A/65/219
29. A number of regional legal instruments also affirm the rights of internally
displaced children, most notably the African Union Convention for the Protection
and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention),
which was adopted in October 2009. It includes specific provisions reaffirming the
right of internally displaced persons 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 internally displaced children receive appropriate protection and
humanitarian assistance and pays special attention to the importance of reuniting
families separated by displacement. Furthermore, the Council of Europe has adopted
a number of recommendations concerning internal displacement, including the right
of internally displaced children to education.
30. The Office of the Special Representative continues to focus on this issue as a
mandate priority, and in this regard is preparing a working paper stressing the
particular vulnerabilities of displaced children and the responsibilities of
Governments and other stakeholders in providing them with adequate and timely
protection and services.
F.
Rethinking reintegration
31. 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.
32. Such considerations beg the question of whether current disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration approaches and programmes are adequate and
reflective of the variety of contexts in which children are being recruited and used
or the range of their experiences. Another question is whether reintegration
programmes are flexible or adaptable enough to address an increasingly broad range
of scenarios for children in conflict situations.
33. Such an examination of the premises for child disarmament, demobilization
and reintegration could be undertaken in the context of the Paris Principles and
Guidelines on Children associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups, which
provide guidance on the basis of lessons learned over the past 10 years. The Paris
10-47421
9