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Summary: In collaboration with the Special
Representative, the UN Secretary-General
submits an Annual Report to the Security
Council. This report reviews activities and
progress made during the reporting period in
the protection of children affected by
situations of armed conflict and in post-conflict
situations, as well as in the implementation of
previous resolutions.
[UNITED NATIONS, New York, 16 December 2002] – In a major
development, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has submitted a
report for consideration by the Security Council listing parties to
conflicts on the Council’s agenda that continue to recruit and use
child soldiers. The list, says the Secretary-General in his report,
represents “an important step forward in our efforts to induce
compliance by parties to conflict with international child protection
obligations.” It clearly demonstrates “the will of the international
community” that those who violate standards for the protection
of children “cannot do so with impunity.”
In response to a request from Council, the Secretary-General’s
third Report on Children and Armed Conflict contains a list of 23
parties, including both governments and insurgents, in five
conflict situations – Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Liberia and Somalia – that recruit or use children. The
list is confined to situations currently on the agenda of the
Security Council.
“This report breaks new ground,” said UN Under-Secretary-
General Olara A. Otunnu, who is the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. “For the
first time in an official report to the Security Council, those who
violate standards for the protection of war-affected children have
been specifically named and listed.”
The Security Council, Special Representative Otunnu said, is
sending a message to governments and insurgent groups alike
that the international community is watching and that they will be
held accountable for the welfare of children in conflict and post-
conflict situations.
“This is the beginning of a systematic effort in a new era of
monitoring and reporting on the conduct of parties and how they
treat children during conflict,” Mr. Otunnu noted.
The report also highlights other conflicts not on the agenda of the
Security Council – including Colombia, Myanmar, Nepal,
Philippines, Sudan, northern Uganda and Sri Lanka – where
children are recruited and used as combatants, as well as
conflicts that have recently ended – Angola, Kosovo, Republic of
Congo, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau – where demobilization
and/or reintegration programmes for child combatants are under
way.
“Impressive gains” made to protect children
The Secretary-General’s report indicates that in recent
years, “impressive gains” have been made to codify international
norms and standards protecting children during conflict, including
three Security Council resolutions (1261, 1314, and 1379).
Particularly important are two landmark international treaties that
entered into force this year. The Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflict sets an age limit of 18 years for
compulsory recruitment and direct participation in hostilities, and
requires States parties to raise the minimum age for voluntary
recruitment to at least 16. The Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court classifies conscription, enlistment or use in
hostilities of children below the age of 15 as a war crime in both
international and internal armed conflicts, as well as attacks on
schools and hospitals and grave acts of sexual violence.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children
and Armed Conflict has sought and obtained important
commitments for the protection and well-being of children in
conflict and post-conflict situations in several countries. These
have included commitments not to use landmines, not to attack
schools or hospitals, to release abducted children and not to
recruit or use children as child soldiers. During the 2002 Special
Session on Children, the General Assembly also renewed its
commitment to the protection of war-affected children.
“The challenge today,” according to the Secretary-General’s
report, is in ensuring the implementation of the standards on the
ground. More also needs to be done to promote and disseminate
the standards and norms and to raise awareness about them on
the ground, the report states. “Strengthened monitoring and
reporting mechanisms to identify and take measures against the
violators” are needed – all key components that must encompass
an “era of application.”