FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York 15 January 2007 – The Secretary General's report on the situation of children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka (S/2006/1006) has been issued in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1612 (2005).
The report, which covers the period from 1 November 2005 to 31 October 2006, provides information on compliance and progress in ending the recruitment and use of children and other grave violations being committed against children in situations affected by armed conflict in Sri Lanka.
The report notes that despite previous commitments by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the group continues to use and recruit children. Since the LTTE has been on the annex list of parties to the Secretary General's annual report for four consecutive years, the Secretary General recommends targeted measures against the LTTE military and political hierarchy. In addition, a particularly disconcerting development during the reporting period was the increase in abductions and recruitment of children in the east by the Karuna faction, a breakaway group of LTTE. The report also notes allegations that certain elements of the Sri Lankan Security forces are involved in abetting the recruitment and/or abduction of children by the Karuna faction. The Secretary General calls on the government to immediately investigate such allegations.
The report also sets out a series of recommendations with a view to securing humanitarian access and strengthened action for the protection of war-affected children in Sri Lanka.
This report will be examined by the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict at its February meeting.
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For further information, please contact: Laurence Gerard, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, New York. Phone: 1 212 963 0984. E-mail: gerardl@un.org. Website www.un.org/children/conflict
