Bonavero Discussion Group: Youth Associated with Non-state Armed Groups Reimagined: Legal Gaps, Normative Challenges, and the Path Forward

We are delighted to welcome Dr Yosuke Nagai to lead our Bonavero Discussion Group session on 21st October 2025.

In his talk, Dr. Nagai will draw on his frontline experience in conflict-affected regions, including Somalia and Yemen, as well as findings from his research, to shed light on the situation of Youth Associated with Non-State Armed Groups (YANSAG). Unlike Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG), who are protected under international norms such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, or young individuals supported by international agendas including Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS), YANSAG often remain largely unrecognised in existing frameworks.

In 2024 and 2025, Dr. Nagai and his organisation conducted dialogue-based surveys with 450 YANSAG across 15 conflict-affected countries and regions. In ‘Insights from the Ground: Voices and Potential of Youth Associated with Non-State Armed Groups’, he drew on these findings to examine how many YANSAG first joined armed groups as children and continued into adulthood. It also highlighted their unique potential, both as young individuals and as former conflict actors with invaluable lived experiences, to bring about positive change in society, starting with peacebuilding.

Moreover, in collaboration with Oxford Pro Bono Publico, a comprehensive article titled ‘Youth Associated with Non-State Armed Groups: Legal Protections and Vulnerabilities under International Law’ has been published. The article provides an in-depth review of existing human rights law and highlights how the current international legal framework fails to adequately protect YANSAG (Youth Associated with Non-State Armed Groups).

Dr. Nagai’s work provides new insights into this often-overlooked issue and fosters critical discussions on reintegration, care, empowerment, and the development of stronger international norms to support YANSAG in fulfilling their unique potential as agents of peace.

Yosuke Nagai is the Executive Director of Accept International and the Founder of the Global Taskforce for Youth Combatants (GTY). Since 2011, he has led the design and implementation of deradicalization, reintegration, and rehabilitation programs for disengaged members of non-state armed groups in Somalia, Yemen, Kenya, Indonesia, and Colombia. He has also actively promoted dialogue and reconciliation initiatives in highly sensitive contexts, including Palestine.

Dr. Nagai is currently a Visiting Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, an Associate Researcher at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), University of Tokyo, and an Adjunct Lecturer at Kyoto University. He previously served as a Visiting Fellow at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. In addition, he contributes to the work of various United Nations entities through his participation in Youth Advisory Boards, Expert Group Meetings, and Technical Working Groups. He holds a PhD in Social Science from Waseda University and a Master’s degree in Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Sophie Bray-Watkins is the Senior Youth Advocacy and Participation Adviser for the War Child Alliance, an international humanitarian organisation that supports children and youth affected by armed conflict. Her 20-year career has included working with children and youth in the UK, Europe, Africa, South America and the Middle-East, supporting young people’s meaningful participation in active citizenship, advocacy and research initiatives. 

She holds a first-class Master’s from Birkbeck University and has an interest in the engagement of highly excluded and marginalised young people, such as those who are street-connected or associated with armed groups. Since joining this field, she has developed global youth-led initiatives, including “VoiceMore”, and overseen youth participation programs in more than 16 countries.

Dr Eliza Bechtold is the Programmes Manager and a Research Fellow at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights.  She researches in the area of freedom of expression at the national, regional, and international levels and is particularly interested in the regulation of extreme speech in the digital age and how free speech frameworks can function to undermine democratic norms and institutions.  

Prior to entering academia, Dr Bechtold practiced law in the United States for nearly a decade, working as a litigation associate for law firms, including DLA Piper LLP, and serving as the Legal Director of the ACLU of New Mexico.  While working for the ACLU of New Mexico, she litigated human rights cases before federal and state courts and engaged in advocacy efforts throughout the state in relation to LGBTQ rights, immigrants' rights, and reproductive freedom.