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

PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE

FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT

Briefing correspondents this afternoon following his recent mission to Afghanistan, Olara Otunnu, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, called for major investments in the children and youth of that country, particularly in the areas of education, nutrition and basic medical care.

He said that having seen first-hand the high price that Afghanistan's children and youth had paid during two decades of war, he was highly encouraged during his week-long trip with their high level of resilience and with their universal thirst for learning and knowledge.  During those years of conflict, one out of three children had lost one or both parents, he noted.  Some 20 per cent of them had died before their first birthday; 50 per cent had suffered from chronic malnutrition; and children made up about half of the country's 200,000 landmine victims.

In light of that, Mr. Otunnu urgently appealed to the international community and the Government of Afghanistan to make major investments in children and youth a priority at both the national and international levels.  Investing in children and youth was one of the best ways to turn a new page in Afghanistan, to ensure a promising future for the country and to prevent young people from becoming vulnerable to radical indoctrination and manipulation for conflict. 

He said that in addition to education, nutrition and health, it was also very important to pay special attention to orphans, street children, landmine victims and displaced children and families.  He said he had discussed the need for a focal point to bring prominence to the concerns of children, for which he had proposed a national commission for children.  Another proposal was to establish the post of Child Protection Adviser -- which was now an established practice in United Nations missions -- in the United NationsAssistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Noting that the children and youth of Afghanistan were longing to participate more actively in rebuilding peace and healing their country, he said that in order to highlight the children's agenda within the country as well as internationally, a national conference for the children of Afghanistan was being planned, in collaboration with the Government, United Nations agencies and local as well as international non-governmental organizations.

He had proposed the conference, he said, last summer and had been discussing with United Nations agencies and key non-governmental organizations, including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children.  The Norwegian Government had offered to support the holding of the conference, which he hoped would take place before the end of the year, although the precise dates were still under discussion.

He said he had been impressed, in his encounters with Afghan women, with their very clear ideas of what they wanted for themselves, their families and

their country.  Among other emerging trends that had impressed him was the palpable relief at the restoration of peace and freedom, even though there were still deep concerns about continuing insecurity and the struggle of families for day-to-day survival.

Asked about the demography of Aghanistan, Mr. Otunnu said that over 50 per cent of the population was under the age of 18.  However, it was important to keep in mind that there were generations of young people.  For the most part, the lives of those in their early 30s and even early 40s had been defined by the experience of war.

On the status of child soldiers and ex-combatants, he said it was known that all the fighting groups had enlisted young persons below the age of 18 during the course of the war.  It had probably not been as rampant a problem as that in Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka or Colombia, but it was a phenomenon, nevertheless.  With the end of the war, many of them had been demobilized and had re-joined their families and communities.

He said he had raised the issue in his discussions with the Government at the national level as well as at the regional level with governors and military leaders.  He had sought commitments that from now on, no person below the age of 18 would be enrolled, and that the Government would move rapidly to ratifying the Optional Protocol on the participation of children in armed conflict.

Responding to a question on paedophilia in Afghanistan, he said that he had heard about the sexual exploitation of young persons, particularly boys and especially in the southern part of the country.  However, due to social reticence and taboo, it had been difficult to get hard facts and figures.

Clarifying comments attributed to him in a recent press article, he said that he had been very grateful for the generous and forthcoming way in which the international donor community had responded to the situation in Afghanistan, particularly with regard to children and young people.  His appeal to the international donor community was that beyond the provision of immediate relief, it was critical that donors stay the course and invest in children and young people. 

He also appealed to the donor community to find ways by which funds that had already been committed could be expedited.  Disbursement had been slower than expected, but he hoped donors would find a way to expedite the process so that the funds earmarked for Afghanistan would reach the people for whom they were intended.

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