26 July -- For the second time this year, the Security Council today took up the issue of children in war, in an extensive debate to explore measures to better protect young people from the irreparable damage of armed conflict.
In her address to the open meeting, during which more than 30 participants were listed to speak, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette noted the progress made since the Security Council adopted resolution 1261 last year, placing for the first time the issue of children in war on the peace and security agenda. She highlighted in particular the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which focuses on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and the deployment of Child Protection Advisors in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
However, such positive developments were not enough, Ms. Fréchette said. "The abuse of children in armed conflict - as everywhere - is unacceptable. We can, and we must, do much more to make our world safer for them," she stressed, urging the Council to "show the necessary political leadership" in the fight against those who exploit children.
Presenting the Secretary-General's report to the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict, which formed the basis for the Council's deliberations, Olara Otunnu, Mr. Annan's Special Representative on that issue, noted the significant progress that had been made over the past two years. This included the rise in the level of public awareness on the subject, the January 2000 consensus agreement to raise the age limit for compulsory recruitment into armed forces from 15 to 18, and the incorporation of child protection measures into peace operations.
The challenge now, according to Mr. Otunnu, was to ensure that countries that make commitments towards protecting children during conflict actually adhere to their pledges - an effort in which the Security Council could play an important role. He drew the Council's attention to the series of steps that could be taken to fulfill global responsibilities towards children proposed in the Secretary-General's report.
"In today's world, no party in conflict is an island unto itself," he said. "The international community should make any assistance - political, diplomatic, financial, material and military - for all parties to armed conflict contingent on observing standards for protection of children."
For her part, the head of the UN Children's Fund, (UNICEF) called on the Security Council to ensure that all those who violate children's rights in times of war - whether governments, rebel groups or corporations - are held accountable. "We have far too often said that we will not permit children to be raped, mutilated, recruited, hurt and forced to lose their childhood," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "Yet time and time again we have stood and watched helplessly ... while cruelty and indifference prevailed."
Referring to the resolution that the Council is expected to pass next week, Ms. Bellamy emphasized that a new resolution would only make a difference to the lives of children if it was enforced. She called on the Council to monitor the behaviour of States and others, and ensure that child rights violators are shamed, disgraced and held accountable for their actions.
Ms. Bellamy also asked that the resolution include a range of interventions to assist children, such as the rapid restart of education programmes to help restore a sense of normality for traumatized children, and to reduce the chance of recruiting child soldiers. She also urged the Council to stress the need for special demobilization programmes for child soldiers, landmines awareness programmes, and the protection of hospitals, schools and other places where children are likely to be found.
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