20 February 2010 - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, will be visiting Afghanistan from 20 to 26 February at the invitation of the Government. UN News Centre report

The main objective of the field mission is to assess the situation of children and to advocate for protection and programme interventions for war-affected children. The Special Representative will also follow up on the specific commitments made during her previous visit in July 2008.

Ms. Coomaraswamy will pay particular attention to recruitment and use of children, their detention for alleged association with armed groups, attacks on schools and humanitarian access. During the visit, the Special Representative will meet with key Government representatives, civil society, as well as children themselves.

Within the framework of United Nations Security Council resolutions 1612 (2005) and 1882 (2009), the Special Representative of the Secretary-General will particularly advocate for the strengthening of the monitoring and reporting mechanism on children in order to reach the areas of conflict where children are most affected.

For further information, please contact:
Alec Wargo - Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict – wargo@un.org - +1 347-967-8606 (traveling with the SRSG)

Luca Solimeo, Communication Officer - Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict - solimeo@un.org - +1 917-367-3563 (in New York)

Aditya Mehta, Associate Public Information Officer – United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan – mehta2@un.org – 0796002655 (Kabul)