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Summary: This report provides an overview of
the activities of the Children in Armed
Conflict Caucus during the Third
PrepCom (11-15 June 2001).Caucus on War-Affected Children at the Third PrepCom
June 11-15, 2001
The Caucus on War-Affected Children, which met daily during the
Third PrepCom, was co-chaired by the Sub-working Group on
Children in Armed Conflict of the NGO Committee on UNICEF (NY);
the Canadian Working Group on Children in Armed Conflict; the
Sub-Group on Refugee Children and Children in Armed Conflict of
the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(Geneva); and the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The
caucus serves as a networking and information-sharing forum for
adults, adolescents and children, and participants set priority
issues and areas for action. The goal of the caucus' activities is to
ensure that the rights, needs and capacities of war-affected
children and adolescents are given priority during the Special
Session on Children and its preparatory process.
Members of the caucus prepared alternative text on issues
relating to war-affected children and adolescents in the document
A World Fit for Children, and lobbied governments to include the
changes in the outcome document. Two youth members of the
Caucus, Tamba Jimmy from Sierra Leone and Agnes Gillian Ocitti
from Northern Uganda, read the caucus' statement during the
Plenary Session on Children in Armed Conflict (Tuesday, June 12),
emphasising the need to listen to and work with war-affected
children and youth and address their education, livelihood,
health, psychosocial and protection needs after as well as during
conflicts.
Apart from sharing information among NGOs, caucus members
heard updates from UNICEF and the Office of the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on Children in Armed
Conflict, and discussed ways to work together at the Special
Session on Children in September and when the Security Council
next takes up the issue of children in armed conflict. Caucus
members discussed the children's role in the criminal tribunal in
Sierra Leone, and the caucus also organized a session for youth
and adults to speak with Mr. Olara Otunnu, the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on Children in Armed
Conflict.
The Caucus on War-Affected Children co-sponsored the panel on
"Small Arms: Big Impact on Children around the World" and
caucus members participated in many side events, including the
release of the Global Survey of the Use of Children as Soldiers;
the panel on "Assessing the Child's Right to Education in
Situations of Conflict and Crisis"; and helped to staff and run the
exhibition space on children affected by armed conflict.
In addition, caucus members continued to focus on priority issues
that it identified at the second PrepCom:
- Education is child protection/education in emergencies
- Youth participation in humanitarian response and peace-building
- Universal adoption of norms and standards
- Improve monitoring and reporting on violations of child rights
- Mechanisms for accountability
- Institutionalize action by UN Security Council on children in
armed conflict
pdf: www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/CAC_Caucus_activities.pdf