COTE D'IVOIRE: Report of the Secretary General on children and armed conflict.

Français.

SRSG Coomaraswamy.

30 August 2007.

Recommendations:

I urge all relevant parties, as a matter of priority, to implement the recommendations of my first report on the situation of children and armed conflict in Côte d’Ivoire (S/2006/835) and the subsequent conclusions and recommendations of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (S/AC.51/2007/7). I request my Special Representative for Côte d’Ivoire, in close collaboration with the United Nations country team, to continue to ensure effective follow-up to Security Council resolutions on children and armed conflict, including further strengthening of violations monitoring and reporting, and to ensure a coordinated response to this issue.

I remain deeply concerned about the prevailing culture of impunity for violations against children. I call upon the relevant authorities to undertake and demonstrate concrete measures to address this concern, including rigorous and timely investigation of incidents and the prosecution of perpetrators.

I welcome the measures taken by the Forces nouvelles and the militia groups to cooperate with the United Nations and the national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme in the full implementation of the action plans agreed upon with the United Nations in November 2005 and September 2006, respectively, to end the association of children with their forces. I call upon the parties to adhere to these commitments and to continue to grant the United Nations unhindered access to their military zones for verification. I urge the relevant United Nations actors to continue to systematically monitor and report on compliance and to prepare lessons learned and best practices on the dialogue and action plan process.

I remain deeply concerned about the prevalence of sexual violence, especially violence against girls in Côte d’Ivoire, and urge the Government, as a matter of urgent priority, to prepare a national action plan to address this issue. Such a plan may include a concerted awareness-raising campaign; training and capacity-building at the national and community levels for enhanced protection and victim assistance; and rigorous and timely investigation and prosecution of crimes of sexual violence. The United Nations and donors should support the Government in the preparation and implementation of such an action plan.

I welcome the signing of the Ouagadougou Peace Agreement and call upon all relevant parties to ensure that issues concerning children are taken into full consideration throughout the implementation of the Agreement and in the post- conflict recovery and reconstruction phases. I encourage the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, with the support of the United Nations, to develop and establish appropriate institutional arrangements to ensure that children are prioritized in the peace reconstruction and development processes. (paragraphs 47 to 51)



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