PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AFFECTED BY ARMED CONFLICT

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AFFECTED BY ARMED CONFLICT

At a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon, the Secretary-General's Special Representative to Study the Impact of Armed Conflict in Children, Olara Otunnu (Côte d'Ivoire), stressed the need for concerted action to correct the abominable situation faced by children during and after armed conflict.

Introducing Mr. Otunnu, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said his Special Representative would build on the pioneering work done by Graça Machel (Mozambique) in her 1996 study on the situation on children in armed conflict. During Mr. Otunnu's three-year appointment, he would work with the Secretariat in assessing progress achieved and difficulties encountered in strengthening the protection of children in conflict situations. His mandate also included raising awareness and promoting the collection of information, fostering international cooperation to ensure respect for children, and preparing reports for the General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission.

The Secretary-General was asked if Mr. Otunnu's mandate included the situation of children existing under sanctions, as a post-conflict situation. Mr. Annan said the scope of the Special Representative's work would become more clear as he proceeded with his mandate which, at present, did not address the impact of sanctions. If, during the course of his work, Mr. Otunnu believed that it was relevant, he would raise the matter with the Secretary- General.

Mr. Otunnu said he was very honoured to accept the Secretary-General's appointment as the Special Representative. Mrs. Machel's study provided a comprehensive description of the phenomenon, so there was no longer any need for more studies, meetings or resolutions on the matter. His work would focus on specific situations to determine what could be done to ensure the protection of children affected by conflict and to help them with programmes for healing, rehabilitation and reintegration into society. He would also act as a catalyst and focal point for the relevant United Nations bodies and other humanitarian agencies on the ground.

Mr. Otunnu said his role also included taking up the challenge of advocacy. "What we are actually witnessing is an abomination, and it was critical that the public get a clear sense of that abomination" and denounce it. Part of his advocacy was to ensure that the issue remained a priority concern of the international community as a whole. His work would involve a fastidious commitment to the checking of facts, since in any conflict situation, facts were often the first casualty. As his role was humanitarian and non-political, he would be rigourously impartial. His agenda would emphasize the protection and welfare of children, and he would seek to build a wide community of concerned organizations on the issue.

The world was witnessing the most incredible abomination against children on the eve of a new millenium, he said. The cooperation of the media would be enlisted in his effort to make protection of the children a common agenda, regardless of a nation's political orientation, cultural traditions or religious traits.

Mr. Otunnu was asked if his mandate would include the situation on children affected by sanctions, as in Iraq, where organizations had recorded deaths of children as a result of sanctions. He said his mandate was to be proactive with regard to the variety of ways children were affected by conflict, both during conflict and in post-conflict situations. A good proportion of Mrs. Machel's study addressed the issue of sanctions, as did relevant Assembly resolutions. His approach would be comprehensive.

A correspondent asked what Mr. Otunnu intended to do about the situation of children in Liberia, particularly those who had been involved in conflicts there and were in the process of being drawn into the crisis in Sierra Leone. The Special Representative said Liberia was a good example of a country that had just emerged from conflict and which needed help in the post-conflict period to put in place a programme for the rehabilitation of children. He had already discussed the matter with Liberia's Foreign Minister and would be visiting the country. Liberia would reflect his role as catalyst and focal point where he would bring together the agencies in the field and, in cooperation with the Liberian Government, fashion a programme to fit the children's needs.

Asked about the conduct of United Nations peacekeepers, as addressed in the Machel study, and what plans he had to deal with that issue, Mr. Otunnu said it would be one of his priorities. Discussion on it had already taken place with the then Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Mr. Annan, and with Mrs. Machel. He would continue to discuss with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations such issues as standards and procedures to ensure that the Organization set the best example with respect to the conduct of its peacekeepers -- especially since peacekeeping now included regional groups.

To a question about the announcement by the authorities in Sierra Leone that they would be disarming children under 18 years of age, Mr. Otunnu said he was very concerned about the situation in Sierra Leone. However, he could not take credit for any positive move that was being made by the Sierra Leonean authorities.

Asked which countries he would visit, Mr. Otunnu said the list of countries affected by conflict was too long. However, he had initiated discussions with the Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka, Liberia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- countries where conflict had taken place or was still taking place. He would attempt to visit a few countries as soon as possible, including both States experiencing conflict and those in the post-conflict situations, such as Liberia and Mozambique.

Otunnu Press Briefing - 3 - 10 October 1997

To what extent would the situation of certain young people, such as those involved in gangs in the City of New York, fit into his mandate? a correspondent asked. Mr. Otunnu said he was interested to learn about experiences of such children, reflecting other kinds of situations short of armed conflict. While his mandate was limited to the situation of armed conflict, one should learn as much as possible from other experiences.

Asked if he would visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Otunnu said that he would.

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