7 June 2011 – A United Nations Security Council delegation today reiterated its calls for increased protection of children and other civilians caught in the conflict, as the UN body prepares to take tougher measures to boost security for schools and medical facilities in war zones.

“The Security Council attaches very high importance to the protection of civilians in the many armed conflicts in the world, and in particular to the protection of the rights of children,” Ambassador Peter Wittig, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations, told journalists in the capital city of Kabul wrapping up a weeklong visit to Afghanistan.

“The Security Council is of the firm belief that phenomena like recruitment of children as child soldiers and fighters, killing and maiming, abduction, sexual abuse, and attacks on schools and hospitals have to stop and have to be sanctioned,” he added.

The visit comes one month before the Security Council will debate a draft resolution condemning attacks on schools and medical facilities in the context of protecting children in armed conflicts. Germany, represented by Ambassador Wittig, will hold the rotating presidency of the Security Council in July, and lead the debate.

“We want to adopt a resolution that warns potential perpetrators who commit those acts and will issue a general message that governments and armed groups should protect schools better.”

While a draft has not been made public, the Ambassador said individuals and groups who would decline “encouragement” to protect children could be placed on a sanctions list.

The Ambassador - who chairs the Security Council Working Group on Children in Armed Conflict - said he wanted to visit Afghanistan to see firsthand how attacks affect children and to discuss with government officials, civil society members and religious leaders what could be done.

He said the delegation was “encouraged and pleased” to hear that a large majority of Afghans support the proposed measure, and would convey those impressions to the 14 other members of the Security Council who participate in the Working Group.

“We have the feeling that the Afghans themselves care about their children, about their rights, about education, and we bring this message back to the Security Council.”

During the visit, the delegation also met with officials to check on progress in the implementation of the Action Plan signed in January by the Government of Afghanistan with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy.

The Action Plan sets out the commitments of the Government to take action to address practices such against children in conflict such as under-age recruitment, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks against schools and hospitals, abduction and denial of humanitarian access. In Afghanistan, these violations are monitored by the UN-led Country Task Force on Children and Armed Conflict, which includes members of the Government and Afghan civil society.

Noting the progress made on the Action Plan, Ambassador Wittig called on the Taliban and other armed groups, the international armed forces and the Afghan security forces to provide more information to show they are abiding by the internationally agreements and not recruiting anyone under 18 years of age, and to give the United Nations access to any children in detention.

When asked about the possibility of delisting some Taliban members from the Security Council’s list, the Ambassador – whose fourth role is as Chair of the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 Committee concerning Al-Qaeda and the Taliban – said that decision is up to the authority of the Committee but he expects “a number of delistings by mid-June.”

By UNAMA Kabul