SRSG Coomaraswamy welcomes establishment of a committee for children in conflict

23 Jul 2010

SRSG Coomaraswamy welcomes establishment of a committee for children in conflict

New York, 22 July 2010 - “The inauguration this week of a steering committee established to address and respond to grave violations against children in armed conflict affirms the Afghan Government’s commitment to protect Afghan boys and girls from the on-going conflict.

 

With President Hamid Karzai’s approval of the body, I am delighted to see that he has kept one of the key promises that he made during my last visit to Afghanistan in February 2010," said United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy.

 

"The inauguration of the Steering Committee on Children and Armed Conflict marks a first step towards a broader national engagement in protecting children from the adverse effects of the Afghan conflict—which must include the development of an Action Plan to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers in the Afghan National Security Forces. I am hopeful that the Afghan Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that its national police are removed from the Secretary-General’s list of shame," she continued.

 

Security Council resolutions 1612 and 1889 established a Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism which provides the necessary information and background on violations committed against children in conflict. Armed groups who recruit and use children or those who rape or use sexual violence against children or kill and maim them are listed in the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.