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SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Secretary-General launched the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children in July 2016, calling on it to help realize the vision of the 2030 Agenda of a world where all children live in peace. The Special Representative serves on the board and the executive committee of the Global Partnership, and through her global advocacy role promotes the shared mission of making the world a safe place for children and ending violence against children everywhere. The Global Partnership has the potential to harness collective efforts to promote steadily growing commitment and action for a world free from violence. It seeks to enhance political will to reach the Sustainable Development Goal targets on ending violence against children, accelerate action through the implementation of key interventions and strengthen collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. Box, p. 5
- Paragraph text
- Bullying affects children at different stages of their development, severely undermining their health, emotional well-being and school performance. It is often associated with profound feelings of dread, loneliness and helplessness. Victims may suffer sleep disorders, headaches, stomach pain, poor appetite and fatigue as well as feelings of low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, shame and, at times, suicidal thoughts. The psychological and emotional scars that are left may persist into adult life. Bullies themselves are also affected, and are also more likely than their peers to be involved in anti-social and risky behaviour later on in life. Furthermore, bullying can affect the whole school community, creating a climate of suspicion and uncertainty that can cause children to remain silent or to become complicit out of fear.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- As the central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda, the high-level political forum on sustainable development is critical to ensuring that ending violence against children is at the heart of the implementation process of the Sustainable Development Goals. The theme of the forum in 2016, "Ensuring that no one is left behind", was of particular relevance for children exposed to violence. Many of these children suffer in silence, loneliness and fear, and they are too often left behind in accessing appropriate care and support services to overcome their trauma, benefiting from recovery and reintegration and developing to their full potential.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The experience gained from the first set of voluntary national review reports for the high-level political forum will provide strategic input to future reporting, follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It is essential that future voluntary national reviews recognize that sustainable development cannot be achieved while globally, one billion children suffer violence and its devastating consequences. To achieve target 16.2 and free all children from fear, it is crucial to be able to assess progress and identify challenges. The Special Representative is determined to support these reviews and build upon the important experience gained from national human rights monitoring and reporting processes.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The 2017 high-level political forum will provide an important platform to assess progress in the protection of children from violence under the theme "Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world". The in-depth reviews at the high-level political forum of the Sustainable Development Goals on ending poverty, ensuring healthy lives and achieving gender equality will provide a critical reflection of how far States have come in ensuring a protective environment to offset the multiple, and often interconnected, vulnerabilities faced by children. For target 16.2 and the other violence-related targets, the 2017 voluntary national reviews are an important opportunity to highlight good practices, identify challenges and lessons learned, and renew commitments and the provision of reliable resources towards ending all forms of violence against children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- National reviews of the Sustainable Development Goals are a crucial contribution to ensuring investment in children and building a world in which every child grows up free from violence and exploitation. The Special Representative is strongly committed to supporting the voluntary national review process, which has been high on the agenda of her field missions and informed her participation in high-level conferences and regional forums. This question was also the central theme in 2016 of her cross-regional round table, which annually brings together regional human rights bodies, organizations and institutions.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The inclusion of violence against children as a distinct concern in the global development agenda is an historic breakthrough and presents the global community with a strategic opportunity to transform target 16.2 into a reality for all the world's children. As the implementation process of the 2030 Agenda is now well under way, the chief priority of the Special Representative is supporting efforts to accelerate progress towards the achievement of all the violence-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially target 16.2. Protecting children from violence must not remain simply an ideal; indeed, the international community has a special responsibility to translate the ideal into tangible change for every child.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council 20 years after Graça Machel presented her findings on the impact of armed conflict on children (A/51/306) to the General Assembly, which through its resolution 51/77 subsequently created the mandate of the Special Representative. The Assembly also requested in its resolution that an annual report containing relevant information on the situation of children affected by armed conflict be transmitted to the then Commission on Human Rights. The anniversary thus provides an important opportunity to take stock of the longer-term achievements since the first report and to highlight to the Human Rights Council areas where progress is still required in order to enhance the protection of children and of their rights during 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. 18
- Paragraph text
- An ongoing concern in some contexts is the very definition of a child. While it is almost universally accepted at the international level that a child means every human being below the age of 18, in line with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, practice between and even within States is sometimes contradictory. Member States should take measures to close legal lacunae and ensure that the definition of a child is set at 18 years, in line with the international normative framework. Member States should also make additional efforts to ensure that the international obligations regarding the definition of a child are widely known and are adhered to by all national, regional and local authorities. A connected concern is the process for determining the age of a person who is allegedly associated with a party to a conflict. In many conflict settings, birth registration systems are lacking, and age assessment mechanisms are frequently inadequate and children are often presumed to be adults. In this regard, it is important for Member States to ensure adherence to the principle that if there is any doubt, the individual should be considered a child and protected as such.
- 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. 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
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. 13
- Paragraph text
- Girls are also significantly affected by recruitment and use, with some estimates indicating that as many as 40 per cent of children associated with armed forces or armed groups are female. In addition to the use of girls in support functions, for sexual purposes or to be forced into marriage, they are also used for combat and to commit violent acts. For example, in a particularly grave example, in Nigeria in 2016, girls were increasingly being forced by Boko Haram to be suicide bombers, and were used for the purpose of avoiding detection by security personnel. Although the advocacy that has taken place since the Machel study has led to increased recognition of the plight of girls associated with parties to conflict, they still face significant obstacles in the process of being released and separated from parties to conflict. For example, it was noted in a recent report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo that out of the 1,004 children who had escaped or been separated from one armed group between 2009 and 2014, only 19 girls had been documented. While there was a significant number of young girls present in camps who were allegedly used as wives, concubines, cooks, and combatants in the ranks, male members of the group claimed that these girls were their daughters. In the light of this repudiation of their role, girls are often less visible and are frequently neglected in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes. When their role is recognized, societal factors have an impact, as girls are sometimes reluctant to join disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, fearing rejection by their families and communities. Further action is required in order to raise awareness of the needs of girls in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes and also of the risks that they face after separation from armed groups, with special attention needing to be given to their reintegration into families and communities.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- 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. 15
- Paragraph text
- In the light of the gravity and scale of the concern relating to children deprived of their liberty in situations of armed conflict, the Special Representative continues to bring this matter to the attention of the Human Rights Council. It is stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child that children must be detained only as a measure of last resort, in exceptional circumstances and for the shortest appropriate period of time. These provisions are recognition of the detrimental long-term impact that deprivation of liberty has on a child and his or her development, however for thousands of children around the world, these safeguards are compromised and their rights are denied, particularly in the context of counter-terrorism operations or other security responses.
- 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 violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative is guided by General Assembly resolution 62/141, in which the Assembly established the mandate, and acts as a bridge builder and a global, independent advocate for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children. In its resolution 70/137, the Assembly expressed support for the work of the Special Representative and recommended that the Secretary-General extend the mandate for a further period of three years, and maintain support for the effective and independent performance and sustainability of the mandate, funded from the regular budget.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Protection of children online remained high on the agenda of the Special Representative. In this regard, she continued to support important multi-stakeholder initiatives, including the WePROTECT Global Alliance to End Child Sexual Exploitation Online. WePROTECT has secured high-level commitments from Governments, the information and communications technology industry, international organizations and civil society. It supports comprehensive national action on prevention and response to inform and empower children and to fight impunity within and across borders.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- In April 2016, in Sofia, the Council launched its new Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021), which was developed with the participation of the Special Representative. Children's freedom from violence is at the heart of the Strategy and is mainstreamed in actions concerning the protection of children from online abuse; the promotion of child participation; the development of child-friendly justice; the prevention of deprivation of liberty and the promotion of diversion measures; and the protection of children on the move.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative remains strongly committed to accelerating progress in the protection of children from violence and to seizing the unique opportunity presented by the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The inclusion in the 2030 Agenda of a distinct target, target 16.2, to eliminate all forms of violence against children is an historic achievement that can galvanize political will and reignite action to build a world free from fear and from violence for all, leaving no child behind.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Over the past year, the Special Representative has promoted important processes and mobilization initiatives to strengthen the protection of children from violence around the world with national authorities, United Nations agencies, regional organizations, non-governmental and faith-based organizations, the private sector and the media, as well as child-led networks. The year was marked by the adoption of several regional plans of action to prevent and eliminate violence against children and the promotion of significant partnerships to mobilize support for their protection. At the national level, important progress was made with the enactment of new legislation to ban violence in all its forms, the adoption of policy frameworks to guide implementation, and the further consolidation of data and research to inform evidence-based action.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires strengthened partnerships and the mobilization of significant resources. A broad global alliance uniting Governments, civil society, community and religious leaders, the private sector, international organizations and all other actors, including children themselves, is crucial for widening social support and promoting implementation, follow-up and review of progress. For this reason, the Special Representative will continue to support the global initiatives and partnerships noted above, including the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- In the countdown to 2030, everybody counts and everybody is needed. The High Time initiative mobilizes innovative talent and creates a space to stimulate and support positive and concrete actions designed to ensure children's protection from violence and reach the violence-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially target 16.2. United Nations actors, Governments, regional intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, professional networks, the private sector and individuals have signed a pledge and committed to take concrete actions to widen circles of non-violence around children's lives.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Children experience horrific scenes: the killing of their parents, the rape of their sisters, the forced disappearance of their friends. They are exposed to street crime and community violence, to systematic threats and extortion, and to the harassment of gang members who mobilize support within the school or in their neighbourhood. In some cases, children are manipulated by elements of organized crime and forced to take part in criminal activity, including acting as watchers in places where drugs or arms are trafficked or where smugglers congregate. If children refuse to cooperate, they may pay a heavy price, and may even risk losing their lives. Marginalized children in communities where such activities take place are locked into a vicious cycle of exclusion, stigmatization and violence, as they come to be perceived as criminals themselves, feared by members of their communities and at times criminalized by the authorities.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Surrounded by such a devastating reality, children feel ready to embark on a perilous journey of uncertainty and to confront serious risks in the hope of finding a place of safety and security. Girls undertaking this journey face particularly serious risks of abuse and exploitation owing to their youth and gender. Some may be lured by traffickers with false promises of safety, an education or a future job. Others may be fleeing sexual abuse or the threat of a forced marriage; they may even have been sold into marriage by their desperate families, both to avoid the risk of rape and with the hope that the girl will acquire the citizenship of her husband.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- For children on the move, as for any other child who is left behind, we need to transform the continuum of violence that shapes their life into a continuum of protection of their fundamental rights. The world must address these desperate situations urgently. Children's freedom from violence is an ethical and a legal imperative and should not be met with indifference or complacency. It is crucial to strengthen and effectively resource child protection institutions to which children on the move can be referred, and to implement the existing standards and develop adequate monitoring tools to safeguard children's care and safety, to promote durable solutions, to rapidly identify and address risks and to fight impunity.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Despite the advances that have been achieved in those two decades, the basic rights of children were regularly violated during the reporting period. In the Middle East, in addition to the direct impact of current conflicts on children, with thousands being killed, maimed, and recruited and used, there were rapidly developing and evolving humanitarian crises that were of serious concern at the time of writing, in December 2016. In Iraq, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that over half a million children and their families were trapped in Mosul with food and medicine running out and clean water in short supply. In a similar vein, in the Syrian Arab Republic, it was estimated that, at the end of the reporting period, nearly 500,000 children were living in besieged areas and were completely cut off from sustained humanitarian aid. In Yemen, intense conflict has resulted in a lack of food and water, which has put one and a half million children at risk of acute malnutrition.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- 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 violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- In brief, we urgently need to stand up for children on the move and secure their protection because, first and foremost, they are children.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- 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. 14
- Paragraph text
- Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Education is a key component of empowerment, however in times of conflict, children's access to education is often severely restricted, with a particular effect on girls as their schools are often directly targeted by attacks. Even when schools are operating in situations of armed conflict where girls' enrolment rates were high prior to the conflict, some parents prevent girls from going to schools due to insecurity, or because the facilities have been used by armed actors. The military use of schools exposes girls to an increased likelihood of sexual violence by armed elements and also increases the likelihood of attack by other parties to the conflict. In addition, girls are sometimes given extra household responsibilities that oblige them to stay home. There is also increased vulnerability to forced early marriage in situations of conflict, which is at times encouraged by families with the aim of providing their child with physical and financial security and results in girls withdrawing from schooling. Forced marriage is another practice that has increasingly been used by armed groups as an expression of power and control over populations. Given these susceptibilities, it is important to develop protection and education programmes for conflict-affected girls in order to provide them with support and avoid long out-of-school interruptions. In this regard, the Special Representative welcomes the call by the Human Rights Council for all States to strengthen and intensify their efforts to realize progressively the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl and encourages a focus on girls affected by armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2017, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Bullying and cyberbullying torment millions of children. These insidious forms of violence are among children's top concerns and a key reason why children contact a helpline. As highlighted by the Special Representative in her new study on this topic, Ending the Torment: Tackling Bullying from the Schoolyard to Cyberspace, whether verbal, psychological or physical, whether in schools or outside of education facilities, bullying is often associated with discrimination and stereotyping of children who are in vulnerable situations (see box).
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph