Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict

The Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution setting out practical steps to combat violations against children in armed conflict, as United Nations officials underscored the need to do more to ensure that children are protected and perpetrators are brought to justice.

The Secretary-General's report is the first from the UN on the civil war's effects on children. 

More than 6,000 child soldiers may now be involved in the conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR), with their numbers growing as fighting pits community against community in clashes that have taken on increasingly sectarian overtones, the United Nations reported today.