Public Statement by Chair of Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict

The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the fifth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Central African Republic (S/2021/882), agreed to convey the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group:

To all parties to the armed conflict in the Central African Republic:

·         Expressing grave concern at and its strongest condemnation of the increased numbers of violations and abuses committed against children in the Central African Republic; as well as at the disproportionate negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, which further exacerbated existing challenges;  urging all parties to the conflict, especially armed groups, to immediately end and prevent all violations and abuses against children, including those involving killing and maiming, recruitment and use, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction, and the denial of humanitarian access and to comply with their obligations under international law;

·         Welcoming the signing of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic (hereafter “the Peace Agreement”), and the announcement of a ceasefire by President Touadéra on 15 October 2021; expressing deep concern that despite encouraging steps the security situation remained fragile and violations and abuses continue to be committed; calling upon the signatories to the Peace Agreement to uphold their commitments, including its specific provisions to protect children, noting with concern that some armed groups have subsequently withdrawn their commitment to the peace process, and urging the parties to work with the United Nations to reinforce their efforts to end and prevent violations and abuses against children;

·         Calling upon all parties to further implement the previous conclusions of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in the Central African Republic (S/AC.51/2020/3);

·         Stressing the importance of accountability for all violations and abuses against children in armed conflict by all parties and stressing that all those responsible be brought to justice and held accountable without undue delay, including through timely, impartial and systematic investigations and, as appropriate, prosecution and conviction;

·         Stressing that the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration, and that the specific needs and vulnerabilities of girls and boys should be duly considered, when planning and carrying out actions concerning children in situations of armed conflict;

 

·         Expressing deep concern and condemnation of the considerable increase in recruitment and use of children, mainly by armed groups, noting that children were used for sexual purposes, as well as in combat and support roles such as bodyguards, manning checkpoints, spies, messengers, porters and carrying out domestic tasks; strongly concerned at reports that children were used as human shields during the reporting period; strongly urging all parties to the armed conflict to immediately and without conditions release all children still associated with them, and urging all parties to the conflict to end and prevent further recruitment and use of children under 18 years of age, consistent with their obligations under international law, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, as applicable; also noting in this regard the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;

·         Expressing concern about the deprivation of liberty of children by parties to armed conflict,  for their alleged association with armed groups and urging all parties to the conflict to release those children; and ensure their full reintegration through child protection programmes; urging that children allegedly associated with parties to the conflict should be treated primarily as victims, including those children who are accused of having committed crimes and that detention should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, in line with international law, noting that the Government of the Central African Republic has endorsed the Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (the Paris Principles), and that alternatives to judicial proceedings should be sought for children; calling on parties to the conflict to engage with the United Nations to adopt and implement appropriate handover protocols to facilitate the release of children to civilian child protection actors and prioritize their reintegration;

·         Strongly condemning the killing and maiming of children, noting that most cases were attributed to armed groups and unidentified perpetrators, including those resulting from attacks against their communities on the grounds of ethnic and/or religious identity or as a form of reprisal, noting that children were subject to deliberate attacks, and urging all parties to the conflict to cease and prevent the killing and maiming of children, including the use of explosive devices which has led to child casualties;

·         Expressing deep concern at cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated against children, which continue to be underreported, noting that most cases were attributed to armed groups,  and urging all parties to the conflict to take immediate and specific measures to put an end to and prevent the perpetration of rape and other forms of sexual violence against children; and stressing the importance of providing non-discriminatory and comprehensive specialized services, including mental health and psychosocial support, health, including sexual and reproductive health services, legal and livelihood support and services to survivors of sexual violence;

·         Strongly condemning attacks on schools and hospitals in violation of international law, noting that most cases were attributed to armed groups, and calling upon all parties to comply with applicable international law and to respect the civilian character of schools and hospitals and to end and prevent attacks or threats of attacks against those institutions and their personnel in violation of applicable international law; expressing deep concern at the number of incidents of military use of schools and hospitals in violation of applicable international law;

·         Strongly condemning the abduction of children, including for recruitment and use and sexual purposes, noting that most cases were attributed to armed groups, and calling upon all concerned parties to cease the abduction of children and immediately release all abducted children;

·         Strongly condemning the increased number of incidents of denial of humanitarian access, including attacks on humanitarian personnel, facilities and assets, noting that a majority of the violations were committed by armed groups and unidentified armed individuals; further expressing grave concern at the use of explosive ordinance which prevented the humanitarian community from delivering vital assistance to communities in need, calling upon all parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate, in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law, safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access, consistent with United Nations guiding principles of humanitarian assistance as well as the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, to respect the exclusively humanitarian nature and impartiality of humanitarian aid and to respect the work of all United Nations agencies and their humanitarian partners without adverse distinction;

·         Welcoming the initiated dialogue between the United Nations and the LRA-Achaye and urging the faction to end and prevent all violations and abuses and release all abducted children; calling upon MPC, FPRC and UPC to swiftly implement their respective action plans, and urging all concerned parties to develop, adopt and implement action plans with the United Nations to end and prevent all six grave violations against children affected by armed conflict;

·         Recalling that the situation in the Central African Republic since 1 August 2012 was referred by the national authorities to the International Criminal Court on 30 May 2014, to which the Central African Republic is a State party, and taking note, in that respect, of the transfer of a former ex-Séléka leader to the ICC and the trial of two anti-balaka leaders to the International Criminal Court, all on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity;

·         Recalling the Security Council’s readiness to adopt targeted and graduated measures against persistent perpetrators of violations and abuses committed against children, and that the Security Council, by its resolution 2588 (2021), renewed until 31 July 2022 the asset freeze and travel ban measures imposed by resolutions 2127 (2013) and 2134 (2014), which apply to individuals and entities as designated by the Security Council Committee established pursuant to paragraph 57 of resolution 2127 (2013) (“2127 sanctions committee”), for actions that undermine the peace, stability or security of the Central African Republic such as:

·         Being involved in planning, directing or committing acts that violate international human rights law or international humanitarian law, as applicable, or that constitute human rights abuses or violations in the Central African Republic, including acts involving sexual violence, targeting of civilians, ethnic or religious-based attacks, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction and forced displacement;

·         Recruiting or using children in armed conflict in the Central African Republic, in violation of applicable international law;

·         Obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Central African Republic, or access to or distribution of, humanitarian assistance in the Central African Republic;

·         Expressing the readiness of the Working Group to communicate to the Security Council pertinent information with a view to assisting the Council in the imposition of targeted measures on perpetrators;

To all United Nations peacekeeping operations including the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic and non-United Nations forces present in the Central African Republic and relevant Member States:

·         Expressing deep distress over continued allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against children by some United Nations peacekeepers, and strongly condemning all acts of sexual exploitation and abuse;

·         Calling upon the United Nations and relevant Member States to continue taking appropriate action to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, including vetting of all personnel and pre-deployment and in-mission awareness training, to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct, including through timely survivor-centered investigations of all allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse; to hold perpetrators accountable and repatriate units when there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation and abuse by those units, appropriate disciplinary measures; to report fully and promptly on actions undertaken; and to ensure that child victims and witnesses are adequately protected during the investigation process and to facilitate access to medical and psychological support, as appropriate, and in that respect welcoming the appointment of a Field Victims’ Rights Advocate by MINUSCA and the adoption of a victim-centered approach, enabling most child victims to access services and education/vocation training;

·         Urging further efforts by relevant Member States to take appropriate, preventative action, including vetting of all personnel and the delivery of robust predeployment training concerning sexual exploitation and abuse in accordance with the terms of their memorandums of understanding and other agreements with the United Nations;

To neighbouring States, United Nations bodies, regional organizations and all international partners

·         Encouraging neighbouring States, regional organizations and all international partners to support the peace process, including to end and prevent violations and abuses against children, in a coherent and coordinated manner and through strengthened partnerships, and emphasizing the important role of the guarantors and facilitators of the Peace Agreement, including the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States and neighbouring states, using their influence to enhance adherence by armed groups to their commitments; and welcoming the adoption of the Joint Roadmap for Peace by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

·         Calling on the international community, including MINUSCA in conformity with its mandate, the UNCT and the UN Peacebuilding Fund, to provide coordinated support to build the capacities and enhance the effectiveness of the judicial system, including where appropriate and mandated through  provision of financial and technical assistance, as appropriate, to the CAR authorities towards the restoration of the administration of the judiciary, criminal justice and building of child protection systems throughout the country.

To community and religious leaders:

·         Emphasizing the important role of community and religious leaders in strengthening the protection of children affected by armed conflict and fostering reconciliation efforts;

·         Urging them to strengthen community-level protection and to publicly condemn and continue to advocate ending and preventing violations and abuses against children, notably those involving the recruitment and use of children, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks and threats of attacks on schools and hospitals, abductions and denial of humanitarian access, including on the basis of religion, and to engage with the Government, the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders to support the reintegration and rehabilitation of children affected by armed conflict in their communities, including by raising awareness to avoid stigmatization of these children.