Sixty-first General Assembly

Third Committee

14^th Meeting (AM)

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE SAYS 2006 ‘A TERRIBLE YEAR’ FOR CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT,

AS THIRD COMMITTEE CONTINUES DEBATE ON CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

In Recent War in Lebanon, Other Conflicts,

More Civilians Killed, Including Children, Than Combatants, She Says

So far, 2006 had been a terrible year for children in armed conflict, as the world had entered a dangerous era when the basic principles of international humanitarian law were being called into question, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today as it continued its discussion of children’s rights.

In the recent war in Lebanon and in other conflicts around the world, more children and other civilians had been killed than combatants, she said.  In the past, all combatants would create humanitarian space for the protection of children, whereas today, it was an uphill battle to ensure that humanitarian principles were entrenched.  While important steps had been taken to promote application of internationally recognized protection standards for children affected by armed conflict, further efforts were needed to ensure that impunity for crimes against children during times of conflict was not tolerated.

Among the advances she cited was last year’s landmark Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) on children and armed conflict, which had set up a monitoring mechanism on six grave violations and had established a Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.  She suggested it was now time to broaden the scope of the monitoring and reporting mechanism to include all situations where grave violations were perpetrated against children in armed conflict.

She noted that certain categories of children were especially vulnerable in situations of armed conflict, including girls, refugee and internally displaced children, and child-headed households.  Girls were often victims of sexual violence and exploitation and were increasingly being recruited into fighting forces.  Girls associated with fighting forces often were by-passed in community reintegration programmes and stigmatized and ostracized by their communities.  She focused more broadly on the tremendous challenges involved in the rehabilitation and reintegration of children associated with armed forces, urging adequate funding for such programmes.

The representative of Namibia, speaking on behalf of the Southern African Development Community, also stressed that much more effort should be made to address the problem of child soldiers and that more resources should be invested in conflict prevention and resolution.  He noted that children always were among the first to be affected by armed conflicts.  They could be killed or injured, orphaned, abducted, raped or left with deep psychological trauma.

The SADC fully supported the proposal for the appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children, which was among the key recommendations of an in-depth study on all forms of violence against children led by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro in his role as an independent expert.  The representatives of Nigeria, Egypt, and Nicaragua were among the other delegations speaking today to express support for that new mandate.  The special representative would act as a high-profile global advocate to promote prevention and elimination of all violence against children, encourage international and regional cooperation and ensure follow-up to the study’s recommendations.  (Ms. Coomaraswamy’s mandate is restricted to children and armed conflict.)

The representative of Egypt expressed her delegation’s strong support for the in-depth study and its recommendations.  Regional consultations held in Egypt indicated that countries in the Middle East and North Africa took seriously their commitment to implement the recommendations of the report and develop credible follow-up mechanisms, she said.  In 2006, Egypt had adopted a national plan of action to eliminate all forms of violence against children as the result of sincere efforts to break the silence that had long surrounded certain forms of violence, such as early and forced marriages, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation.

Nearly all delegations expressed the willingness to do more to protect children’s rights but noted that resources available often fell short of what was required.

Others speaking today included the representatives of Finland (on behalf of the European Union and associated States), Japan, Pakistan, Sudan, Barbados (on behalf of the Caribbean Community), Iraq, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, Slovenia (on behalf of Human Security Network States), New Zealand and Georgia.

The Committee is expected to meet again at 10 a.m. on Friday, 13 October, to continue its debate on the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

Background

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met today to continue its general discussion on the promotion and protection of children’s rights.

For background, please see Press Release GA/SHC/3852 of 11 October.

Statement by Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict

RADHIKA COOMARASWAMY, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said that over the past year, important strides had been taken to promote application of internationally recognized protection standards for children affected by armed conflict.  However, further efforts were needed to ensure that impunity for crimes against children during times of conflict was not tolerated.  She noted that since the last General Assembly, eight additional countries had ratified the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, bringing the total number of signatories to 121 and States Party to 107.

She told the story of a young boy who was abducted and conscripted into rebel forces in Sierra Leone, which illustrated the trauma of children and the communities that they had been forced to brutalize; the tremendous challenges to successful healing and reintegration of children into communities in the aftermath of conflict; and the tragedy of children who took up lives as mercenary fighters because war had become one of the only viable economic options in lands ravaged by prolonged conflict.  Fighting groups had developed brutal and sophisticated techniques to separate and isolate children from their communities, with children often terrorized into obedience.

Certain categories of children were especially vulnerable in situations of armed conflict, including girls, refugee and internally displaced children and child-headed households.  She said girls were often victims of sexual violence and exploitation and were increasingly being recruited into fighting forces.  Girls associated with fighting forces often were by-passed in community re-integration programmes and stigmatized and ostracized by their communities.  The impact of war on the children and the spread of HIV/AIDS also needed to be recognized.  The resources available often fell short of the scope and complexity of those critical challenges for the international community.

Her office had developed a strategic framework focused on supporting global initiatives to end grave violations against children affected by armed conflict by; promoting rights-based protection for children affected by armed conflict, especially for girls, refugee and internally displaced children; making concerns about children an integral part of peacekeeping and peacebuilding, working together with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Peacebuilding Commission; and raising awareness about other issues related to children before, during, and after armed conflict, particularly on problems related to reintegration of child soldiers.  She noted the significance of the Security Council’s landmark resolution 1612 (2005) on children and armed conflict, which had established a monitoring mechanism on six grave violations and established a Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.  She suggested it was now time to broaden the scope of the monitoring and reporting mechanism to include all situations where grave violations were perpetrated against children in armed conflict.

She urged the current General Assembly session to further strengthen the segment of the omnibus resolution on the Rights of the Child that dealt with children and armed conflict.  Among the messages that should be reflected in any resolution, was the need for adequate funding for programmes for the rehabilitation and reintegration of all children associated with armed forces.  She also urged the General Assembly to call for a strategic review of progress made and the remaining challenges on the agenda, 10 years after the submission of the seminal report on this issue by Graca Machel.  In conclusion, she stressed that 2006 had been a terrible year for children in armed conflict.  The recent war in Lebanon and other conflicts around the world where more children and other civilians had been killed than combatants pointed to the fact that the world had entered a dangerous era when the basic principles of international humanitarian law were being called into question.  In the past, all combatants would create humanitarian space for the protection of children.  Today, it was an uphill battle to ensure that humanitarian principles were entrenched.

Discussion

Responding to questions from the representative of the Sudan, Ms. COOMARASWAMY said that while her mandate came from the General Assembly, her Office recognized other bodies for action, such as the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, the International Criminal Court and other United Nations agencies. It would continue to work with them to ensure the protection of children.  Regarding Darfur, she said a separate report had been submitted to the Security Council in August, and its references to the Sudan, verified by people on the ground, had been repeated in the report now before the Committee.  She hoped to visit the Sudan, maybe next year, when a longer discussion could be held and a strategy worked out.  There could be differences, she said, but an open dialogue would continue.

In response to a question from the representative of Finland, she said that a General Assembly mandate would ensure that the work would not be politicized.  There had been a lack of good empirical research; working with academics could stimulate more research.  One major project would be an evaluation of developments 10 years after the Gracia Machel report. It was hoped that funding could be made available for that work.

Responding to a comment from the representative of Thailand, she apologized for an erroneous reference to the country in the report, for which a correction had been issues.  In response to a question from the representative of Palestine, she said she planned to visit the region in October to investigate the situation there more deeply and to report back to the General Assembly and other bodies.

Statements

KIRSTI LINTONEN, (Finland) speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated states, said the Union fully subscribed to principles that were included in “A World Fit for Children”, a plan of action approved during the last General Assembly.  The Union remained concerned about a large number of reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Optional Protocols.  It pledged to actively support and work with the Special Representative, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other actors, including non-governmental-organizations, to ensure the protection of all children.

She said the Union supported recommendations to protect children from harm and exploitation, which were included in the Secretary-General’s report on Violence against Children.  Much needed to be done to improve the situation of over 200 million children who were forced to work, some in extremely hazardous conditions.  The Union urged Member States to sign and ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions concerning child labour.

Trafficking of children was a particular worry for the Union, and she urged States to take effective measures to prosecute offenders and address effectively the needs of victims.  The Union endorsed the initiatives issued by the second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and the United Nations Study on Violence against Children.

She also stated that the Union supported United Nations initiatives to raise awareness of the plight of child soldiers and girls living in conflict areas, and welcomed the recent appointment of Radhika Coomaraswamy, the new United Nations Representative on Children in Armed Conflict.  States should speed up the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which included crimes of sexual violence and described enlisting children under the age of fifteen years as soldiers, as a crime.  Under the Union’s working framework, the Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict reaffirmed the Union’s strong commitment to protect children affected by armed conflict.  The Union stood fully committed to overcoming challenges and ensuring the effective work of the United Nations to protect the world’s children.

KAIRE MBUENDE (Namibia), speaking also on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), welcomed the in-depth study on violence against children and expressed the Community’s full support for the proposal for the establishment of the mechanism of Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children.  The SADC was committed to creating “A World Fit for Children” and integrated commitments into national development programmes and poverty reduction strategies.  Countries in the region were working to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, emphasizing development needs, as well as the provision of quality education and health services.  SADC members also were working to implement national laws and policies to protect children from abuse, exploitation, and violence.  SADC had made great strides but needed the cooperation and support of the international community to meet its goals.

SADC Member States were working with the UNICEF and other partners to provide immunization for polio, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases.  The Community also was greatly concerned about the impact of HIV/AIDS, which had resulted in a growing number of orphans and infected children.  He urged implementation within agreed time-frames of all commitments made during the General Assembly’s Special Session on HIV/AIDS.

He noted that children always were among the first to be affected by armed conflicts.  They could be killed or injured, orphaned, abducted, raped or left with deep psychological trauma.  Much more effort should be made to address the problem of child soldiers, and more resources should be invested in conflict prevention and resolution.  He also called for further strengthening of regional and international protection mechanisms to deal with trafficking in human beings, including children.

MIKIKO OTANI ( Japan) said that, with the fifth anniversary of General Assembly special session on children coming in 2007, it was highly important to review what kinds of actions had been taken by Member States, international organizations and civil society regarding the rights of children, and to analyse the challenges that were being faced.  Children had been vulnerable to globalization and a growing number of conflicts.  Adults had a responsibility to ensure the protection of children, who all had the right to live in an environment free from threats so that their sound growth was assured.

Japan had made sincere efforts to tackle child abuse and child prostitution, which had become urgent issues in recent years, and it was strongly determined to further promote international cooperation in the field of child protection, she said.  Much remained to be done to improve the situation of children in armed conflict.  Many former child soldiers had been pressed into service once again with armed forces and militant groups, and it was important to give special attention to reintegration programmes.  At times of natural disasters, such as the Pakistan earthquake and the Indian Ocean tsunami, many children were affected and excluded from essential goods and services.  Here, Japan would make further efforts to contribute in these areas, based on its experience.

MOSHIRA KHATAB ( Egypt) said her country had been among the first to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  It had supported the in-depth study on violence against children since its inception, playing an active role at the national, regional, and international levels.  Egypt had also hosted a regional consultation meeting on the issue in June 2005 and a follow-up meeting in March 2006 and would be hosting the regional launch of the Arabic version of the study later in 2006.  The recent meetings had indicated that countries in the region took seriously their commitment to implement the recommendations of the study and develop credible follow-up mechanisms.  Egypt supported the appointment of a high-level Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children as recommended by the Independent Expert in her report.

At the national level, Egypt had established a National Committee to Eliminate Violence against Children, led by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood and including Governmental, and non-governmental, organizations, media professionals, and religious leaders.  She said a national plan of action to eliminate all forms of violence against children had been adopted in 2006, as the result of sincere efforts to break the silence that had long surrounded certain forms of violence, such as early and forced marriages, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation.

FARUKH AMIL ( Pakistan) said the Independent Expert’s study had revealed shocking levels of violence against children in all regions around the globe, regardless of culture, class, education, income and ethnic origins.  The majority of such acts had been perpetrated by people who were part of children’s lives:  parents, teachers, schoolmates, employers and caregivers.  Any kind of violence and maltreatment against children extracted extraordinary costs to society.  A holistic and multi-pronged approach should focus on implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, conflict resolution, diseases that threatened children the most, and education.

Domestically, Pakistan had amended its Criminal Law to outlaw un-Islamic and harmful traditional practices of early and forced marriages, he said.  Among other measures, corporal punishment in schools had been banned, and education up to the tenth grade was free.  Seventy-seven per cent of children had been immunized, and Pakistan was confident that that could reach 100 per cent.  Eradication of child labour was a priority for the Government; in collaboration with the private sector, ILO and civil society, child labour had been successfully eradicated from the soccer-ball and carpet industries, and efforts were under way to achieve as much in the surgical industry.

EDREES MOHAMMED ALI SAEED (The Sudan) said he appreciated the report of the Independent Expert and hoped her recommendations would be mainstreamed into national strategies and result in strengthened international and regional cooperation.  Her delegation, however, underscored the importance of coordination with the countries involved to ensure that information came from impartial and reliable sources.  There was a need to avoid politicization of those issues.

The Sudan had taken a number of measures to end violence against children, including through legislation to strengthen protections for children, he continued.  The Government also had adopted a protocol on the non-use of children in armed conflict and supported demobilization efforts within the framework of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.  He stressed that special attention was needed for children in post-conflict situations and he urged the international community to help countries address that issue.  The Sudan had adopted a framework for action to work toward “A World Fit for Children,” taking into account the specific cultural and spiritual needs of the country.  It also had established a children’s parliament so that the voices of children could be heard.  Her country had made progress in strengthening children’s rights and would continue working with UNICEF and other partners to improve children’s health, education and build a culture of peace.

CHRISTOPHER HACKETT (Barbados), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), noting the appointment in April of Radhika Coomaraswamy as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said the broad acceptance of the Convention on the Rights of Children was due in large part to the United Nations and its agencies in helping to increase State capacities to implement Convention provisions.  Even so, the conditions hindering development, such as poverty and environmental degradation, impacted most heavily on children, one of society’s most vulnerable groups.

Children would continue to suffer until the structural imbalances and the deficiencies in the world trading and economic systems were redressed, he said.  Developing countries were responsible for their own development, but national actions were not enough to bring about their greater participation in the global economy.  The essential elements of the supportive international system that were also required included better global governance, more coherence in the operation of the United Nations system and a greater United Nations voice in the global development policy dialogue.

Stating that people were the greatest resource for many small island developing States, he said the spectre of HIV/AIDS destroying the youth and children of the region was daunting.  Reviewing steps that CARICOM had taken regarding the pandemic, he said the best chance for the world to combat its effects was through education.  While both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child both set out education as a fundamental right, CARICOM States also viewed education as an investment and development tool.  It was not just a means to act against child labour and HIV/AIDS but a means to achieving economic and social development.  Therefore, both boys and girls were entitled to free primary and secondary education and in most cases, attendance was mandatory between the ages of 5 and 16.

CHIJIOKE W. WIGWE ( Nigeria) said the Committee had heard, the day before, an appeal from children in their own language to take concrete action to address the issues raised in the report on violence against children.  Even Mother Nature, through her tearful presence, had joined in heralding the arrival of a new dawn for children.  Nigeria was deeply concerned by the statistics in the report, as they indicated that children were not getting the protection and care guaranteed to them in the Convention ion the Rights of the Child and other international agreements.  There was an urgent need to address the many gaps and challenges that had been identified; the appointment of a Special Representative to the Secretary-General on violence against children would be a step in the right direction.

Nigeria believed that while the protection and promotion of children’s rights was the responsibility of all, States had a primal responsibility to lay ground rules and provide the necessary legal and constitutional background.  It was on that basis that Nigeria had ratified the Convention in 1991, followed by a Child Rights Act in 2003 as well as strengthened legal instruments.  Education in Nigeria was free and compulsory up to the junior secondary year; free medical facilities for children had, meanwhile, been put into place nationally.  A Nigerian Children’s Parliament met quarterly to discuss topical issues; and in May it had held a seminar on HIV/AIDS and children, and presented an action plan to the President.

Mr. HATEM ( Iraq) noted that children were the starting point for any discussion about human rights.  Her country had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and had instituted child protection programmes in line with its treaty obligations.  The State was obligated to protect mothers, children and youth and secure ideal conditions to develop their skills and talents, he said.  While parents owed their children education and care, children owed their parents respect and assistance in old age.

Iraq had enacted legislation preventing the exploitation of children, and prohibiting violence against and abuse of children.  A committee had recommended ratification of the two additional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  The Government also was working to improve access to health and education, and since the end of the war, more than 3,000 schools had been rebuilt.

Iraq was moving forward to improve the situation of children but the security situation was a serious impediment.  He appealed to all States, the United Nations and international organizations to help Iraq at ther current decisive stage to build a new country where human rights prevailed.

RONALDO MOTA SERDENBERG ( Brazil) supported the position of the Rio Group and said that the process preparing the Study had created a very favourable dynamic for the important discussion of the issue of violence against children.  The international community must take advantage of the momentum and ensure proper follow-up, rendering it an effective instrument for the promotion of the rights of children.

Turning to her country’s national efforts, he said that the starting point for tackling violence against children was to admit that it existed and to commit to confronting it.  The Study was built on the affirmation that no form of violence against children was acceptable, however slight and in whichever setting.  Her country fully endorsed that view and was entirely engaged in enacting legislation and implementing programmes to face the challenge at all levels.  Brazil had several hotlines for child violence, and specialized training had been provided to the police.  The Government was also committed to adapting its juvenile justice system to the goal of social reintegration.  The country was also implementing a child labour eradication programme and combating sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, including trafficking.

Brazil was also focusing on training teachers to adequately address such issues as physical and psychological violence, abandonment and negligence, sexual abuse and commercial exploitation, he added.  Outreach geared towards the prevention of family violence had been established under the Ministry of Health’s “Family Health Programme”.  The population was involved in a discussion of a law to prohibit all kinds of corporal punishment, currently considered by the Congress.  At the international level, the Government had recently hosted an expert-meeting on the draft international guidelines on protection and alternative care for children deprived of parental care.

IFTEKHAR AHMED CHOWDHURY ( Bangladesh) said her country was constitutionally committed to children’s advancement.  Girls’ education had been given the highest priority, with tuition fees for girls waived up to the twelfth grade.  There had been a focus on improving quality education at all levels, with an emphasis on the inclusion of handicapped children in mainstream institutions.  Child mortality and malnutrition had been reduced; there were fewer iodine deficiency disorders; and polio had been eradicated.  Vitamin A supplementation and oral rehydration therapy had saved millions of young lives.

Despite those achievements, children in Bangladesh, as elsewhere, remained highly vulnerable, he said.  The main hindrance to their development had been poverty.  They had also, at times, been subject to trafficking, exploitation, abuse and violence.  Strategic objectives for children’s rights had been set out, and child labour laws had been strictly enforced, including in the garment industries.  Globally, there was a need for more focus on the situation of children affected by armed conflicts.  The issues of children under foreign occupation had to be identified, as the perpetual denial of rights to such children was unacceptable.  Worldwide, the objective was to create a safe, secure and enabling environment for the development of children; that had to be met through international cooperation.

GUO XIAOMEI ( China) noted that poverty, hunger, disease, disasters, child labour, drugs, sexual exploitation, violence and armed conflict took a heavy toll on the lives and health of tens of thousands of children.  Her delegation called on developed countries to provide more financial and technical help for the joint effort to create a favourable environment for the world’s children.  Recognizing that Chinese children made up one-fifth of the world’s total, her Government had done a lot to protect and promote their rights.  She cited constitutional protections; laws on compulsory education, the protection of minors, and on adoption, as well as institutional systems to protect and promote children’s rights.  The Government was working to fulfil commitments made at the General Assembly’s special session on children by taking concrete measures on children’s health, education, legal protection, and the environment.

China had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.  Her Government was actively considering ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.  While China valued the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, it hoped that the Committee would treat with caution information coming through various channels.  The Committee should prevent misinformation from misleading and disrupting its work, she said.

ROMAN KIRN (Slovenia), speaking on behalf of the Member States of the Human Security Network, said the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document had recognized the rights of all individuals to freedom from fear and want, and to an equal opportunity to fully develop their potential.  That, of course, included children.  Combating violence against children called for a systematic, coordinated and inclusive approach in all settings, such as homes, communities, schools, workplaces and institutions.  Such violence often remained hidden, and regardless of where it took place, it had long-term consequences and could even result in death.  When children who experienced violence became adults, they were more likely to embrace violent behaviour with children, closing a vicious circle.

Regarding the impact of armed conflict on children, he said it was crucial that efforts not be wasted.  There was a need to ensure strong and coordinated leadership.  Responsibility lay first and foremost with Governments.  Ensuring that the issue remained high on the international human rights agenda was important.  All possible avenues for an effective follow-up, including the proposal for a Special Representative, had to be discussed constructively and with an open mind.

ROSEMARY BANKS ( New Zealand) said her country strongly supported the core message of the report that “no violence against children is justifiable; all violence against children is preventable”.  She highlighted some of the initiatives undertaken in New Zealand, many of which were in line with the report’s recommendations.  The Government had established a high-level team on family violence, made up of seven relevant ministers and advised by a task force comprised of heads of Government and community agencies, members of the judiciary and the independent Children’s Commissioner.

New Zealand also had introduced a “Working for Families” package to help reduce family poverty, which would benefit around 75 per cent of all, she said.  Her country agreed with the study’s finding that young children were at the greatest risk of violence and had shaped its response accordingly.  The Government had developed a system to provide early intervention services for children under the age of 6, especially vulnerable children and their families.

TAMAR TCHITANAVA ( Georgia) said a difficult economic situation and conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia had made it difficult for the Government to address all the needs of young people.  In that regard, assistance from the international community had been valuable.  Legislation had been put to Parliament making domestic violence a crime.  Anti-trafficking legislation had been adopted, and a plan for reducing the number of institutionalized children had been approved.  With international help, 800 children had been reintegrated with their families, but help was still needed to cope with street children and children without parental care.

Refugees and internally displaced children were another problem area, as were children in conflict zones, she said.  Georgian children in Abkhazia had been deprived of study in their mother tongue by the separatist regime.  It had been with astonishment that, on 4 October, a notice had appeared at the Number Nine School of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation in Tbilisi, stating that studies for citizens of Georgia had been terminated.  Meanwhile, at a school in Batumi, Georgia, 30 students had been expelled.  While the students were readmitted a week later, those facts demonstrated ethnic discrimination against citizens with Georgian ethnicity studying in Russian schools.  In Russian universities, meanwhile, Georgian students had been prosecuted by police during lectures.  It was ironic that the very country that had played a decisive role in eliminating the Fascist regime upheld the politics of intolerance, bigotry and xenophobia.

MAURICIO A. SOLÓRZANO ( Nicaragua) supported the report of the independent expert as a useful basis for action to protect children’s rights.  He noted that in her country many problems were caused by juvenile gangs, which were often involved with drugs.  Problems were also related to ill-treatment during childhood, which was exacerbated by poverty.  The negative effects of violence and ill-treatment of children disturbed the unity of the family and also had a macroeconomic impact, he said.  Nicaragua was concerned by those facts, but her Government could not achieve its goals without additional financial resources.  Increased local capacity-building was needed to better address the task at hand.

Nicaragua supported the recommendations set out in the report, including for a Special Representative of the Secretary-General to promote efforts to prevent violence against children.  Her delegation was concerned, however, that practical implementation of the recommendations involved financial sacrifices.  No plan, however good, could succeed without material resources, he said, urging increased assistance from the international community.

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