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UN calls on Coalition forces in Afghanistan to learn from deaths of 15 children

11 December – The senior United Nations official in Afghanistan said today he hoped lessons would be learned from the killing of 15 children in two raids by the United States-led Coalition forces in Afghanistan and "these tragic situations are not repeated."

"The protection of civilians is an obligation that must be observed by all," the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Lakhdar Brahimi, said after the deaths of six children in an air strike by the US-led Coalition forces in Paktya province on Friday were disclosed.

As he said on Sunday about the first known killing, that of nine children by Coalition forces in Ghazni on Saturday, Mr. Brahimi said, "In addition to the terrible loss suffered by the families of these children, this type of incident has a deteriorating and destabilizing effect, as it adds to the sense of insecurity and fear in the country."

"Unfortunately and worryingly, this type of incident also makes it easier for those who are trying to spoil the peace process to rally support for their cause," he added.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's spokesman associated him with Mr. Brahimi's remarks.

In answer to a question, the spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Manoel de Almeida e Silva, said Mr. Brahimi had contacted the US ambassador in Kabul, but had made no specific recommendations.

"We do not know the details of their military planning. We do not know the details of their military operations, so we are not competent to make military comments," he said. "Our comment is on the impact of such incidents and on the fact that any military organization has a responsibility to protect civilians."

The Afghanistan Country Office of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) added, "The death of one child is one death too many."

"Afghanistan is entering a crucial period of its history," it said. "UNICEF calls upon all those involved in military activity in Afghanistan to exercise the greatest caution in their operations to ensure that local communities do not lose faith in the essential reconstruction process now underway across the country."

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said, meanwhile, that it had sent a security mission to Kandahar this week, following a similar mission to Jalalabad earlier this month, but full resumption of operations would not take place in the near future unless security along the border with Pakistan improved.