CHAD : Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict.

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SRSG Coomaraswamy.

9 February 2011.

Recommendations.

At the outset, I reiterate the recommendations of my two previous reports on the situation of children and armed conflict in Chad (S/2007/400, S/2008/532). I also urge the immediate implementation by all parties of subsequent conclusions of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in Chad (S/AC.51/2007/16, S/AC.51/2008/15). (paragraph 66)

I commend the efforts of the Government to address the recruitment and use of children by its armed forces, including newly integrated elements. Nevertheless, I am concerned by the slow progress in the dialogue towards the action plan to halt the recruitment and use of children, and, in this connection, urge it to engage, as a matter of immediate priority, in dialogue with the United Nations to finalize the preparation and implementation of a concrete time-bound action plan in line with Security Council resolutions 1539 (2004), 1612 (2005) and 1882 (2009). (paragraph 67)

The Government of Chad should issue clear orders to its military chain of command, including at the local level, prohibiting the recruitment and use of children in line with its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, and ensuring the immediate and unconditional release of all children. (paragraph 68)

The Government of Chad must make every effort to ensure that children's rights are respected by all armed groups present in its territory and to continue to facilitate, by all means necessary, unhindered access for United Nations actors to all military centres and camps, particularly Moussoro, for the identification and release of children from these groups. (paragraph 69)

I am deeply concerned with the continued incidents of rape and other forms of sexual violence, including those perpetrated by members of the armed forces. I strongly encourage the Government to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of rape and other crimes of sexual violence, and to strengthen prevention and response strategies. (paragraph 70)

Finally, all opposition armed groups must stop using anti-personnel mines, which cause the death and maiming of children. I also appeal to the Government to ensure that humanitarian demining programmes are in line with international standards, that appropriate attention is afforded to child victims and that mine-risk education programmes are in place. (paragraph 71)

I am encouraged by the measures put in place by the Chadian authorities to ensure the increased security and protection of civilian populations in and around refugee camps and internally displaced persons sites. This has resulted in a diminishing number of child recruitment incidents; and the Government should, through the Détachement intégré de sécurité, maintain its security deployment in these sites. The Government should also take immediate steps towards the ratification of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa. (paragraph 72)

In the light of the withdrawal of MINURCAT, I encourage the donor community to provide support to the Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting in order to maintain, to the extent possible, the Mission's previous monitoring and reporting coverage. I also appeal to the donor community to provide additional support to the programmatic interventions of national authorities, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and non-governmental organizations. (paragraph 73)

pdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed.pdf

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