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SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- [Reparations for children and the restoration of children’s rights]: Previous experience with reparations for children, either administrative or court-ordered, has been limited. Past and present initiatives provide useful lessons learned and a sense of the challenges ahead. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, for example, was the first ad hoc and hybrid court mandated to order reparations to victims, albeit only of a collective and symbolic nature. The Special Court for Sierra Leone had no mandate to award reparations. Instead, the Government established an administrative reparations programme on the basis of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Resource limitations, however, have put a significant strain on the implementation of this reparations process. In Colombia, in the framework of the Justice and Peace Act, the Supreme Court ordered reparations to child victims of forced recruitment in the case against Freddy Rendón Herrera, alias “El Alemán”, who was accused of unlawful recruitment. The Court considered the needs and experience of each victim, in particular girls, to be different, and decided to focus on individual rehabilitation measures rather than collective material reparations.
- 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
- Girls
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The element of dialogue with parties to conflict for the preparation of time-bound action plans to address grave child rights violations represents one of the centrepieces of the United Nations agenda for children and armed conflict. In the past several years, numerous parties to conflict in places such as Côte d'Ivoire, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Uganda and elsewhere, have begun to implement action plans that put in place measures to prevent child recruitment and to identify and release children already associated with their forces. As such practical action to address the issue of children associated with armed forces and groups has gained traction, credibility and momentum, the process is now under way to structure similar dialogue and action plans to address other violations, such as the killing and maiming of children and rape and other forms of sexual violence. For the children, this is where the promises of protection of the international community as expressed in international law and resolutions finally become tangible. As the primary duty bearers for the protection of children, Member States are encouraged to devise ways to enable child protection dialogue with State and non-state parties as necessary.
- 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
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The changing nature of conflict also carries implications and new challenges for the reintegration and rehabilitation of children. The United Nations system has invested significant resources in forging common standards and practice around disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of children. This has contributed significantly to system-wide buy-in and coordination for this critical priority. A tension exists, however, between the need for standardized practice and programmes and the fact that children face very different realities depending on the context. For instance, in settings of protracted conflict, children may be associated with armed forces and groups for many years. Others are abducted across borders, which has raised new challenges for regional coordination among many entities for family tracing, repatriation and reunification. In some contexts, children are increasingly used in terrorist activities and in counter-terrorism actions. It is also clear that the mode and rhythm for funding child disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes is increasingly under pressure where structured dialogue with parties to conflict and implementation of action plans to release children have yielded unanticipated caseloads.
- 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
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- [Children as victims and witnesses]: With the establishment of the International Criminal Court, it is likely that more children will participate as witnesses in legal proceedings against the violators of their rights. The Rome Statute establishing the Court requires that it “take appropriate measures to protect the safety, physical and psychological well-being, dignity and privacy of victims and witnesses”, and “have regard to all relevant factors, including age, gender [...] and health, and the nature of the crime, in particular, but not limited to, where the crime involves sexual or gender-based violence against children.” Victims and witnesses units in charge of short- and long-term protective measures and security arrangements, as well as medical and psychological support, have become an established practice in international and national courts. Special protection measures can be requested to assist a child giving evidence. However, it is not always in the best interest of child witnesses of serious violations of human rights or international humanitarian law to give evidence in a court. In some cases, it may result in grave psychological trauma and illness or renewal of despair, depression or even suicidal tendencies.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- As noted in the Special Representative's previous report to the General Assembly (A/70/162), children encountered in security operations are often treated systematically as security threats rather than victims. Increasingly, large numbers of children are being systematically arrested and detained in counter-terrorism operations for their alleged association with parties to conflict. Detention has also been employed as a tactic to recruit and use children as spies and for intelligence-gathering purposes, which puts them at serious risk. The detention of children should always be a last resort, for the shortest time possible and guided by the best interests of the child. If they are accused of a crime during their association with armed groups, children should be processed by the juvenile justice system rather than military courts, which frequently fail to apply the relevant juvenile justice standards and due process. Of greatest concern are reports that children allegedly associated with non-State armed groups have been sentenced to death, notwithstanding the stipulation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child that capital punishment or life imprisonment without the possibility of release may not be imposed on juvenile offenders.
- 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
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Long-standing and well-established principles of detention are also being sidelined and overlooked in the context of armed conflict. For example, in many situations children are being held together with adults, and boys are also being held together with girls. Detaining children in this way exposes them to a range of risks to their physical integrity and can have harmful consequences for their psychological development. The nomenclature regarding detention is also a serious concern, as in some instances, the use of terminology such as a "reintegration", "rehabilitation" or "deradicalization" centre has been used to circumvent the applicability of safeguards and to deny the rights of those deprived of their liberty. In this regard, the Special Representative reminds concerned Member States of the importance of adhering to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules) in all instances of the deprivation of liberty of children. In all situations, priority must also be given to maintaining family ties for children in detention, and children should also have access to educational programmes, medical care and psychological support. These provisions will aid a child's reintegration into society once he or she is released.
- 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
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
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
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
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
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Member States should put in place administrative reparation programmes to address the needs of children affected by conflict, and should also include reparations in the mandates of international, hybrid and national courts.
- 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
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations and its partners continue to have an important role to play in this regard by ensuring that the legal protection of children is adequately taken into account when planning and funding capacity-building efforts in the area of reforming the justice sector.
- 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
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo has taken the unprecedented step of requesting further information on grave violations against children, and for the first time invited the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to brief the Committee in May 2010. As a result, it is anticipated that several names of individuals may be included on the Committee's list of individuals and entities against whom targeted measures will be imposed on the basis of verified information regarding their recruitment and use of children. To date, such close consideration of violations against children has not extended to the work of the other country-specific sanctions committees, but it will be important to build on the precedent set in the context of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in this regard. Possibilities should also be explored for a similar focus on grave child rights violations by other thematic committees, including the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism. It is also important to consider ways by which sanctions may be imposed in contexts where there are no existing Security Council sanctions committees.
- 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
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The deprivation of liberty of children owing to their actual or alleged association with armed groups is a concern in nearly all country situations covered by the Special Representative's mandate. It is particularly worrisome that the number of children arrested and detained in the context of counter-terrorism operations has increased significantly. In such contexts, but also in more traditional conflict settings, children are no longer seen as victims but are treated as security threats. In many cases, they are either held under the authority of military actors or are handed over to national security agencies that deprive them of their liberty for long periods. Children associated with parties to conflict should be treated as victims and handed over to child protection actors. In circumstances in which children are accused of a crime, any legal process should be conducted in compliance with due process and juvenile justice standards. Accordingly, the detention of children should always be a last resort, for the shortest time possible and guided by the best interests of the child. Those principles apply to any form of deprivation of liberty, be it detention under security charges, administrative detention or deprivation of liberty for the child's own protection or rehabilitation.
- 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
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 60c
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Representative urges the international community:] To monitor and compel adherence by parties to conflict to commitments made to protect children, and to hold them accountable for failure to comply with international standards;
- 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
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2014, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative also encourages the Human Rights Council to continue to include child rights violations in its resolutions establishing or renewing the 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
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative encourages all relevant United Nations agencies and programmes to strengthen their child protection capacity, including with dedicated capacity when appropriate, at global and field levels.
- 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
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- It should be noted that the focus of international criminal justice and mixed tribunals specifically on crimes against children has also raised the stakes in the fight against impunity. The Special Court for Sierra Leone paved the way for sanctioning individuals for child-specific violations by including such crimes in the indictments of all the individuals charged by the Court. This includes former President of Liberia Charles Taylor on counts of recruitment and use of children. In addition, despite the challenges in the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo by the International Criminal Court for recruiting and using children, that case has symbolized the will of the international community to act for children and as such has sent a powerful message to perpetrators. As this is the first case before the International Criminal Court on the issue of children and armed conflict, and having filed an amicus curiae, the Special Representative gave testimony before the Court on the need to adopt a case-by-case method in deciding on what constitutes enlistment and conscription in terms of the statute. The Special Representative urged an interpretation that would not exclude girl children, who play multiple roles in many groups, not only as combatants but as wives and domestic aides.
- 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
- Girls
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- States are increasingly arresting and detaining children for alleged association with armed groups. Children who are captured and placed in detention are sometimes kept in conditions which do not meet the minimum standards set out in various international legal instruments.
- 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
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 71c
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to the prevention of the recruitment and use of children, the Special Representative calls upon relevant Member States:] To provide official development assistance to Governments in the implementation of prevention strategies.
- 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
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, the Special Representative urges Member States to take steps to reduce the impact of such weapons on children, including by:]
- 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
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Member States should enact the appropriate legislation to criminalize the recruitment of children and investigate cases of recruitment and prosecute adult recruiters in a timely and systematic manner.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Member States contributing uniformed personnel are encouraged to incorporate a child protection module into their national predeployment training for military, police and civilian personnel.
- 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
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2010, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- [Vulnerabilities and risks faced by children who are internally displaced during armed conflict – addressing their rights]: Regional legal instruments also affirm the main rights and guarantees provided for in international law and often elaborate upon them, including with express reference to internally displaced children. Most notably, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), adopted in October 2009, includes specific provisions reaffirming the right of IDPs to personal documentation, education, protection against recruitment and use in hostilities, kidnapping, abduction, sexual slavery and trafficking, and protection that addresses the special needs of separated and unaccompanied minors, as well as of mothers with young children. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child emphasizes the responsibility of States to ensure that IDP children “receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance” and pays special attention to the importance of reuniting families separated by displacement. The Council of Europe has adopted a number of recommendations concerning internal displacement, including as regards the right of internally displaced children to education.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- When a child who has been recruited and used is alleged to have committed clearly defined crimes under international or domestic law, the specific circumstances and best interests of the child must be taken into account. However, it is more commonplace that children are sent before courts and are accorded few safeguards or none. In this regard, the use of military or special courts is an acute concern for the Special Representative, as they frequently fail to apply fair trial standards or basic juvenile justice safeguards. In particular, instances of death sentences being handed down by these mechanisms have been documented in situations of armed conflict, notwithstanding the prohibition of capital punishment for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age, under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Special Representative urges Member States to ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in the administration of juvenile justice and that military or special courts are avoided in all circumstances. Moreover, additional special considerations for children should also be in place in regular justice systems. For example, in conflict and post-conflict settings, justice systems are often stretched to their limits: the processing of cases involving children should always take priority.
- 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
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2014, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative urges Member States that have not done so to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and to enact effective national legislation and policies to criminalize the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups.
- 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
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative encourages Member States concerned by the "Children, not soldiers" campaign to redouble their efforts to fully implement their action plans in the coming year, and invites regional organizations, the international community and all relevant partners to provide increased support to the concerned Member States.
- 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
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Recalling that the issue of the reintegration of children is crucial to ensure the long-term sustainability of peace and security, the Special Representative encourages the Member States concerned to take appropriate measures to reintegrate those children, giving special attention to the needs of girls. She also calls on all Member States to provide the necessary political, technical and financial support to reintegration programmes.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2014, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative encourages the Human Rights Council, when considering or adopting resolutions on country-specific situations or thematic issues, to include recommendations on or references to the protection of children affected by armed conflict.
- 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
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Throughout the reporting period, the Special Representative used other platforms to remind Member States of their obligations under international law, in particular during addresses to the General Assembly and the Security Council. Moreover, on 21 and 22 October 2015, the Special Representative participated in the African Union sixth annual retreat of special envoys and mediators on the promotion of peace, security and stability, organized on the subject of terrorism, mediation and non-State armed groups. Lastly, during the reporting period the Office of the Special Representative joined the Working Group on Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and the Rule of Law while Countering Terrorism of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force to further mainstreaming the protection of children in the United Nations work on counter-terrorism. The Special Representative will continue to contribute to the dialogue on and work of the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and the Secretary-General regarding extreme violence in the coming year. Her focus will be to ensure that that the protection of children is a priority in national, regional and international responses. Furthermore, given the increasingly cross-border nature of the operations of groups using extreme violence and the involvement of multinational coalition forces, multilateral coordinated action and more extensive efforts involving regional organizations will be crucial to ensure 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
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The accountability of those who attack schools and hospitals is a key aspect of prevention. The Special Representative appreciates the importance conferred to the protection of education and health of children by Member States and reiterates her call to them to consider, where needed, changes in national policies, military procedures and legislation. Those who deliberately target schools and hospitals must be investigated and prosecuted.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The deprivation of liberty of children owing to their actual or alleged association with armed groups is a concern in nearly all countries covered by the Special Representative’s mandate. States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict should take all feasible measures to ensure that former child soldiers are demobilized or otherwise released and that they are provided with all appropriate assistance for recovery and reintegration. It is therefore particularly worrisome that increasing numbers of children are deprived of their liberty for their association with armed groups under counter-terrorism and national security laws. In such contexts, but also in more traditional conflict settings, children are seen not as victims of violations and released but as offenders who are administratively detained for long periods or even prosecuted for association. Depriving children of liberty is contrary not only to the best interests of the child but also to the best interests of society as a whole. Indeed, the denial of access to education and health care that often comes with deprivation of liberty has long-term negative impacts not only on the child, but also on society. Moreover, children can be vulnerable to radicalization while in detention with adults.
- 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
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph