Security Council 2127 Committee Meets Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict

On 6 May 2022, Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, briefed the 2127 Sanctions Committee concerning the Central African Republic.

The Special Representative noted that, since her last briefing to the Committee in July 2019, the situation of children in the Central African Republic had deteriorated, particularly since the end of 2020, in the framework of the elections and post-electoral violence.  She remarked that increased levels of violence, the degradation of basic services combined with the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic had significantly worsened the living conditions of children and led to a rise in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The Special Representative recommended, inter alia, that the protection of children must remain central to peace efforts, including in the framework of the February 2019 peace agreement.  She underlined the importance of developing and implementing a National Prevention Plan and the nomination of child protection focal points within the armed forces of the Central African Republic.  She also recommended that dialogue with all armed groups must continue, including with the leadership of groups that have signed Action Plans, to ensure the adoption of concrete measures to implement these Plans and improve the protection of children.

Members of the Committee thanked Special Representative Gamba for her briefing, expressed continued support to her work and encouraged her to continue providing information to the Committee.