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 fourth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in South Sudan (S/2023/99), agreed to convey the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group:

To all parties to armed conflict in South Sudan, including the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition – pro-Machar: 

• Strongly condemning all violations and abuses that continue to be committed against children in South Sudan, including violations of international humanitarian law; expressing grave concern at the disproportionate negative impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on children; urging all parties to the conflict immediately to end and prevent all abuses and violations of applicable international law involving the recruitment and use of children, abduction, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access, and to fully comply with all their obligations under international law; while noting the decrease in the overall number of violations verified since the previous report;
• Calling upon all parties to continue prioritising the implementation of the previous conclusions of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in South Sudan (S/AC.51/2021/1);
• Stressing that the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration, and that the specific needs and vulnerabilities of girls and boys, including those with disabilities, should be duly considered when planning and carrying out actions concerning children in situations of armed conflict;
• Welcoming the inclusion of child protection provisions in the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, and stressing that the implementation of the peace agreement offers important opportunities to put the rights and needs of children at the centre of efforts aimed at achieving sustainable peace, justice and reconciliation in South Sudan; underlining the importance of taking child protection concerns into account in any future peace negotiations, and in that regard calling for the dissemination and application of the Practical Guidance for Mediators to Protect Children in Situations of Armed Conflict; urging all parties engaged in the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement to ensure that the protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of children affected by armed conflict are fully incorporated in all efforts on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, as appropriate and in consultation with child protection actors, including efforts related to disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes and security sector reform, and to encourage and facilitate the consideration of the views of children in those processes, noting in this regard the Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (the Paris Principles);
• Welcoming the progress by the parties to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan on the implementation of the peace agreement and the formation of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity;
• Calling upon the parties to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan to fully implement it, including those provisions on prohibitions against recruitment of child soldiers, and forms of sexual and gender-based violence, and underscoring in that regard the importance that the United Nations continues to support and monitor its implementation;
• Reaffirming the importance of accountability for all violations and abuses committed against children in armed conflict; stressing that all perpetrators of such acts must be brought swiftly to justice and held accountable without undue delay, including through timely and systematic investigation and, as appropriate, prosecution and conviction; stressing the need to address the prevalence of impunity for violations and abuses against children; urging the Government of South Sudan to put an end to impunity by ensuring that all perpetrators of violations and abuses are brought swiftly to justice and held accountable, including through the designation of a focal point on children and armed conflict in the Ministry of Justice, through rigorous, timely, independent and impartial investigations and prosecutions; noting that, in the comprehensive action plan concluded on 7 February 2020 to end and prevent all grave violations against children, the parties gave their commitment to investigating the six grave violations, criminalising the violations where appropriate and strengthening specialised units within the judiciary to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate violations; stressing the need to ensure that all victims and survivors have access to justice, as well as that all children have access to gender-sensitive, age appropriate, disability inclusive, non-discriminatory and comprehensive child protection services, including psychosocial, health – including sexual and reproductive health services, access to education and vocational training, livelihood support, social reintegration, access to justice, and specialised services for  child survivors of sexual and gender-based violence; and encouraging engagement between the Government and the United Nations to strengthen their overall legal framework to safeguard children’s rights;
• Condemning the recruitment and use of children by all parties to the armed conflict to fulfil various roles, including in combat, as cooks, porters,  messengers, bodyguards,  participating in military parades or performing security duties; noting that recruitment and use remained the most verified of the six grave violations affecting children, and that cases of recruitment and use can be connected to the other five grave violations; underscoring that the intensification of conflict, the emergence of new armed groups, insecurity, poverty and the lack of opportunities were reported to be potential drivers of child recruitment and use; and strongly urging all parties to armed conflict in South Sudan to immediately cease the recruitment and use of children, to immediately and without precondition release and hand over to child protection actors all children associated with them, in accordance with established protocols, ensuring that such children be treated primarily as victims, to enable their full reintegration into their communities and to prevent further recruitment and use of children in line with their obligations as set out in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict;
• Encouraging the Government to continue focusing on long-term, sustainable, and timely reintegration and rehabilitation programmes and opportunities for children affected by armed conflict that are gender-and age-sensitive and inclusive for children with disabilities, including equal access to health care, psychosocial support and education programmes, as well as raising awareness and working with communities to avoid stigmatisation of these children, to facilitate their return and minimise the risk of re-recruitment, while taking into account the specific needs of girls and boys, in order to contribute to the well-being of children and to sustainable peace and security;
• Condemning the ongoing killing and maiming of children by all parties engaged in armed conflict in South Sudan, including as a result of crossfire between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and armed groups, intercommunal and subnational violence, military operations carried out by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and raids carried out by armed groups on villages, and explosive remnants of war; urging all parties to respect human rights and comply with international humanitarian law and take all action necessary to better protect children and prevent such violations and abuses; and further calling upon the Government to invest in disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration processes, security sector reform and demining efforts, especially with a view to ensuring that children are protected from explosive remnants of war; noting that such explosive remnants of war continued to be a leading cause of child casualties, encouraging all parties to the conflict to further engage with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) on demining efforts, as well as invest in and expand the Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) programmes for children, through further engagement with UNICEF;
• Condemning the perpetration of rape and other forms of sexual violence, including a sharp increase in conflict-related sexual violence in the first half of 2022, including gang rape and attempted rape, against children, in particular girls; strongly urging all parties 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 by members of their respective forces or groups; stressing the importance of accountability for those who commit sexual or gender-based violence against children and of providing survivors of such acts with adequate protection, appropriate assistance and reliable recourse to justice; further encouraging the parties to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan to accelerate the implementation of their respective action plans on addressing conflict-related sexual violence; noting recent fragmentations and defections have resulted in violence and civilian casualties, increased the vulnerability of children to sexual violence during the reporting period; noting with concern that the full scale of sexual violence affecting children in South Sudan is underreported owing to fear of stigmatisation, cultural norms, lack of awareness, fear of reprisals and lack of accountability, and the absence of adequate support services for survivors; and stressing the importance of providing non-discriminatory and comprehensive specialised services to survivors of sexual violence, including psychosocial, health – including sexual and reproductive health services, and legal and livelihood support and services; 
• While noting the reduction of verified attacks on schools and hospitals by 50 per cent compared to the previous reporting period; condemning the continuation of attacks on schools and hospitals in violation of international law and attacks on protected persons by  all parties engaged in armed conflict in South Sudan, as well as looting, attacks on medical and educational personnel, expressing concern at the military use of schools and hospitals by armed forces and armed groups; and calling upon all parties to armed conflict to comply with applicable international law and to respect the civilian character of schools and hospitals, including their personnel, as such, and to end and prevent attacks or threats of attacks against those institutions and their personnel, as well as the military use of schools and hospitals in violation of international law  including international humanitarian law;
• Recalling the endorsement of, and the need to fully implement, the Safe Schools Declaration by the Government of South Sudan; and encouraging the Government to ensure that attacks on schools are investigated, that children have access to education, and that those responsible for violating international humanitarian law and human rights law are held accountable; stressing in this regard the importance of implementing resolution 2601 (2021) and ensuring the right to education;
• Strongly condemn the abductions of children, of which over 80 per cent were attributed to non-State actors, including the National Salvation Front (NAS), the National People’s Alliance Movement (NPAM), and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) and the SPLA-IO Kitgwang faction, including for the purposes of recruitment and use, rape and other forms of sexual violence, including forced marriage; while others were also abducted to advance military agendas and demonstrate prowess, or for defying orders; and urging all parties immediately to release without precondition all abducted children in their captivity to the relevant civilian child protection actors;
• Expressing grave concern at incidents of denial of humanitarian access, including the killing of and attacks on humanitarian personnel, entry restrictions for humanitarian personnel, and also threats and violence against them, looting and ambushes on humanitarian convoys, of which humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were also affected; and 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 humanitarian actors without adverse distinction;
• Expressing deep concern about the protracted nature of the conflict and the escalating intercommunal violence and pockets of subnational violence throughout South Sudan, putting children at high risk of the six grave violations, noting that throughout the reporting period armed groups splintered and disintegrated, which often resulted in localised fighting and might lead to a heightened risk for a renewed increase in instances of the six grave violations; urging all parties to the conflict to engage in community-based reconciliation efforts, and to commit to inter-communal dialogue initiatives, especially those supported by the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
• Recalling that the Security Council, by its resolutions including 2206 (2015), 2521 (2020), 2577 (2021), and 2633 (2022), decided to apply financial and travel measures to individuals and entities as designated for such measures by the Committee established pursuant to paragraph 16 of resolution 2206 (2015) for actions that may include but are not limited to the following:
• Planning, directing or committing acts that violate applicable international human rights law or international humanitarian law, or acts that constitute human rights abuses, in South Sudan;
• The use or recruitment of children by armed groups or armed forces in the context of the armed conflict in South Sudan;
• Planning, directing or committing acts involving sexual and gender-based violence in South Sudan;
• The targeting of civilians, including women and children, through the planning, directing or commission of acts of violence (including killing, maiming, torture, or rape), abduction, enforced disappearance, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or through other conduct that would constitute a violation of international human rights law, including serious abuses of human rights, or a violation of international humanitarian law;
• The obstruction of the activities of international peacekeeping, diplomatic, or humanitarian missions in South Sudan, including the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism, or of the delivery or distribution of, or access to, humanitarian assistance;
• Attacks against United Nations missions, international security presences or other peacekeeping operations or humanitarian personnel;
• Expressing its readiness to communicate to the Security Council pertinent information with a view to assisting the Council in the imposition of targeted measures on perpetrators.

To community and religious leaders: 

• Emphasising the important role of community and religious leaders in strengthening the protection of children affected by armed conflict;
• Urging them to publicly condemn and continue to advocate ending and preventing violations and abuses against children, in particular those involving the recruitment and use of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, killing and maiming, abductions, attacks and threats of attacks against schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access, and to engage with the Government, the United Nations, and other relevant stakeholders to support reintegration and rehabilitation of children affected by armed conflict in their communities, including by raising awareness to avoid stigmatisation of these children.