PRESS BRIEFING ON REPORT ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT

PRESS BRIEFING ON REPORT ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT

The plight of children in conflict zones remained grave and entirely unacceptable, despite the recent achievement of strong standards for their protection, Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), said this afternoon as he briefed correspondents at Headquarters today on the report he had presented to the General Assembly’s Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) yesterday.

Because of the chasm that existed between the new standards and their application on the ground, he said, his report proposed an “era of application”.  At its core were ideas for systematically monitoring and reporting about the practices of parties on the ground –- both governments and factions –- to change their treatment of children.  It was time, he said, “to switch from talking the talk to walking the walk”.

Describing the progress of the past five years, he said that standards had not only been strengthened, but their scope had also been enlarged to make them comprehensive.  Systematic methods of engaging parties in conflict, to get them to commit formally to the protection of children, had also been developed, from Colombia to Sierra Leone.

In addition, he said, the political profile of the problem had increased; the issue was now an integral part of the Security Council agenda and was part of the mandates of peacekeeping missions, to which child-protection advisors were now attached.  The issue was embraced by regional organizations around the globe, including the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).  The growth of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) devoted to monitoring and advocacy had also been crucial.  But most important, he said, was the “naming and shaming” of the violators of children’s rights, States parties, as well as insurgencies, through a list prepared last year and a second that would be issued soon.

On the other hand, he continued, there were still horrendous episodes of terror and deprivation, as parties persisted in abusing children with impunity in conflict situations.  Among those situations were the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, the Aceh province of Indonesia, Iraq, occupied Palestinian territory and northern Uganda.

He said he had given detailed criteria in the report for the systematic monitoring and reporting on such situations.  The most egregious violations would be prioritized, including the killing and maiming of children, the recruitment or abduction of child soldiers, the deliberate use of sexual violence as a strategy of warfare, and the denial of humanitarian access to children in distress.

Most of the monitoring, he said, had to be done at the local level, through the United Nations country team, NGOs on the ground and personnel attached to peacekeeping missions.  Their information would be integrated into specific reports.

At that point, he said, it was crucial that the reports serve as triggers for action.  That action could come through the Security Council, the International Criminal Court or the Commission on Human Rights.  The media was also extremely important in bringing public opinion to bear on the parties.

It was a watershed moment for the protection of children, he said.  Mechanisms were in place along with the heightened interest of the international community to form a “critical mass” that could come together to change the behaviour of parties in conflict and prevent them from getting away with abuse of children.  To make it happen, the report proposed tangible action.

In answer to questions concerning the future of war-abused children in Sierra Leone, he said that there were many post-conflict situations in which generations of children were at risk of being lost.  It was not only a problem in Sierra Leone.  In the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia, for example, if the parties released all the child soldiers in their ranks, it would present an enormous question of what should be done with them.  Without viable alternatives, they could soon recycle back into war, even across borders, as often happened in Africa.

He said that in such places as Sierra Leone, there were many remarkable children working for their own futures.  However, United Nations agencies, NGOs and civil society needed to be provided with resources equal to the magnitude of the problem.  Resources and capacity were needed to extend education and vocational training, as well as to revive agriculture and provide other economic opportunities.  “We must go that one step further”, he concluded.

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