S/RES/1612 (2005)
Gravely concerned by the documented links between the use of child soldiers
in violation of applicable international law and the illicit trafficking of small arms
and light weapons and stressing the need for all States to take measures to prevent
and to put an end to such trafficking,
1.
Strongly condemns the recruitment and use of child soldiers by parties to
armed conflict in violation of international obligations applicable to them and all
other violations and abuses committed against children in situations of armed
conflict;
2.
Takes note of the action plan presented by the Secretary-General relating
to the establishment of a monitoring and reporting mechanism on children and
armed conflict as called for in paragraph 2 of its resolution 1539 (2004) and, in this
regard:
(a) Underlines that the mechanism is to collect and provide timely, objective,
accurate and reliable information on the recruitment and use of child soldiers in
violation of applicable international law and on other violations and abuses
committed against children affected by armed conflict, and the mechanism will
report to the working group to be created in accordance with paragraph 8 of this
resolution;
(b) Underlines further that this mechanism must operate with the
participation of and in cooperation with national Governments and relevant United
Nations and civil society actors, including at the country level;
(c) Stresses that all actions undertaken by United Nations entities within the
framework of the monitoring and reporting mechanism must be designed to support
and supplement, as appropriate, the protection and rehabilitation roles of national
Governments;
(d) Also stresses that any dialogue established under the framework of the
monitoring and reporting mechanism by United Nations entities with non-State
armed groups in order to ensure protection for and access to children must be
conducted in the context of peace processes where they exist and the cooperation
framework between the United Nations and the concerned Government;
3.
Requests the Secretary-General to implement without delay, the abovementioned monitoring and reporting mechanism, beginning with its application,
within existing resources, in close consultation with countries concerned, to parties
in situations of armed conflict listed in the annexes to the Secretary-General’s report
(S/2005/72) that are on the agenda of the Security Council, and then, in close
consultation with countries concerned, to apply it to parties in other situations of
armed conflict listed in the annexes to the Secretary-General’s report (S/2005/72),
bearing in mind the discussion of the Security Council and the views expressed by
Member States, in particular during the annual debate on Children and Armed
Conflict, and also taking into account the findings and recommendations of an
independent review on the implementation of the mechanism to be reported to the
Security Council by 31 July 2006. The independent review will include:
(a) An assessment of the overall effectiveness of the mechanism, as well as
the timeliness, accuracy, objectivity and reliability of the information compiled
through the mechanism;
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