SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT WELCOMES CANADA'S RATIFICATION OF OPTIONAL PROTOCOL ON CHILDREN IN CONFLICT

Press Release
HR/4483

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT WELCOMES CANADA'S RATIFICATION OF OPTIONAL PROTOCOL ON CHILDREN IN CONFLICT

NEW YORK, 7 July (Office of the Special Representative) -- The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, has welcomed the ratification by Canada of a new treaty designed to prevent anyone under 18 from participating in hostilities.

Lloyd Axworthy, Canada's Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, deposited Canada's instrument of ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict at United Nations Headquarters in New York today. Canada was the first Member State to sign the Optional Protocol.

"I warmly congratulate the Government of Canada on this occasion", Mr. Otunnu said. "This development is especially appropriate because Canada has been playing a very dynamic leadership role in advocating for the protection of children exposed to abuse and brutalization in situations of armed conflict."

To date, eight countries have signed the Optional Protocol. The treaty comes into force when it has been ratified by 10 Member States.

“Our goal is to have the Optional Protocol come into force by the end of this year", Mr. Otunnu said. "Coming so soon after President [William] Clinton signed the Optional Protocol on behalf of the United States, I know that Canada's ratification will accelerate momentum towards achieving this objective."

The Special Representative also congratulated the Government of Canada on its ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Mr. Otunnu said that the establishment of the ICC was very significant for the protection of children; it established international criminal jurisdiction over individuals responsible for the most serious crimes against children and would serve as a deterrent against such crimes.

For more information, contact: Fergus Nicoll, Office of the Special Representative, (212) 963-8460, nicoll@un.org

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