticising and decontextualising war by framing child refugees in neutral terms – as objects of humanitarian assistance to attract funds worthy of pity – rather than as victims of a political conflict, which would also demand a political analysis of US and Australian foreign policy. In doing so, it constructed an altruistic humanitarianism which framed donors as a community of secular heroes and saviours.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development contains a broad set of goals requiring unprecedented global commitment and cooperation between countries (United Nations, 2015d, 2015e). From the human rights perspective, the agenda reflects elements of international human rights law and offers critical opportunities to further advance the realization of human rights for all people everywhere without discrimination (OHCHR, n.d.-c). The challenge posed is to ensure that strategies and policies to implement the 2030 Agenda are effectively based on the established human rights framework. Goal 17 of the Agenda refers to strengthening the means of implementation and “revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.” Several targets of Goal 17 aim at the full implementation of official development assistance by developed countries, reaching certain proportions of aid relative to gross national income.

The responsibility for implementing and complying with international standards rests firmly with states. However, post-conflict states often lack resources and may also face significant socio-political challenges. Chapter 3 explores whether international child rights standards make any allowances for the context in which they are to be implemented, reviewing the ‘escape’ route of derogations, considering whether the economic, social and cultural context may be taken into account, and addressing textual flexibility. It also expounds factors, including resources and public opinion, that might affect the operationalisation of juvenile justice standards in particular. The state does not, however, operate in a vacuum. There is a range of international mechanisms that promote implementation of, and compliance with, human rights. This chapter reviews these mechanisms as they relate to children’s rights, examining in particular the Committee on the Rights of the Child established by the CRC to monitor state compliance with the treaty, before focusing in some detail on UNICEF. The chapter provides an overview of UNICEF’s institutional nature, its relationship with the CRC and its stance on juvenile justice, all of which are key to understanding UNICEF’s involvement in Rwanda and its approach to child génocidaires.

Chapter 9 synthesises the main findings of the study and gestures towards the implications of the research on a broader level as well as questions raised. It draws insights for advances in theories on human rights promotion in post-conflict societies, making the case for principled pragmatism: an approach predicated on contextual interpretation and application of standards whilst remaining true to human rights principles, and on the use of constructive and collaborative strategies and techniques in policy development and advocacy. The chapter presents lessons that can be learned from Rwanda: how children’s involvement in violent crimes can dramatically influence the perception of childhood, a factor which should be taken into account when seeking to promote child rights at the community level; whether the prosecution of children was preferable to non-prosecution; whether UNICEF was right to become involved with the issue of child perpetrators in Rwanda; and what approaches to child perpetrators UNICEF should be promoting, briefly exploring alternative modalities of accountability, including truth-seeking and indigenous justice and reconciliation mechanisms. Whilst affirming the role of UNICEF, it concludes by emphasising that ultimately it is the state that decides on accountability and that is responsible for implementation of, and compliance with, international standards.