New UN report proposes measures to protect children in armed conflict
21 July -- In his latest report to the Security Council on the subject of children and armed conflict, Secretary-General Kofi Annan identifies steps that could be taken by a wide range of national, regional and international actors to fulfil the international community's collective responsibilities towards children.
Stressing that progress is required simultaneously on many fronts, Mr. Annan writes in the report released today that "above all, the international community must do much more to move from words to deeds, from the drafting of norms to an era of application."
According to the Secretary-General, instituting the "culture of prevention" called for by the UN Security Council last November is the best way to reduce the harm done to children. To do so, States will have to address "the extreme poverty, practices of exclusion and manipulation of diversity" that are at the root of many of today's conflicts.
Should preventive steps fail, however, concerted efforts at the local, national, regional and global levels are needed to protect children from the most damaging effects of war, Mr. Annan states. "Meeting this dual challenge will entail integrating children's concerns and perspectives into the development of system-wide strategies both for conflict prevention and for the protection of civilians from armed conflict."
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