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Second Substantive Session of the Preparatory Committee for the
Special Session of the General Assembly in 2001
For Follow-up to the World Summit for Children
Oral Statement by the NGO Caucus on Children and Armed Conflict
31 January 2001
Madam Chair, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates
In the time since the first Preparatory Committee meeting in May
2000, we have seen some positive steps forward at the international
level for the protection of children in armed conflict. This has been
reflected in the priority given to this issue in many
governments’statements at this meeting.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
which establishes 18 as the minimum age for participation in
hostilities was adopted by the General Assembly and signed by 76
member states. The UN Security Council, in Resolution 1314, again
called for specific actions to safeguard children in times of war and
for effective measures targeted at those responsible for the
exploitation and abuse of children. The International Conference on
War-Affected Children in Winnipeg in September 2000 saw
governments, experts and NGOs set specific goals in preparation for
the forthcoming Special Session. The International Criminal Court is
closer to creation which will help to end impunity for those guilty
of crimes against children. Steps have been taken to establish a
special court in Sierra Leone to try those who have targeted and
recruited children for war crimes.
In the same period however, we have seen contempt for these
international norms on the ground, from Chechnya to Colombia, from
Sierra Leone to Israel and the Occupied Territories. For all the
statements, declarations and resolutions mentioned earlier, these
grave violations have all too often been met with silence and
inaction on the part of the international community.
It is critically important, therefore, that the Special Session on
Children (1) consolidate and institutionalise the gains that have
been made in recent years in elaborating norms and strategies, (2)
tighten systems for monitoring their implementation, and (3) sharpen
the tools for holding all responsible parties accountable for their
actions (and inaction) with respect to children.
To this end, the caucus of NGO’s working on children and armed
conflict here at the Preparatory Committee meeting would like to
stress the following issues as priorities for the outcome of the
Special Session.
Education is child protection
Education should be recognised as the very foundation of child
protection and as a fourth pillar of humanitarian assistance, along
with food, shelter and health care. Every effort must be made to
ensure that children’s education is not interrupted and that
education services, formal or non-formal, are extended to refugee,
internally displaced and other vulnerable communities. Schools and
other community institutions should be treated as “zones of peace”,
not military targets or means of indoctrination and militarisation.
Youth participation in humanitarian response and peacebuilding
Youth should be given a leading role in peacebuilding initiatives and
holding their local community and the international community
accountable to its commitments. Children and their civil society
advocates should be heard within peace processes to develop
specific proposals for child-focussed demobilisation and post-
conflict programs. More resources need to be allocated to communities
for long-term physical and psycho-social support programs, designed
for girls as well as boys.
Universal adoption of norms and standards
The Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed
conflict is a strong expression of the international consensus
against the use of children as soldiers. The success of our efforts
to implement a global ban on child soldiers will turn on universal
ratification of this standard by all member states, without
reservations and setting at least 18 as the minimum age for all forms
of military recruitment.
Improve monitoring and reporting on violations
The Committee on the Rights of the Child plays an important role in
reviewing the performance of member states against the Convention,
but its current reporting system (once every five years) is
inadequate for situations in which the very survival of children
is threatened. Work should begin on the development of a complaints
process under the Convention and its Optional Protocols, similar to
those for other international human rights instruments. Monitoring
and reporting on child rights violations should therefore
be included explicity in the mandate of all UN field and peacekeeping
operations; child rights and child protection advisors should be
deployed before, during and after conflicts; and inter-agency task
forces (involving NGOs) be established on specific situations to
develop child-focussed analysis and effective strategies.
Mechanisms for accountability
Ending impunity is essential if children’s rights are to be
protected. Support should be given to the development of local,
national, regional and international mechanisms before
which those responsible for violations against children can be held
to account. States should move quickly to ratify the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court so that it may begin prosecuting
crimes against children.
Institutionalise action by UN Security Council
In the past two years, the UN Security Council has endorsed a range
of practical measures for the protection of children in armed
conflict. It should now seek to develop and institutionalise these
recommendations in operational terms by ensuring that information,
analysis and recommendations on child protection are included in all
of its reports, deliberations, missions and resolutions, including on
country-specific situations; that states and armed groups targeting
or abusing children (and those who support them) face appropriate
sanction and censure; and that progress in implementation of this
agenda is reviewed on an annual basis.
Special Session process
The NGO caucus calls for children and armed conflict issues to be
given a special and explicit place on the agenda of the Special
Session, including through a panel discussion focussed on the
situation of children in armed conflict and positive ways that
communities and governments can hold parties accountable for their
actions.
Second, the caucus urges that children and armed conflict issues be
included on the agenda for the Special Session on Small Arms and the
Second World Congress on Sexual Exploitation.pdf: www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/children_armed_conflict_stateme...