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

The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the sixth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Somalia (S/2022/397), agreed to address the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group.

To all parties to the armed conflict in Somalia mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General: 

• Strongly condemning all violations and abuses that continue to be committed against children in Somalia in alarmingly high numbers, noting that the majority of violations and abuses verified during the reporting period were attributed to Al-Shabaab, and noting with concern the disproportionate negative impact of pervasive food insecurity, the COVID-19 pandemic, and dire humanitarian situation on children, which further exacerbated existing challenges; demanding that all parties to the conflict immediately end and prevent all violations and abuses against children, including those involving killing and maiming of children, the recruitment and use of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction, and the denial of humanitarian access, noting that the number of incidents of the six grave violations is underreported due to access challenges, and further demanding that all parties comply with their obligations under international law; 
• Calling upon all parties to further implement the previous conclusions of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in Somalia (S/AC.51/2020/6); 
• Stressing the importance of accountability for all violations and abuses against children in armed conflict and stressing that all those responsible must be brought to justice and held accountable without undue delay, including through comprehensive, independent, timely 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 particular needs and vulnerabilities of girls and boys, including those disproportionately affected, should be duly considered, when planning and carrying out actions concerning children in situations of armed conflict; 
• Expressing deep concern at and condemnation of the high number of children recruited and used in armed conflict, the majority of whom were recruited and used by Al-Shabaab, noting that some were as young as 10 years old and that children were used as fighters, and in support roles such as bodyguards, cleaners and to operate checkpoints, and strongly urging all parties to the conflict, in particular Al-Shabaab, to immediately and without preconditions release all children associated with them, to hand them over to relevant civilian child protection actors and end and prevent the further recruitment and use of children, including the re-recruitment of children who have been released, consistent with their obligations under international law and, as applicable, the Optional Protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; 
• Expressing grave concern at the continuing high number of children being deprived of their liberty for association or alleged association with armed groups or armed forces, the prosecution of children through military courts, and cases of death penalty imposed on children,  urging all parties to the conflict to treat associated children, primarily as victims of recruitment and use, further urging the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to comply with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular the obligation which states that the arrest, detention and imprisonment of children should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and to prioritize their reintegration, as guided by the Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (Paris Principles), which it has endorsed; and urging the FGS to consistently implement the standard operating procedures for the reception and handover of children separated from armed groups, endorsed by Somalia in 2014, 
• Expressing deep concern at the persistent high number of children killed and maimed in Somalia and at the significant increase in number of children killed or maimed owing to the  conflict, and increased attacks utilizing improvised explosive devices, predominantly by Al-Shabaab as well as a result of crossfire by all groups, failure to take adequate precautions to protect children during armed conflict and indiscriminate attacks involving explosive devices, including improvised explosive devices, mines and explosive remnants of war, physical assault and shooting, and urging all parties to take special measures to protect children and to respect their obligations as applicable under international law, including the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, in particular the principles of distinction and proportionality and the obligation to take all feasible precautions to avoid and in any event minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects; 
• Expressing deep concern about the high number of cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated against children, predominantly by unidentified perpetrators and Al-Shabaab, including attempted rape, and forced marriage, noting that sexual violence in Somalia is underreported, and strongly urging all parties to the armed 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,  particularly in camps for internally displaced persons where children are at enhanced risk,  and stressing the importance of accountability for those responsible for sexual and gender-based violence against children, in particular considering that most perpetrators remained at large or were released when communities opted to use local dispute resolution mechanisms instead of the formal justice system; also stressing the importance of providing non-discriminatory and comprehensive specialized services, such as mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health-care services, legal and livelihood support and services to victims and survivors of sexual violence;   
• Strongly condemning the attacks on schools and hospitals in violation of international law, the majority of which were attributed to Al-Shabaab, and expressing concern that Al-Shabaab continued to exert pressure on communities to adopt its curriculum and that claims of non-compliance in this regard resulted in school closures and abduction of teachers, and calling upon all parties to the armed conflict to comply with 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 in violation of international law, and noting the effect that attacks on schools and their use can have on the enjoyment of the right to education, expressing concern at the verified use of a school for military purposes that placed students at risk and interfered with their education and protection support, and calling on all parties to take concrete measures to facilitate the continuation of education of Somali children, consistent with  resolution 2601 (2021); 
• Strongly condemning the high number of abductions of children, including the use of mass abductions as tactics for recruitment and use, predominantly by Al Shabaab, and urging all parties, in particular Al-Shabaab, to cease the abduction of children and all human rights violations and other violations and abuses committed against abducted children, including rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including forced marriage of girls to Al-Shabaab fighters, and to immediately release without preconditions all abducted children in their captivity to relevant civilian child protection actors; 
• Strongly condemning all incidents of denial of humanitarian access, including attacks on  humanitarian personnel, looting of humanitarian goods, the majority of which are attributed to Al-Shabaab, and calling upon all parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access to children, consistent with their obligations under international humanitarian law, to  respect the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, as well as the United Nations guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, 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 efforts made by the Federal Government of Somalia since the previous conclusions of the Working Group to end and prevent the six grave violations against children affected by armed conflict, in particular the continued engagement and signature by the Federal Government of a road map to expedite the implementation of the action plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children by the Somali National Army and the action plan to halt the killing and maiming of children by the Somali National Army, both signed in 2012, as well as the establishment of Working Group on CAAC at the federal and Member State level and calling for the swift and effective implementation of these action plans and the road map, signed in October 2019, by all government security forces, including the Somali National Army and the Somali Police Force, as well as at the federal member state-level; 
• Recalling that the Security Council, in its resolution 2498 (2019), recalled the financial and travel measures imposed by resolution 2002 (2011), which apply to individuals and entities designated by the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 2713 (2023) concerning Al Shabaab consistent with paragraph 43 of resolution 2093 (2013), for actions that threaten the peace, stability or security of Somalia, such as: 
  • Recruitment or use of children in armed conflict in Somalia by political or military leaders in violation of applicable international law; 
  • Violation of applicable international law in Somalia involving the targeting of civilians, including children and women, in situations of armed conflict, including killing and maiming, sexual and gender-based violence, attacks on schools and hospitals and abduction and forced displacement; 
  • Obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia or access to or the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Somalia; 
• Expressing the readiness of the Working Group to communicate to the Security Council and to the Committee pertinent information with a view to assisting them in the imposition of targeted measures on perpetrators; 
• Expressing grave concern about the high number of cases of the six grave violations against children in armed conflict attributed to Al-Shabaab, the main perpetrator of such violations, as well as clan militia and unidentified perpetrators and the level of insecurity in Somalia linked to Al-Shabaab’s activities with devastating effects on children; 
• Calling upon all non-State armed groups to express their commitment and take active steps to end and prevent all violations and abuses committed against children and to enter into dialogue with the United Nations to prepare, adopt and implement without delay action plans to end and prevent violations and abuses against children in line with Security Council resolutions 1539 (2004), 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011) and 2225 (2015); 

To community and religious leaders: 

• Emphasizing the important role of community and religious leaders in strengthening the protection of children affected by armed conflict; 

Urging them to strengthen community-level engagement and protection and 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, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, attacks and threats of attacks on schools and hospitals, abductions and denial of humanitarian access, and to engage with the Federal Government of Somalia, the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders to support the reintegration of children affected by armed conflict in their communities, including by raising awareness to avoid stigmatization of these children.