Thirty years after H.E. Graça Machel presented her landmark report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children to the United Nations General Assembly, its findings remain deeply relevant to the lives of millions of children affected by armed conflict around the world.

For Sandile Tshabalala, a Master’s graduate of the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at Wits Business School, the anniversary is also an opportunity to reflect on the role philanthropy can play in addressing the devastating effects of armed conflict on children.

Tshabalala explored this intersection in his CAPSI Master’s thesis, titled ‘The Role of Corporate Philanthropy on the Effectiveness of the African Union Peace Fund in Protecting Children from Armed Conflict’. His research examined why philanthropic resources have not played a more prominent role in addressing armed conflict and protecting children, particularly within the African context.

“Peacebuilding and child protection remain underexplored in scholarly discourse, especially within African philanthropy,” says Tshabalala.

His research focused on the African Union Peace Fund, the principal financing instrument for the African Union’s peace and security activities. Tshabalala argues that there is an opportunity to strengthen the Fund’s resource mobilisation strategies by creating greater space for corporate philanthropy.

His research is grounded in the premise that peaceful environments are essential for economic activity and sustainable development.

“Without peaceful environments, there can be no commercial activity,” he says. “Thus, it is plausible for corporates to consider allocating resources towards the elimination of armed conflict, especially in communities where children are vulnerable to recruitment as child soldiers and to the trauma of exposure to violence.”

A report that remains relevant 30 years later

Presented by Graça Machel in 1996, the report created an important framework for understanding and responding to the impact of armed conflict on children. It highlighted the devastating consequences of war, including the recruitment of children as soldiers, sexual violence, displacement, attacks on education and healthcare infrastructure, and the long-term psychological effects of exposure to violence.

Tshabalala’s research found that the Machel Report created a roadmap that enabled the international community to develop resolutions within the United Nations system to address the ongoing impact of armed conflict on children.

Yet, three decades later, many children across Africa continue to experience the consequences of conflict.

“In Africa, over 150 million children live in or near active conflict zones, facing sexual violence, abductions, and maiming,” says Tshabalala.

He points to the destruction of education and healthcare infrastructure as one of the consequences of conflict that directly undermines children’s development and access to basic needs.

His study further indicated that these circumstances continue to limit the enjoyment of Aspiration 9 of the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: “Every child is free from the impact of armed conflicts and other disasters or emergency situations.”

The role of corporate philanthropy

A central finding of Tshabalala’s research is the need to explore new approaches to financing peacebuilding, conflict prevention and child protection.

His study suggests that restructuring tax incentives could encourage greater corporate philanthropic support for the African Union Peace Fund.

“Corporates should prioritise allocating resources to fund peace across the continent, especially in the communities where they operate and generate profit,” he says.

For Tshabalala, corporate responsibility should extend beyond traditional areas of social investment such as education and healthcare.

“Corporate responsibility goes beyond supporting critical needs such as education and healthcare; peacebuilding enables access to and enjoyment of basic human rights.”

His research highlights the significant gap between contributions from African Union member states and private voluntary contributions to the Peace Fund. According to figures cited in his study, as of 20 July 2024, the Peace Fund had mobilised US$398 million, of which US$392 million (98%) came from member states and only US$6 million (2%) from private voluntary contributions.

Of the private-sector contributions identified in his study, philanthropic actors included Afreximbank and Ethiopian Airlines.

Tshabalala argues that Africa’s ambition to address African challenges through African solutions and financial resources must move beyond commitments and pledges.

“Africa’s ambition to address African problems with endogenous solutions and financial means needs to go beyond pledges and into actual transactions and the implementation of decisions.”

Remembering Graça Machel’s call to action

Thirty years after the publication of the Machel Report, its message continues to resonate against the backdrop of conflicts affecting children in places including Darfur, Goma, Gaza, Kyiv, Khartoum, El-Obeid and Cabo Delgado.

“It is concerning how little the world has changed since 1996,” says Tshabalala. “Today, children in Darfur, Goma, Gaza, Kyiv, Khartoum, El-Obeid, and Cabo Delgado live with the daily realities of armed conflict. Childhood memories are shaped by fear of terror rather than by the enjoyment of their right to play.”

For Tshabalala, the 30th anniversary of the report is therefore more than a commemoration. It is an opportunity to reconsider how societies, institutions and the private sector respond to children affected by conflict.

He believes corporations have an important role to play in financing efforts to minimise the impact of armed conflict on children.

In her 1996 report, Machel articulated the fundamental needs shared by all children, stating that “the needs of all children are the same: nutritious food, adequate health care, a decent education, shelter and a secure and loving family.”

She added: “Children are both our reason to struggle to eliminate the worst aspects of warfare, and our best hope for succeeding at it.”

For Tshabalala, these words remain a powerful call to action.

His research underscores the potential of corporate philanthropy to contribute to efforts to reduce the effects of armed conflict on children, particularly in Africa, by strategically resourcing the African Union Peace Fund.

Thirty years on, the Machel Report remains a reminder that protecting children from the consequences of conflict is not only a responsibility of governments and international institutions. It is also a challenge that calls for collective action, innovative financing and a stronger philanthropic commitment to peace.

By: Wits Business School / Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI)
With insights from Sandile Tshabalala, CAPSI Master’s Graduate and Head of Philanthropy at the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa.