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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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The General Assembly has recognized that attacks on education and health-care facilities deprive millions of children of their rights to healthy lives and to learn and realize their potential. This not only has an immediate impact on children, but also affects the future prospects of societies. In line with its recent debates and resolutions on education in emergencies and attacks on medical facilities, the Assembly welcomed the issuance of the guidance note entitled "Protect schools and hospitals: end attacks on education and health care" in May 2014, which was co-produced by the Special Representative and other organizations of the United Nations system. In her own efforts to promote the guidance note, the Special Representative attended a workshop on the protection of schools and hospitals in January 2015 in Berlin at the invitation of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Prevention of the violation of the rights to education and health was also supported by the Security Council through its resolutions 1998 (2011), 2143 (2014) and 2225 (2015), in which the Council urged all parties to conflict to respect the civilian character of schools and to refrain from actions that impeded children's access to education and health care.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- In recent years, the international community has become increasingly aware of the impact on children of attacks on schools and hospitals and taken important steps to protect those institutions. The Security Council recognized this important aspect in its resolutions 1998, and requested the Secretary-General to list in the annexes of his annual reports on children and armed conflict the armed forces and groups who attack schools and/or hospitals and related protected persons. In resolution 2143, the Security Council called for enhanced monitoring of the military use of schools. To better implement those resolutions, the Special Representative, together with UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published the guidance note "Protect Schools and Hospitals" on 21 May 2014. With this guidance note, child protection actors in the field will be better equipped to monitor, report on and engage in advocacy, and work with parties to conflict to end and prevent attacks on schools and hospitals. It also calls for increased collaboration with both traditional and new partners, including a range of civil society partners whose work is crucial to protection from and monitoring of attacks on education and health care.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- [Empowering children through education, skills and livelihood opportunities]: Ensuring children’s access to education is itself a powerful means of protecting them from becoming involved with armed forces or groups in conflict-affected countries or fragile situations. If children attend school, they are busy and less likely to join armed forces or groups because they have other alternatives. In contrast, a lack of access to education leads many young people to see military training as their only opportunity to learn. In situations of armed conflict, when the protective function of schools is most required, schools often become targets for attacks. The use of schools for military purposes equally reduces the likelihood of children attending school, and thus may increase the likelihood of voluntary association of children with armed groups. All stakeholders must therefore ensure that schools are protected. Measures that field-based practitioners in conflict settings have used to prevent schools from being attacked include physical protection, community involvement in protection of schools, alternative delivery of education, negotiations with stakeholders to make schools conflict-free zones, restrictions on the military and political use of schools, and advocacy initiatives.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative will continue to engage with Member States, experts and the academic community to foster greater knowledge and develop and refine knowledge and understanding of emerging challenges to the protection of children in conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Attacks on schools and hospitals are becoming an all-too familiar aspect of conflict, depriving millions of children of their right to education and health. The Special Representative remained deeply concerned by the increasing number of attacks on schools and hospitals, despite their protected status under international law. In almost every situation relating to the children and armed conflict agenda, the right to education and health was gravely affected by attacks on and the widespread military use of schools and hospitals as well as by attacks and threats of attacks against teachers and doctors. In many situations, such as in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Israel and the State of Palestine and the Syrian Arab Republic, parties to conflict destroyed schools and hospitals by indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas or in targeted attacks against education facilities, teachers, school children, health workers and clinics. In 2014, we witnessed attacks on schools and ideological opposition to standard school curricula in places as varied as Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, southern Thailand, Somalia and the Syrian Arab Republic. Attempts by certain groups to radicalize teachings or exclude girls or minorities from education pose an even greater risk to the fundamental right of all children to an education. Health centres and health workers were also targeted, leading to the resurgence of preventable diseases, such as polio.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- [Empowering children through education, skills and livelihood opportunities]: In many contexts, joining armed forces or groups is a deliberate choice for children who otherwise lack opportunities and a sense of purpose in life. It is unlikely that children will want to leave an armed group or refrain from rejoining unless the reasons why they originally volunteered have been addressed.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- [Empowering children through education, skills and livelihood opportunities]: Ensuring children’s access to education is itself a powerful means of reducing the risk of joining armed forces or groups in conflict-affected countries or fragile situations. Research has suggested that, in some contexts, the higher the level of education received, the less likely a child is to mobilize voluntarily. If children attend school, they are less likely to join armed forces or groups because they have other alternatives. In contrast, a lack of access to education leads many young people to see military training as their only opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. In situations of armed conflict, when the protective function of schools is most required, schools often become targets for attacks. The use of schools for military purposes equally reduces the likelihood of children attending school. All stakeholders must therefore ensure that schools are protected. Measures that field-based practitioners in conflict settings have used to prevent schools from being attacked include physical protection, community involvement in protection of schools, alternative delivery of education, negotiations with stakeholders to make schools zones of peace, restrictions on the military and political use of schools, and advocacy initiatives.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- [Empowering children through education, skills and livelihood opportunities]: In many contexts, joining armed forces or groups is a deliberate choice for children who otherwise lack opportunities and a sense of purpose in life. It is unlikely that children will want to leave an armed group or refrain from rejoining unless the reasons why they originally volunteered have been addressed.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- With significant challenges remaining to the protection of children affected by conflict, advocacy is critical in developing awareness and instigating behaviour change with a view to ultimately ending grave violations against children in conflict. The Special Representative’s advocacy efforts will continue to highlight key issues of concern with a view to creating greater political and donor support for Governments and operational partners working on the protection of children affected by 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
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative encourages national and international partners to focus on developing national capacity for the establishment of community structures to protect children, economic stabilization and the creation of livelihood opportunities, including youth-oriented employment strategies and programmes. Coordinated and holistic interventions are required to build effective and accountable institutions that provide people, in particular children and young people, with education, security, justice and jobs.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Addressing the structural causes of fragility to escape "conflict traps" can be achieved only if a country's long-term recovery efforts include priorities for the successful rehabilitation of the lives of conflict-affected children and young people. While there are several reasons why children join armed forces and groups, poverty a lack of education and limited socioeconomic opportunities have been recognized as an important factor for children's association with armed forces and groups in conflict-affected and fragile countries.
- 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
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- International humanitarian law prohibits armed forces and groups from using schools while children and teachers are using them for educational purposes. Parties to conflict are urged to fully comply with this obligation and not to use schools for any purpose in support of their military efforts. They are called upon to urgently take all precautionary measures not to endanger civilians and civilian objects in the vicinity of military targets and to exercise caution, especially when indentifying military targets among buildings that are normally dedicated to civilian purposes.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Initiatives to raise community awareness about the rights of children and the long-term implications of children’s association with armed groups and to promote attitudinal change or encourage the intervention of community and religious leaders to halt child recruitment should be conducted in close collaboration with parents, community and religious leaders, teachers and children themselves. Dialogue to foster community ownership is crucial, as are consultations that aim at identifying and building on existing positive practices.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- [Strengthening family and community protection mechanisms]: Initiatives to raise community awareness about the rights of children and the long-term implications of children’s association with armed groups and to promote attitudinal change or encourage the intervention of community and religious leaders to halt child recruitment should be conducted in close collaboration with parents, community and religious leaders, teachers and children themselves. Dialogue to foster community ownership is crucial, as are consultations that aim at identifying and building on existing positive practices.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2011, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- In her previous reports, the Special Representative has consistently noted with concern the increasing trend of attacks on education. Such acts include the partial or total destruction of schools and other education facilities and threatened or actual targeting of education personnel. Attacks on education undermine the establishment of a protective environment for children and their chances for a better future. In addition, violent attacks on girls and targeted attacks on their education undermine their role in society and prevent them from exercising their rights.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- While protecting displaced children and providing for health care and education are important steps, it is clear that strong leadership is needed by Member States to end conflict and create conditions conducive to sustainable return. Increased efforts should be made to identify long-term solutions that will mitigate the root causes and structural factors of displacement, provide support to displaced children and ensure family reunification, keeping in mind the best interests of the child. Only when children are reunited with their families, in a safe environment and with access to basic services, will they be able to flourish and fully contribute to the future of their society.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- One focus of the high-level meeting should be to highlight the responsibility of all States to ensure appropriate protection for all displaced children, to avoid aggravating their vulnerability, through equal access to health care, education and psychosocial support. The Special Representative communicated those messages to Member States at an informal meeting of the General Assembly, held in November 2015, to consider ways to advance a comprehensive response to the global humanitarian and refugee crisis. In December 2015, she attended the annual Dialogue on Protection Challenges organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, and advocated for children displaced by armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The international community and countries of origin, transit and destination should take all feasible measures to protect the rights of refugee and internally displaced children affected by armed conflict. The need for more equitable sharing of responsibilities is also clearly evident, as 90 per cent of all refugees are hosted in developing countries in close proximity to conflict areas. In September 2016, the General Assembly will host a high-level meeting to address large movements of refugees and migrants, with the aim of bringing countries together behind a more humane and coordinated approach. In line with other United Nations partners, the Special Representative emphasizes that the fundamental principles of the best interests of the child and non-discrimination should be given primary consideration at the meeting and in the development of all relevant policies on internally displaced and refugee children. In particular, the institution of asylum needs more than ever to be respected, preserved and reinforced, particularly in relation to children.
- 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
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The protection of health care is also a key element of Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (General Assembly resolution 70/1). Initiatives to implement the Goals must include specific provisions for children affected by armed conflict. In that regard, the Special Representative welcomes the launch of the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action at the World Humanitarian Summit. The initiative will help to ensure that the many children who are permanently disabled during conflict, sometimes purely as a result of the 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
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- The international community has an important role to play in promoting accountability, protection and prevention. In resolution 69/132 on global health and foreign policy, the General Assembly urged Member States to protect, promote and respect the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, in accordance with obligations under relevant provisions of international human rights law. Similarly, the Security Council, in resolution 2286 (2016), demanded that all parties to armed conflict comply fully with their obligations under international law. The provisions set out in resolution 2286 (2016) complement those contained in Assembly resolutions relating to the children and armed conflict mandate to monitor and report on attacks on hospitals and schools.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The right to education is a fundamental human right. It is key for the development of children, but also critical for peacebuilding, economic growth and sustainable development for society as a whole. In times of conflict, infringements of the right to education in the form of targeted attacks on and obstacles to safe access to schools, threats to children and teachers and the military use of schools have a negative impact reaching beyond the education sector alone. Moreover, education is often interrupted due to a general climate of fear and insecurity or because of the displacement of school children, teachers and school personnel. Not only is there a large financial cost to rebuilding schools, repairing infrastructure, replacing equipment and training new teachers, there is a significant individual and societal cost. The loss of educational opportunities owing to war has long-lasting effects on the social and economic development of a country, which in turn increases the likelihood of new cycles of violence and conflict.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In line with other United Nations partners, the Special Representative emphasizes that a human rights-based approach, including the fundamental principles of the best interests of the child and non-discrimination, should be given primary consideration in the development of all relevant policies on children displaced by conflict. All States have a responsibility to ensure appropriate protection for displaced children and to avoid aggravating their vulnerability, through equal access to health care, education and psychosocial support, regardless of their status. The Special Representative also encourages Member States to prioritize investing in education in emergencies to support displaced children in rebuilding their lives. Failure to do so will only increase the cost of restoring a sustainable society in post-conflict situations. These messages were emphasized by the Special Representative at the informal meeting of the General Assembly to consider ways to advance a comprehensive response to the global humanitarian and refugee crisis, held on 19 November 2015.
- 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
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Conflict continues to cause displacement as civilians seek safety and refuge. The Special Representative noted, in her 2014 report to the Human Rights Council, that the number of displaced persons globally was the highest since the Second World War, including millions of children (see A/HRC/28/54, para. 6). That situation has not improved, as the number of protracted and new conflicts continues to grow. In June 2015, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicated that there were more internally displaced persons and refugees than ever before. This has led to vulnerable persons, including many children, losing their lives while taking perilous journeys to perceived safety.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2015, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Prevention must complement any legal or military action to counteract extreme violence. Action is required by the international community, regional organizations and individual Member States to mobilize resources to build resilience and strengthen protective environments for children. Identifying and addressing the root causes and catalysts of extremism, such as poverty and the alienation of communities, is a necessary first step in the effort to find a lasting solution. Extremist groups also regularly recruit young people and children from around the world using propaganda on the Internet and social media. This is a new and compounding challenge, and is complex for Member States to address. The Special Representative notes that attention should be given to the recruitment networks of extremist groups, with the aim of preventing the recruitment of children in the first place. Education is one tool that can reduce the appeal of extremist groups and help to prevent social exclusion and promote respect for human rights, peace and diversity.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2014, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- In order to promote the implementation of those resolutions, the Special Representative, in collaboration with UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO, developed the guidance note entitled "Protect schools and hospitals: end attacks on education and health care". The guidance note, which was launched on 21 May, aims to strengthen monitoring of and reporting on attacks on schools and hospitals by providing key definitions and practical advice. The guidance note also promotes advocacy and dialogue with parties to conflict and the deepening of partnerships between various stakeholders in addressing the plight of children seeking access to education and health care. In addition, it provides practical advice on how to advocate with parties to conflict in order to prevent the military use of schools and hospitals. With a view to ensuring wide dissemination and effective implementation, the guidance is being published in English, French and Arabic. The Special Representative strongly encourages Member States to promote the guidance note and to institute changes in national policies and legislation, and to include the guidelines in military doctrine, manuals and training.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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