Security Council 1533 Committee Meets Special Representative of Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

On 10 October 2023, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC] received a briefing from Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

The Special Representative noted that the situation of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had deteriorated further since her last briefing to the Committee in July 2022 and that the DRC continued to be the country with the highest number of violations verified on the Children and Armed Conflict agenda.  She noted that most grave violations had continued to be committed by an ever-growing number of armed groups and that about half of all violations had occurred in North Kivu, followed by Ituri and South Kivu.  SRSG Gamba commended the continued commitment of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to sustainably prevent the recruitment and use of children.

Members of the Committee thanked Special Representative Gamba for her briefing and expressed support for her work.