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SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative welcomes the recent ratifications of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and continues her call to States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the treaty, to enact legislation to explicitly prohibit and criminalize the recruitment and use of children by armed forces or groups and the use of children in hostilities, and to establish the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces at 18 years, when depositing their binding declaration upon ratification of the Optional Protocol.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative welcomes national and international efforts to achieve accountability for perpetrators for grave violations against children. Member States are encouraged to strengthen their support to justice systems by allocating sufficient resources and capacity for investigating and prosecuting those who perpetrate crimes against children in situations of conflict. The Human Rights Council is also urged to include a focus on the fight against impunity for grave violations when it mandates commissions of inquiry or holds special sessions.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative calls anew upon Member States to treat children allegedly associated with non-State armed groups primarily as victims entitled to full protection of their rights and to urgently adopt protocols for their handover to child protection actors. The Special Representative also urges the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and the relevant special procedures to focus closely on the detrimental impact on the rights of children that results from exercises of widespread screening of civilians in situations of armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Relevant United Nations entities are also encouraged to use the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee as advocacy tools to promote States parties' follow-up to and implementation of recommendations related to children and armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative welcomes the continued attention to both progress and challenges regarding the impact of armed conflict on children in States parties' reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee. In this regard, all relevant Member States are urged to include, as appropriate, specific references to information on grave violations against children, on gaps in their applicable legal and policy frameworks and on accountability initiatives, in their own submissions to these bodies.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative encourages the Human Rights Council to maintain the practice of including recommendations on the protection of children affected by armed conflict when considering or adopting resolutions on country-specific situations or thematic issues as well as in the universal periodic review process, with particular attention to the implementation of the recommendations. The Special Representative also encourages the Human Rights Council to continue to include child rights violations in its resolutions establishing or renewing the relevant mandates of special procedures.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative remains deeply concerned at the scale and severity of the grave violations that were committed against children in 2016, which included alarming levels of killing and maiming, recruitment and use and denials of humanitarian access, and calls upon the Human Rights Council and Member States to take all available measures to prevent these violations from occurring. In particular, in light of the impact on children, the Special Representative calls upon parties to conflict to immediately end all restriction on the receipt of humanitarian aid by civilians and allow unimpeded access by humanitarian actors.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Within the United Nations system, the Office of the Special Representative has continued to support the efforts developed as part of the Secretary-General's Human Rights Up Front initiative, and participated with the Deputy Secretary-General in the interactive dialogue on the initiative at the General Assembly in January 2016, highlighting the importance of strengthened collaboration to address human rights concerns in conflict-affected situations. Children and armed conflict concerns have also been mainstreamed in Organization-wide initiatives on human rights issues. For example, in connection with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Special Representative took part in the launch of Alliance 8.7, which is led by the International Labour Organization and is aimed at enhancing coordinated efforts to eradicate forced labour, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers. On another occasion, the Office of the Special Representative provided input for the Secretary-General's Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism (A/70/674), in order to ensure that safeguards were included for the protection of children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative has also prioritized cooperation with the universal periodic review process by submitting three contributions in the reporting period, on the Philippines, South Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic. In this connection, she notes that during the review of Somalia, to which the Office of the Special Representative made a contribution in 2015, a significant number of Member States raised the issue of children and armed conflict, and recommended, inter alia, ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and ensuring effective implementation of the 2012 action plans on ending the recruitment and use of children and ending the killing and maiming of children (see A/HRC/32/12). She encourages the Human Rights Council to continue to address issues related to children and armed conflict for relevant countries, welcomes the practice of adopting concrete recommendations, and encourages references to relevant findings of treaty bodies and special procedures to ensure sustained mainstreaming and follow-up by the various actors involved in the protection of children's rights. In this regard, the Special Representative will continue to explore avenues for increased cooperation with the universal periodic review process.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- While this international legal framework has sometimes been supported and enhanced by legislation and policies adopted at the regional, national and local levels, the present report has outlined how there is a disconnect between the internationally agreed standards for children's rights and their practical implementation in situations of armed conflict. In this regard, the Special Representative has continued to prioritize closer cooperation between her Office and international human rights mechanisms, in particular the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee. Through State reporting mechanisms, treaty bodies have played an important role in identifying gaps between the legal and policy framework and the practice, and have made recommendations to address any shortcomings. The Special Representative is encouraged by the continued attention given to both progress and challenges in addressing the impact of armed conflict on children in State parties' reports reviewed by the respective committees. For example, in the reports of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/COD/3-5) and the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/COD/4), the State party referred to the progress achieved in implementing the action plan to end the recruitment and use of children and other serious violations of the rights of the child by the armed forces and the security services. In this regard, increased collaborative efforts between the State party, the Special Representative and relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council have been highlighted as a way forward to put an end to the suffering of children caused by the armed conflict. As another illustration of mutually reinforcing messages, the situation of children affected by armed conflicts in the Central African Republic has been outlined in the report of the Government to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/CAF/2), and the Special Representative encourages the Committee and relevant actors to follow up in a timely manner, in particular through the adoption of strong concluding observations and by providing support for their swift implementation. The Special Representative also welcomes the collaboration with the Human Rights Committee, in particular through the list of issues in relation to the seventh periodic report of Colombia (CCPR/C/COL/Q/7) and the replies by the Government thereto (CCPR/C/COL/Q/7/Add.1), which resulted in a focus on the prevention of the use and recruitment of children by armed groups and on measures to prevent the involvement of children in intelligence activities or in civic-military activities. In addition, in its most recent concluding observations on Colombia (CCPR/C/COL/CO/7), the Human Rights Committee encouraged the State to continue and intensify its efforts to prevent the use and recruitment of children by armed groups, to provide adequate reintegration support and to guarantee that all children separated from armed groups are considered as victims.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Given the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in October 2015 by Somalia, there is almost universal ratification of that treaty and the global normative framework to protect the rights of children is robust. However, the Special Representative continues to engage with Member States that have not already ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, with the aim of achieving universal ratification thereof and enhancing the legal protection of children's rights in conflict. In the reporting period, she held bilateral meetings with Member States and actively engaged with regional organizations, civil society and regional groups on the matter. Four additional countries - Brunei Darussalam, Guinea, Pakistan and Samoa - became States parties to the Optional Protocol during the reporting period.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The Office of the Special Representative contributed to the development of NATO policies and guidelines on children and armed conflict, including the "standard operating procedure on reporting and information-sharing in support of children and armed conflict", which was adopted in September 2016 and identifies the role of NATO in support of the United Nations in protecting children affected by armed conflict. In addition, staff of the Office of the Special Representative attended the NATO-United Nations staff talks held in March.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative has continued to work with regional organizations that have a mandate on conflict-related matters. In particular, engagement with NATO was ongoing, with a view to deepening the partnership on the issue of children and armed conflict and supporting the ongoing mainstreaming efforts. In January 2016, the Special Representative met in Brussels with the incoming Assistant Secretary-General for Operations and the Deputy Secretary-General to discuss ways to further strengthen the protection of children in NATO-led operations. She also briefed the Operations Policy Committee and underscored the responsibility and role of NATO in protecting children in armed conflict. During her visit to Afghanistan in February 2016, the Special Representative met with the Commander of the NATO Resolute Support Mission and the NATO Senior Civilian Representative to voice concerns about rising child casualties and to advocate for the appointment of an adviser on children and armed conflict, within the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. The position was filled in May 2016.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- In November, the Special Representative was invited to the thematic debate of the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission, of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, on protecting and promoting the rights of children during situations of armed conflict, foreign occupation, emergencies and disasters. She delivered an address in which she encouraged further interaction between her Office and the Commission. Pursuant to the cooperation agreement between the League of Arab States and the Office of the Special Representative, signed in 2014, the Office of the Special Representative also participated in the general meeting of cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States that was held in May 2016.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative continued to strengthen her partnership with the European Union, which is a key interlocutor that engages in human rights dialogue and capacity-building with many of the countries on the children and armed conflict agenda. In January she addressed the European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defence at an interactive session in which views and information were exchanged on the impact of armed conflict on children, the challenges of reintegration, and the challenges for Common Security and Defence Policy missions when they face issues related to children and armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative sustained her deep engagement with the African Union throughout the reporting period. She briefed the Peace and Security Council of the African Union in Addis Ababa in May 2016 at its third open session dedicated to children affected by armed conflict, which focused on the protection of schools. During the session the Special Representative received strong backing from all members of the Council, who expressed their support for the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign and made commitments to protect schools and hospitals, including refraining from using these for military purposes. In June, the Office of the Special Representative participated in a workshop designed to support the development of a human rights compliance framework for African Union peace support operations. As an indication of the depth of her engagement with the African Union, throughout the annual retreat of African Union special envoys and mediators on the promotion of peace, security and stability, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in October 2016, the Special Representative worked with participants to highlight the children and armed conflict concerns relevant to their work. Lastly, the issue of violations attributed to contingents of African Union Mission in Somalia was discussed on a number of occasions during the reporting period.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- In the Philippines, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces continued to work on implementing their action plan and achieved significant progress. In an encouraging development, the United Nations was able to re-engage with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the New People's Army on their declaration and programme of action for the rights, protection and welfare of children. In Myanmar, discussions moved forward with the Karenni National Progressive Party and Karenni Army, which signalled their readiness to sign an action plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children. The Executive Committee of the Kachin Independence Organization and Kachin Independence Army invited UNICEF to participate in a workshop on ending child recruitment, which led to gaps being identified in internal procedures regarding child recruitment and to a commitment to revise their code of conduct. Finally, the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army signalled its readiness to enter into discussions with the United Nations on the issue of child recruitment. Progress has, however, been constrained, pending the support of the Government for action plans to be concluded with non-State armed groups.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Dialogue on the separation and handover of children has continued in the Central African Republic with the anti-Balaka and Révolution et justice, as well as with a number of ex-Séléka factions that expressed interest in signing an action plan. In Mali, the Mouvement national de libération de l'Azawad and its coordinating body, the Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad, began discussions with the United Nations regarding an action plan aimed at ending and preventing the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, and sexual violence and other grave violations against children; consultations were still ongoing at the time of writing, in December 2016. In Nigeria, a formal dialogue has begun between UNICEF and the senior leadership of the Civilian Joint Task Force, who have expressed interest in cooperating with the United Nations in halting child recruitment and use, and separating children, including through the formal signing of an action plan.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Concrete commitments also resulted during the reporting period from engagement by the United Nations with non-State armed groups, including the signing of two action plans. In the Sudan, following a meeting between the Special Representative and the Secretary-General of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, held in Addis Ababa in May 2016, and the engagement of United Nations partners on the ground, an action plan was signed in Geneva in November, on the margins of the Geneva Call meeting, to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children, and was witnessed by the Special Representative. In South Sudan, in January 2016, an action plan was concluded with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children and to ensure their release to child protection actors. The action plan also covers the killing and maiming of children, as well as other grave violations. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, in December 2016, little effective action had been taken by the group to implement the action plan.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In a particularly important milestone in the reporting period, all Member States concerned by the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign have now concluded a formal written commitment with the United Nations to end the recruitment and use of children in their security forces. In March, the Government of the Sudan signed its action plan; high-level and technical committees have been established to facilitate and coordinate the action plan's implementation. In 2016, progress has also been ongoing in other countries concerned by the campaign. For example, the Government of Afghanistan endorsed age assessment guidelines for use in recruitment processes for its national defence and security forces. The Democratic Republic of the Congo continued to make progress to address the remaining gaps to prevent the recruitment of children into the country's armed forces, including by realizing most of the goals of the 2015 road map that had been developed to expedite the implementation of the action plan. In Myanmar, 101 children and young people recruited as children were released from the army and reintegrated into their communities during the reporting period. Regrettably, the high levels of conflict intensity in Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen had a detrimental impact on children and continued to hamper progress on existing action plans. Despite positive developments in most countries concerned by the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign, gaps nevertheless remain in almost all of these countries as regards ensuring systematic prevention and accountability in relation to the recruitment and use of children. Those gaps are outlined in the most recent report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (see A/70/836-S/2016/360).
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Notwithstanding the challenges to ending grave violations, the United Nations continued to utilize, inter alia, the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign and peace processes to engage with a wide spectrum of parties to conflict in order to gain additional commitments to protect the rights of children affected by armed conflict. When there is political will and political space, action plans are one of the strongest available mechanisms to improve the protection of children, and three were concluded in the reporting period. Throughout 2016, interactions took place between the United Nations and parties to conflict from the Central African Republic, Colombia, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Sudan and the Sudan. A number of the discussions took place in the context of a meeting convened by the non-governmental organization Geneva Call, which was held in Geneva in November and provided an important opportunity to engage with non-State armed groups from six country situations on the children and armed conflict agenda.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The complexity of dealing with the increasing number of parties to conflict has also been detrimental to the investigation of incidents when there are allegations of violations. Accountability remains key to ending grave violations, and the Special Representative sustained strong engagement to end impunity, including through advocacy with individual Member States to pursue national accountability initiatives. International initiatives to pursue accountability have also borne fruit in 2016, with the launch of a policy paper on children by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, in November. The Office of the Special Representative supported the development of this document, which will aid the inclusion of crimes in indictments where the evidence permits, as well as enhancing the Court's interactions with children as victims and witnesses. At the request of the Security Council, the Special Representative continued to brief sanctions committees throughout the reporting period and to provide them with information on grave violations committed against children, including the committees for South Sudan in March, the Sudan in April and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in November.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The World Humanitarian Summit, held in May 2016, also focused on increasing adherence to international law by parties to conflict. At the summit, the Special Representative took part in the high-level leaders' round table on upholding the norms that safeguard humanity, where she represented the United Nations and made commitments on behalf of the Organization to intensify the monitoring, investigation and reporting of violations and to engage in increased advocacy with parties to conflict when violations occur. At the same event, the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action was launched. This initiative will help to ensure that the many children who are permanently disabled during conflict, sometimes purely as the result of a lack of basic medical services to treat minor conditions, are not forgotten.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In this regard, one of the most disturbing trends documented in 2016, noted earlier in the present report, is the increasing incidence of attacks on health facilities, which has had a grave impact on children's right to health. Hospitals, ambulances and medical personnel have been attacked or threatened with attack in many countries that are on the children and armed conflict agenda, including Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Mali, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. The Special Representative has engaged strongly on this issue with parties to conflict and has taken part in a number of United Nations system-wide initiatives. For example, the Office of the Special Representative has supported the development of recommendations on measures to enhance protection of the wounded and sick and of medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, and of their means of transport and equipment and of hospitals and other medical facilities, including through recommendations to parties to conflict, in line with the request made by the Security Council in its resolution 2286 (2016).
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- In the past year, the Special Representative has continued to prioritize interactions with parties to conflict to end grave violations against children. However, while progress has been forthcoming, the sheer number and differing nature of actors in armed conflicts has contributed to the creation of an environment where the protection of children is increasingly challenging and resource-intensive. In particular, the multiplicity of non-State armed groups, including militias that are used to fight on behalf of Governments, and the increasing number of military operations carried out by international coalitions, have challenged the child protection community's ability to prevent and respond to grave violations. The very nature of these actors, with their loose composition and the lack of clarity in their command structures, can hamper advocacy efforts seeking to ensure that fundamental safeguards are implemented, such as precautionary measures and adherence to the principle of distinction.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In the same vein, the Office of the Special Representative has sustained its efforts to improve the principles of protection for children deprived of liberty in situations of armed conflict. In November, in Geneva, the Special Representative attended the twenty-fifth anniversary of the creation of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and emphasized the importance of focusing on children in efforts to end arbitrary detention. The Office of the Special Representative also worked closely with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime throughout the reporting period, including by providing child protection expertise at two workshops with government officials on the issue of children recruited and used by violent extremist groups, which were held in Amman and Dakar. The Office of the Special Representative also took part in an event in association with the steering group for the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles), at Wilton Park, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on protecting children from extreme violence, which focused on the treatment of those who have been recruited and used. The outcomes of that conference will be used to prepare for an event for the tenth anniversary of the Paris Principles, which will be held in Paris in February 2017. Lastly, the Special Representative also continued to contribute to the initial phase of the in-depth global study on children deprived of liberty, in line with General Assembly resolution 69/157, and took part in an event in November in Geneva with the independent expert and lead author of the global study, Manfred Nowak.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In Somalia, also following the Special Representative's visit and wide-ranging advocacy efforts, 26 children aged between 12 and 14 who had been detained by authorities in Puntland for association with a non-State armed group were released; however, 38 children, assessed to be above the age of 14 and subsequently sentenced as adults, remained detained at the time of writing, some of whom have been condemned to death. In December, the United Nations was continuing efforts to secure the release of those children. These concerns are elaborated upon in the present report in the section on field visits. The release of the 26 children follows the handover to child protection actors of over 100 children detained in the Serendi and Hiil-Walaal centres as well as in Galmudug, in late 2015 and in 2016.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In the reporting period, the Special Representative has engaged in extensive advocacy to protect children who have been deprived of their liberty for association with parties to conflict. Joint endeavours have helped to ensure appropriate protection of the rights of children separated from armed groups. For example, in the Sudan, following the Special Representative's visit and in the light of extensive efforts by many United Nations entities, 21 boys detained for their alleged association with a non-State armed group were released and pardoned by the President on 8 September 2016.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- An issue connected to the deprivation of liberty of children for association with non-State armed groups is the recruitment and use of children under the age of 18 by government forces. Member States should be cognizant of the fact that when they recruit children under the age of 18, even in non-conflict situations, notwithstanding the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, this can be used by the leadership of non-State armed actors to legitimize their own actions. More children are thus likely to be encountered during military operations and detained by Member States. In this regard, the Special Representative calls upon Member States to consider establishing the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces at 18 years, even if the children are not used in conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Over the reporting period, the increased use of screening of civilians by government security forces or pro-government militias in situations such as those in as Iraq and Nigeria has been an emerging concern related to the deprivation of liberty of children. Centres have been established by parties to conflict in order to process civilians fleeing from armed groups. This practice has resulted in mass deprivation of liberty of civilians, including children, due to long processing times but also due to a presumption of affiliation with the very armed group from which they are fleeing. Screening has been undertaken by parties to conflict, including militias, who are poorly trained and, in many instances, lack the neutrality and capacity required to engage in a child-sensitive manner. Presumptions of affiliation have been based on broad categories, such as the age, gender or ethnic affiliation of the people being screened, and screening has also been used for intelligence gathering. This practice of screening and subsequent detention often violates the right to challenge the lawfulness of the deprivation of liberty before a court or another competent, independent and impartial authority. In some instances, the presumption of affiliation can also amount to a form of collective punishment. While the Special Representative is cognizant of the need to ensure the safety of civilians, she reminds Governments in conflict-affected countries of the importance of using civilian actors with child protection expertise to carry out screening and of adhering to the last resort and shortest possible time provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Screening without clear legal oversight also leaves children open to other violations, such as extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance and torture. In this regard, the Special Representative welcomes the continuing attention that the Human Rights Council has given to the issue of deprivation of liberty in its country-specific and thematic resolutions, which has included calls for accountability in instances of secret detention, torture and practices tantamount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including under the pretext of countering terrorism.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
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