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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. 12
- Paragraph text
- The risk of trafficking from situations of armed conflict is a related issue of concern for the protection of girls, including during displacement. The Special Representative welcomes the Human Rights Council's call to Governments in June 2016 to ensure that the prevention of and responses to trafficking in persons continue to take into account the specific needs of women and girls and their participation in and contribution to all phases of preventing and responding to trafficking, especially in addressing specific forms of exploitation, such as sexual exploitation. The Special Representative has also undertaken a number of initiatives to support that aim, including contributing to the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of measures to counter trafficking in persons and addressing an event on the role of the United Nations in combating modern slavery and human trafficking in conflict, which was hosted in New York in November by the United Nations University.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- 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 children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative calls anew upon Member States to treat children allegedly associated with non-State armed groups primarily as victims entitled to full protection of their rights and to urgently adopt protocols for their handover to child protection actors. The Special Representative also urges the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and the relevant special procedures to focus closely on the detrimental impact on the rights of children that results from exercises of widespread screening of civilians in situations of armed conflict.
- 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. 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 children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Lastly, the Special Representative has been extensively involved throughout the reporting period in the Secretary-General's efforts to enhance the United Nations response to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse. She has participated in the high-level steering committee on implementation of the recommendations of the report of the external independent review panel on sexual exploitation and abuse by international peacekeeping forces in the Central African Republic. The Office of the Special Representative has also taken part in various working groups, including on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2272 (2016), and was involved in the drafting of related documents on improving responses. For example, her Office was heavily involved in drafting the guidance on the preparation, deployment and repatriation of current or future United Nations peacekeeping operations.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative remains deeply concerned at the scale and severity of the grave violations that were committed against children in 2016, which included alarming levels of killing and maiming, recruitment and use and denials of humanitarian access, and calls upon the Human Rights Council and Member States to take all available measures to prevent these violations from occurring. In particular, in light of the impact on children, the Special Representative calls upon parties to conflict to immediately end all restriction on the receipt of humanitarian aid by civilians and allow unimpeded access by humanitarian actors.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative encourages the Human Rights Council to maintain the practice of including recommendations on the protection of children affected by armed conflict when considering or adopting resolutions on country-specific situations or thematic issues as well as in the universal periodic review process, with particular attention to the implementation of the recommendations. The Special Representative also encourages the Human Rights Council to continue to include child rights violations in its resolutions establishing or renewing the relevant mandates of special procedures.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative welcomes the recent ratifications of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and continues her call to States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the treaty, to enact legislation to explicitly prohibit and criminalize the recruitment and use of children by armed forces or groups and the use of children in hostilities, and to establish the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces at 18 years, when depositing their binding declaration upon ratification of the Optional Protocol.
- 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. 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 children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- In countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Nigeria and Somalia, as well as others, hundreds of children have been detained, sometimes for specific criminal offences, but often purely for association with parties to conflict. Given the vulnerability of children who have been recruited and used, the Special Representative once again urges Member States to ensure that children's reintegration is the prevailing approach and that children are treated primarily as victims of recruitment. This approach is in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, in which it is stated that children should be the object of special respect and that parties to the conflict should provide them with the care and aid that they require. This protection is not lost even in cases where a child has been recruited and used by a party to conflict. In addition, Member States that have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict should strongly heed the provisions stipulating that all feasible measures should be taken to ensure that persons recruited or used in hostilities are demobilized and that appropriate assistance is afforded for their physical and psychological recovery and their social reintegration. Standard operating procedures for the handover of children encountered during military operations to child protection actors are important tools for adhering to the principles of the Optional Protocol. In recent years, handover agreements have been signed by the Governments of Chad, Mali, Somalia and Uganda, and together with UNICEF and other United Nations entities the Special Representative has continued advocacy with Member States and provided technical support for the development of new procedures during the reporting period.
- 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. 51
- Paragraph text
- Given the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in October 2015 by Somalia, there is almost universal ratification of that treaty and the global normative framework to protect the rights of children is robust. However, the Special Representative continues to engage with Member States that have not already ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, with the aim of achieving universal ratification thereof and enhancing the legal protection of children's rights in conflict. In the reporting period, she held bilateral meetings with Member States and actively engaged with regional organizations, civil society and regional groups on the matter. Four additional countries - Brunei Darussalam, Guinea, Pakistan and Samoa - became States parties to the Optional Protocol during the reporting period.
- 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. 52
- Paragraph text
- While this international legal framework has sometimes been supported and enhanced by legislation and policies adopted at the regional, national and local levels, the present report has outlined how there is a disconnect between the internationally agreed standards for children's rights and their practical implementation in situations of armed conflict. In this regard, the Special Representative has continued to prioritize closer cooperation between her Office and international human rights mechanisms, in particular the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee. Through State reporting mechanisms, treaty bodies have played an important role in identifying gaps between the legal and policy framework and the practice, and have made recommendations to address any shortcomings. The Special Representative is encouraged by the continued attention given to both progress and challenges in addressing the impact of armed conflict on children in State parties' reports reviewed by the respective committees. For example, in the reports of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/COD/3-5) and the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/COD/4), the State party referred to the progress achieved in implementing the action plan to end the recruitment and use of children and other serious violations of the rights of the child by the armed forces and the security services. In this regard, increased collaborative efforts between the State party, the Special Representative and relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council have been highlighted as a way forward to put an end to the suffering of children caused by the armed conflict. As another illustration of mutually reinforcing messages, the situation of children affected by armed conflicts in the Central African Republic has been outlined in the report of the Government to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/CAF/2), and the Special Representative encourages the Committee and relevant actors to follow up in a timely manner, in particular through the adoption of strong concluding observations and by providing support for their swift implementation. The Special Representative also welcomes the collaboration with the Human Rights Committee, in particular through the list of issues in relation to the seventh periodic report of Colombia (CCPR/C/COL/Q/7) and the replies by the Government thereto (CCPR/C/COL/Q/7/Add.1), which resulted in a focus on the prevention of the use and recruitment of children by armed groups and on measures to prevent the involvement of children in intelligence activities or in civic-military activities. In addition, in its most recent concluding observations on Colombia (CCPR/C/COL/CO/7), the Human Rights Committee encouraged the State to continue and intensify its efforts to prevent the use and recruitment of children by armed groups, to provide adequate reintegration support and to guarantee that all children separated from armed groups are considered as victims.
- 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. 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
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The complexity of dealing with the increasing number of parties to conflict has also been detrimental to the investigation of incidents when there are allegations of violations. Accountability remains key to ending grave violations, and the Special Representative sustained strong engagement to end impunity, including through advocacy with individual Member States to pursue national accountability initiatives. International initiatives to pursue accountability have also borne fruit in 2016, with the launch of a policy paper on children by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, in November. The Office of the Special Representative supported the development of this document, which will aid the inclusion of crimes in indictments where the evidence permits, as well as enhancing the Court's interactions with children as victims and witnesses. At the request of the Security Council, the Special Representative continued to brief sanctions committees throughout the reporting period and to provide them with information on grave violations committed against children, including the committees for South Sudan in March, the Sudan in April and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in November.
- 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. 59
- Paragraph text
- Relevant United Nations entities are also encouraged to use the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee as advocacy tools to promote States parties' follow-up to and implementation of recommendations related to children and 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. 33
- Paragraph text
- Since receiving a request from the parties in May 2015, the Special Representative has played an active role in the peace talks between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army. Important progress has been made during the reporting period, which is outlined in the present report in the section on field visits.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative welcomes national and international efforts to achieve accountability for perpetrators for grave violations against children. Member States are encouraged to strengthen their support to justice systems by allocating sufficient resources and capacity for investigating and prosecuting those who perpetrate crimes against children in situations of conflict. The Human Rights Council is also urged to include a focus on the fight against impunity for grave violations when it mandates commissions of inquiry or holds special sessions.
- 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. 6
- Paragraph text
- Children's rights to liberty and security of person were impacted by government security responses and many children were detained for their or their parents' alleged association with armed groups. While advocacy has been successful and some children have been released, many more remained deprived of their liberty in situations of armed conflict. In the reporting period, the screening of civilians during military operations was also an emerging detention-related concern in a number of situations on the children and armed conflict agenda, which is elaborated upon in the present report.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In the reporting period, the Special Representative has engaged in extensive advocacy to protect children who have been deprived of their liberty for association with parties to conflict. Joint endeavours have helped to ensure appropriate protection of the rights of children separated from armed groups. For example, in the Sudan, following the Special Representative's visit and in the light of extensive efforts by many United Nations entities, 21 boys detained for their alleged association with a non-State armed group were released and pardoned by the President on 8 September 2016.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Notwithstanding the challenges to ending grave violations, the United Nations continued to utilize, inter alia, the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign and peace processes to engage with a wide spectrum of parties to conflict in order to gain additional commitments to protect the rights of children affected by armed conflict. When there is political will and political space, action plans are one of the strongest available mechanisms to improve the protection of children, and three were concluded in the reporting period. Throughout 2016, interactions took place between the United Nations and parties to conflict from the Central African Republic, Colombia, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Sudan and the Sudan. A number of the discussions took place in the context of a meeting convened by the non-governmental organization Geneva Call, which was held in Geneva in November and provided an important opportunity to engage with non-State armed groups from six country situations on the children and armed conflict agenda.
- 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. 58
- Paragraph text
- The Special Representative welcomes the continued attention to both progress and challenges regarding the impact of armed conflict on children in States parties' reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee. In this regard, all relevant Member States are urged to include, as appropriate, specific references to information on grave violations against children, on gaps in their applicable legal and policy frameworks and on accountability initiatives, in their own submissions to these bodies.
- 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. 7
- Paragraph text
- In Afghanistan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, the right of children to health has been severely compromised by attacks on hospitals and health-care professionals. A number of highly publicized attacks have taken place in 2016, which are indicative of trends that have seen increasing numbers of attacks and threats of attacks on health care in recent years. The right of girls to education has also continued to suffer, with attacks or threats of attacks on schools, teachers and female pupils in situations such as in Iraq, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as in Afghanistan and Mali.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph