Children Affected by War: An Introduction to the Issues by the United Nations

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An extraordinary impetus now exists for the application of international standards and norms that demonstrates the remarkable commitment of the international community to child protection in armed conflict. It is imperative to maintain that momentum in order to further advance the agenda and to better protect our children from war.

 

Participation of children and youth: The participation of children and youth is guaranteed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 12. However, while opportunities for conflict-affected children and youth to participate in activities are expanding, their participation in decision-making remains limited.

One common form of participation is the establishment of organized clubs and groups. In the Gulu region of northern Uganda, for example, more than 200 registered youth groups are providing social services and support to communities, including HIV/AIDS-awareness and income-generating activities, despite inconsistent financial support.

When children have access to information as members of organizations and are involved in decisions that affect them, they are better able to protect themselves, survive and develop.

More serious efforts are being made to understand the motivations of young people and to respond with a view to enabling participation and change in non-violent ways. For example, the Machel Review was prepared with an inter-agency advisory group and featured a multi-stakeholder process involving United Nations system partners, Member States, non-governmental organizations and other representatives of civil society, as well as children themselves. "Will you listen? Young voices from Conflict Zones" report compiles the views of some 1,700 children and young people in 92 countries. Their thoughts and ideas were collected as a key contribution to the Review through a series of focus group discussions and an online questionnaire.

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Child protection advisers to UN peacekeeping operations and political missions: A key partnership between the Office of the Special Representative and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has evolved over several years. The Department has significantly expanded the incorporation of children's issues in peacekeeping operations, including child rights and protection in training for peacekeepers and the deployment of child protection expertise in peacekeeping missions. There are currently over 60 child protection advisers in seven peacekeeping missions and in two political missions. These child protection personnel ensure systematic training for peacekeepers and in many locations have been instrumental in the implementation of the monitoring and reporting mechanism and documenting child rights violations, engaging in dialogue with parties to conflict and conducting advocacy on politically sensitive issues, thereby supporting operational partners who may be unable to do so at the risk of jeopardizing their programmes on the ground.

It is critical to continue to include and enhance the presence of child protection advisers in the mandates of all relevant United Nations peacekeeping and political missions. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations' evaluation on the impact of child protection advisers in peacekeeping operations, which was highlighted in the last report of the Special Representative to the General Assembly (A/62/228), underlined some of the main lessons learned. As a follow-up to that study, the Department has recruited a child protection focal point at the headquarters level to develop its child protection policy and to interface with child protection advisers in the field and with key partners, including the Office of the Special Representative, the Department of Political Affairs and UNICEF.

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Advocacy: Targeted, concerted and strategic advocacy on all aspects of the children and armed conflict agenda underpin the work of the Office of the Special Representative. Activities are geared towards: (i) creating awareness and global consensus on the need to protect all children affected by armed conflict both during and after conflict; (ii) creating a broad coalition of support for the further development and application of international human rights standards as they relate to war-affected children; and (iii) advancing ideas and mobilizing support for policies within the United Nations system, regional organizations and donor aid practices to ensure that the protection of children affected by armed conflict is addressed in their peacebuilding, human rights, humanitarian, transitional and development aid strategies.

The Special Representative advocates with other important "destinations for action", such as the Security COuncil, the Human Rights Council, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the General Assembly, the Peacebuilding Commission, regional organizations, national Governments and other entities, that have different capacities and important roles to play within the purview of their own mandates, jurisdictions and responsibilities.

Field visits by the Special Representative and her Office are a crucial aspect of her mandate and necessary for promoting increased cooperation. Such visits enable the Special Representative to bear witness first-hand to the situation of children, to enhance dialogue with Member States, to support more effectively the work of operational partners, to elicit commitments from parties to conflict and to unblock difficult political situations, as required.

The Special Representative's advocacy strategy also includes media outreach, events, briefings to schools and universities and the maintenance of a website, in collaboration with the Department of Public Information and other partners. Engagement with media and newswires in New York and other key global media hubs, as well as during country missions has served to raise greater international awareness and calls for increased international cooperation around the children and armed conflict agenda. The Special Representative's participation in and organization of special events has helped to build partnerships, to create media interest and to mobilize the international community. The website of the Office of the Special Representative serves as a platform of references on children and armed conflict issues for United Nations partners, Member States, NGOs, practitioners, the media and the public at large.

Country Visits: Field visits by the Special Representative have been a central element of her advocacy strategy to bring high-level visibility to the situation and rights of children affected by armed conflict. In the past three years, the Special Representative has undertaken 12 country visits: Uganda (June 2006), Sudan (January 2007), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (March 2007), Burundi (March 2007), Lebanon and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories (April 2007), Myanmar (June 2007), Côte d'Ivoire (September 2007), Iraq (April 2008), Chad (May 2008), Central African Republic (May 2008) and Afghanistan (June 2008) The Special Representative also engaged a Special Adviser, supported by her Office, to visit Sri Lanka (November 2006).

Working with partners: The agenda for children and armed conflict has in recent years been strengthened through a more coordinated and collaborative effort between United Nations entities and their partners. Systematic engagement with Member States is an essential aspect of the work of the Office of the Special Representative, in the context of a number of different frameworks and forums, including the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, with regional organizations and groupings, and in bilateral contacts with the Member States most actively engaged or affected. The Special Representative also relies on those Member States that have, for several years, formed the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict. The Friends Group serves an important advocacy role at critical moments in the development of the agenda, and will continue to be essential in this regard as we enter the "era of application" of standards for the protection of children.

The Special Representative will continue to work through the Task Force on Children and Armed Conflict to foster discussion, collaboration and cooperation to advance the agenda. The Task Force consists of UNICEF, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Department of Political Affairs, the Office of Legal Affairs, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the Department for Disarmament Affairs, the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

With the closest United Nations partners on the agenda, such as UNICEF, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, OHCHR, UNHCR, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UNDP, more effective collaboration depends on identifying complementarity and ensuring clarity on division of labour on an issue that cuts across the mandates and responsibilities of multiple actors in the United Nations system. A key partnership between the Office of the Special Representative and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has evolved over several years. The Department has significantly expanded the incorporation of children's issues in peacekeeping operations, including child rights and protection in training for peacekeepers and the deployment of child protection expertise in peacekeeping missions. The long-standing collaboration that the Office of the Special Representative has built with UNICEF is crucial to better protection of children in conflict situations. UNICEF remains a key operational partner with which the Office of the Special Representative works closely both at the headquarters and field levels.

The mandate and role of the Special Representative is to provide leadership, visibility and greater global awareness of the rights of children affected by armed conflict and to mobilize political support and facilitate collaborative efforts on the issue across the United Nations system and beyond. The Office of the Special Representative does not have a field presence but promotes and supports the efforts of operational partners.

The Special Representative is also committed to facilitating closer relations on this issue between Member States and NGOs. Early in the agenda, the Special Representative facilitated direct contact between child protection NGOs and the Security Council through the “Arria formula” on children and armed conflict, which has now become a regular practice of direct exchange prior to the annual open debate of the Security Council devoted to children and armed conflict. Deepening such engagement between Member States and NGOs is also essential. The Special Representative has also established a structure for consultation with NGOs at United Nations Headquarters level on monitoring and reporting as well as all other aspects of the agenda.

The Advisory Group of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) includes:

    * Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
    * Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict
    * Save the Children
    * Human Rights Watch
    * Women Commission
    * Norwegian Refugee Council
    * International Crisis Group
    * Refugees International
    * Christian Children Fund
    * World Vision
    * International Rescue Committee
    * Oxfam International
    * Quaker Office at the United Nations
    * Caritas International

Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes for children: The issue of rehabilitation and reintegration is critical so as to ensure that cycles of violence and conflict are not perpetuated. It is crucial to secure the long-term sustainability of interventions, and to support and invest in the capacity of national authorities to assume their lead responsibility in this regard.The Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards (2006) and Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (2007) represent major progress and now require effective implementation.

Reintegration of children in situations of armed conflict is a complex and long-term proposition. It begins with negotiating the release of children and their physical extrication from armed groups. The family tracing and reunification phase that follows is often complicated, time-consuming and resource-intensive. Beyond the practical challenge of locating the families and communities of lost children, successful reunification must also address the less straightforward challenge of "spiritually" reconnecting children and their communities. This includes dealing with the sense of alienation, guilt or anger that children may harbour against families whom they may accuse of failing to protect them. At the same time, reintegration programmes must also take into account challenges related to the communities themselves being prepared to accept the return of their children, in contexts where atrocities may have been committed by those children in their communities.

Local approaches to justice and reconciliation are increasingly playing a role in transitional justice strategies, building upon traditional norms to strengthen the protection of children in communities. In research conducted in Sierra Leone, local actors cited the most positive reconciliation experiences as those that included traditional approaches. Children compelled to commit atrocities during the conflict reported that they had gained acceptance in their communities through dialogue based on traditional healing mechanisms. The feasibility of involving children in traditional approaches to justice and enhancing their role in community reconciliation requires further attention.

The challenges associated with the longer-term reintegration of children in war-affected communities and best practices in this regard indicate that a comprehensive understanding of reintegration is required. All reintegration programmes should follow the Paris Principles, formulated to guide protection partners on the ground. For best results these programmes must be founded on inclusive community-based programming and should be directed at all children in the community so as not to stigmatize child soldiers. They should build on the strengths of the children, especially their resilience, and children and youth should be consulted in the process. The special problem of girls should also be explicitly addressed. In doing this we should not romanticize the community and should realize that many children may fall through the cracks - girl children in conservative societies, urban children and other vulnerable children. It is important for special programmes to be devised for them. Education and youth employment remain key elements both in the prevention of recruitment and in the sustainable reintegration of children back into their societies.

Unfortunately, although UNICEF and NGO partners on the ground have identified these principles, donor response to their efforts has not always been forthcoming. In a recent survey, 67 per cent of donors stated that they were reluctant to support such programmes that rest on the development of the community. The international community is quick to respond to emergency funding requests, but the reintegration of children falls into the fault line between emergency assistance and development assistance. It is important for the donor community to appreciate the special needs of the children and for timely and sustained resources to be provided to child protection partners so that they may do their work more efficiently.

Obtaining commitments from parties to conflicts: Over the past several years, the Special Representative, DPKO, DPA, ILO and UNICEF have established the systematic practice of engaging in dialogue with offending parties. The objective of such dialogue has been to elicit from these parties firm commitments, such as refraining from recruiting and using children as soldiers, releasing abducted children, observing humanitarian ceasefires to facilitate feeding and immunization and allowing access for humanitarian relief and protection of displaced populations.

The strength of the Security Council's proactive process in the context of resolution 1612 (2005), combined with the application of international standards, has considerably enhanced the work carried out by child protection advocates. In the last three years of the mandate of the Special Representative, political-level child protection advocacy dialogue has resulted in tangible outcomes in the form of commitments by parties to conflict, which has also translated into specific results for the protection of children on the ground in several situations of concern. For example, the last report of the Special Representative to the General Assembly (A/62/228) underscored the accomplishments achieved by child protection partners with parties to conflict in Côte d'Ivoire through implementation of action plans to secure the release of children associated with fighting forces. In 2007, momentum culminating from continuous dialogue resulted in the Forces Nouvelles (FDS-FN) and four pro-Government armed militia groups ceasing recruitment and taking measures to identify and release all remaining children from their ranks. As a result, all five parties were delisted from the annexes of the Secretary-General's annual report.

There has also been progress on action plans with armed forces and groups in the Central African Republic, Burundi, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and Uganda. In Chad, the Government signed an agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to demobilize child soldiers from its armed forces.

As an independent moral voice and high-level advocate, the Special Representative has engaged in child protection dialogue with parties to conflict, including non-State actors, without prejudice to their political or legal status and with the consent of the Member States concerned. In the Central African Republic, the Special Representative engaged in discussions with the Armée populaire pour la restauration de la République et de la démocratie (APRD) securing their commitment to release all children associated with their forces. The dialogue with such actors, with the approval of the Governments concerned, is essential to ensure the release of children. In view of the fact that the vast majority of parties to conflict listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General's annual report are non-State actors, it is crucial that Member States facilitate contact and dialogue between the United Nations and these groups for the purposes of developing and implementing action plans to halt recruitment and use of children and to address without prejudice all other grave violations committed against children.

Working to end impunity: Grave child rights violations in situations of armed conflict represent a profound challenge to the international legal order. The normative infrastructure for the protection of children is both robust and comprehensive and enjoys an unprecedented consensus among Member States. Since the entry into force in 2002 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, it has been ratified by 121 Member States and ratifications continue. However, running counter to this is the shocking reality that in far too many situations of armed conflict children are routinely brutalized and their most fundamental rights contravened. It is critical, therefore, for the international community to remain steadfast, resolute and focused on ensuring accountability and fighting impunity for grave violations.

As already noted, in recent years the international community has witnessed some unprecedented initiatives to address impunity. These examples serve as a powerful deterrent by putting those who commit violations on notice. It is evident that perpetrators are taking note. In the age of global media and information, the arrest and trial of individuals such as Thomas Lubanga, Charles Taylor and Jean Pierre Bemba register with commanders and warlords across the globe. These actions by international justice mechanisms, as well as initiatives such as the Secretary-General's annual listing of violators and the concern and commitment of the Security Council expressed in its resolutions and emerging institutional arrangements to address grave child rights violations, serve as leverage to bring parties into compliance.

In the past several years parties such as Forces Nouvelles and pro-government militia groups in Côte d'Ivoire, the Sudan Liberation Army (Minnawi) in the Sudan and the APRD in the Central African Republic, have agreed to specific provisions for the protection of children.

However, it must be recognized that the successes that we have had in engendering compliance thus far have been based on a credible threat of action by international actors, including the Security Council. More must be done to systematize and activate the full range of options available to the international community to ensure more robust action against recalcitrant violators. There are, for instance, 16 such persistent violators who have been explicitly named and listed by the Secretary-General for four years or more and the lack of action against them undermines accountability initiatives. The challenge of political will and means for targeted measures must be resolved by Member States if the progress that we have registered over the past several years in addressing impunity is to be sustained and extended.

It cannot be stressed strongly enough that action at the international level must be underpinned by a commitment to address impunity at the national level. Member States, as a matter of most urgent priority, must ensure that they undertake appropriate reforms of national legislation for the protection of children so as to bring their laws into line with their international obligations. Furthermore, such domestic legislation must be implemented, including through the timely and rigorous investigation and prosecution of grave violations against children and establishment of systems to care for the victims. Justice becomes a critical element in the redress and healing of victims and communities.

International Tribunals: Important precedents are being set in the fight to end impunity for crimes against children, with steady momentum building for the application of international child protection standards. In the age of global media and information, the arrest and trial of individuals such as Thomas Lubanga, Charles Taylor and Jean Pierre Bemba register with commanders and warlords across the globe. These actions by international justice mechanisms, as well as initiatives such as the Secretary-General's annual listing of violators and the concern and commitment of the Security Council expressed in its resolutions and emerging institutional arrangements to address grave child rights violations, serve as leverage to bring parties into compliance.

The most prominent developments include the arrest by the International Criminal Court of Germain Katanga , former leader of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI) and of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, founder and leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the conscription and enlistment of children under the age of 15 and the use of children for active participation in hostilities. In this context the Office of the Special Representative submitted an amicus curiae during the course of the proceedings, which was accepted by the Court. In the intervention, the Special Representative urged the Court to adopt a case-by-case method in interpreting the provisions of the Court that define enlistment, conscription, participation and use of children so as to protect all children associated with armed groups in line with the Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (the Paris Principles and Commitment).

The International Criminal Court has also issued arrest warrants for five senior members of the Lord's Resistance Army, including its leader, Joseph Kony, who is charged with 33 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the forcible enlistment and use of children under 15 in hostilities.

Another tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, convicted and sentenced Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and, recently, Allieu Kondewa of the Civil Defence Forces militia for, among other crimes, the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

The Special Court of Sierra Leone is currently trying, in The Hague, the case against Liberia's Charles Ghankay Taylor for 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including conscripting or enlisting children into armed forces or groups and using them to participate actively in hostilities. This action against a former President sends a clear message that no individual is beyond the reach of justice for crimes against children.

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Situations of concern: In his seventh report to the Security Council on children and armed conflict (A/62/609-S/2007/757), the Secretary-General documents grave violations against children in 18 situations of concern, from Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory/Israel, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, to Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Colombia. Furthermore, the report explicitly cites 57 parties, both State and non-State actors, for the commission of grave violations against children.

Although progress has been made in a number of situations of armed conflict, such as in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire, children are still suffering in too many places worldwide

Today, in 18 situations of concern around the globe, children are being brutalized and callously used to advance the agendas of adults. It has been estimated that over 2 million children have been killed in armed conflicts; another 6 million have been rendered permanently disabled; and, more than 250,000 children continue to be exploited as child soldiers. Increasingly, children and women are the primary casualties of war.

The fatalities of civilians are disproportionately higher than ever before in the history of warfare. Thousands of girls are being subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence and exploitation. For example, in the DRC, 60% of the recorded cases involved victims between the age of 11 and 17. Boys and girls are being abducted from their homes on an unprecedented scale.

The Secretary-General's report raises serious concerns about a series of cross-cutting issues such as the increasing cases of recruitment or re-recruitment of children across borders and in refugee or internally displaced camps due to lack of security around the camps.

The very places that should be the safe havens for children -- their schools and hospitals -- are increasingly becoming the prime targets of attack by armed parties. Systematic and deliberate attacks on schoolchildren, teachers and school buildings have escalated in certain countries warranting the attention of the international community.

In many situations parties to conflict systematically deny humanitarian agencies access to territories under their control, with devastating consequences for civilian populations and especially children.

Increasingly, children are being detained for alleged association with armed groups in violation of international standards.

In addition, the scourge of landmines claims the lives and well-being of an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 children each year. The use of indiscriminate weapons such as cluster munitions during attacks in areas of civilian concentration has a severe impact on civilians, particularly children, even long after the conflict ended.

There are indications also that the trafficking of children in and from conflict zones is becoming a growing transnational trend, linked to elaborate international criminal networks. Such networks often fuel conflicts by facilitating the conversion of natural resources such as diamonds, coltan and timber into the very means and tools of war that have led to the increase in victimization and participation of children in conflict.

The widespread and easy availability of illicit small arms and light weapons in conflict and troubled areas continues to represent a major factor in enabling the recruitment and use of child soldiers. These weapons are increasingly cheap and simple to operate and carry, therefore easily placed in the hands of children who can be quickly trained to use them.

Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict: Since the World Summit for Children, in 1990, the United Nations has increasingly sought to draw international attention to the horrendous plight of children affected by armed conflict.

In 1996, Ms. Graça Machel, an independent expert appointed by the Secretary-General, submitted her report to the General Assembly entitled Impact of Armed Conflict on Children (A/51/306). The report led to the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 51/77 of 12 December 1996, establishing the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict for a period of three years. The Assembly has since extended this mandate four times and most recently by its resolution A/RES/63/241 of 13 March 2009.

In September 1997, the Secretary-General appointed Mr. Olara A. Otunnu as his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy has assumed this position since April 2006.

The Mission Statement of the Office of the Special Representative is: "To promote and protect the rights of all children affected by armed conflict"

    * The Special Representative serves as a moral voice and independent advocate for the protection and well-being of boys and girls affected by armed conflict.

    * The Special Representative works with partners to propose ideas and approaches to enhance the protection of children and armed conflict and to promote a more concerted protection response.

    * The Special Representative and her Office advocate, build awareness and give prominence to the rights and protection of children and armed conflict.

    * The Special Representative is a facilitator, undertaking humanitarian and diplomatic initiatives to facilitate the work of operational actors on the ground with regard to children and armed conflict.

The Office of the Special Representative does not have a field presence but promotes and supports the efforts of operational partners.