UN Special Representative for Children and Armed conflict and UNICEF unveil ‘Children, not Soldiers’ campaign

NEW YORK – Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Ms. Leila Zerrougui and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake today unveiled a new effort to end the recruitment and use of children in government forces in conflict by 2016.

“There is a consensus among States that no child should be recruited or used in conflict by government forces,” said Special Representative Zerrougui, as she launched the ‘Children, Not Soldiers’ campaign in New York. “The time has come for the world to unite and turn the page, once and for all, on the recruitment and use of children by security forces in conflict.”

Around the world, thousands of boys and girls are recruited into government forces and armed opposition groups to serve as combatants, cooks, porters, messengers or in other roles. Girls – and sometimes boys – are also recruited for sexual purposes.

“The recruitment and use of children by armed forces must end,” said UNICEF Executive DirectorAnthonyLake. “ ‘Children, Not Soldiers’ can give this issue more of the focus and attention it deserves. When we help a former child soldier overcome such a terrible experience and prepare for a new future, we do more than mend a broken life. We begin to bind the wounds of a nation torn by conflict.”

Parties to conflict that recruit and use children are listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict. Ten years ago, the Security Council called on all these parties to work with the United Nations and prepare time-bound action plans to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children. Through this mechanism, the Council opened the door for governments to affirm their commitment that children do not belong in their security forces and to receive the assistance needed to transform this commitment into reality.

Currently, eight government security forces are listed for the recruitment and use of children. In the past three years, six of those countries have signed action plans with the United Nations: Afghanistan and Chad in 2011, followed by South Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo the following year. Both Yemen and Sudan have expressed their commitment to child-free security forces, and dialogue with the United Nations is ongoing.

Over the next two years, the Office of the Special Representative, UNICEF, United Nations and NGO partners will redouble their support to the eight governments’ efforts to release and reintegrate children into civilian life and fully implement action plans to end and prevent recruitment.

This support will include providing technical expertise, identifying gaps and challenges to the implementation of action plans, and mobilizing additional resources to support programmes on the ground.

While the campaign focuses on the government forces listed in the Secretary-General’s report, the United Nations will continue working to address grave violations perpetrated by armed groups.

‘Children, Not Soldiers’ will be launched today at the United Nations during an event hosted by H.E. Mr. Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg. In January 2013, Luxembourg assumed the presidency of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict for a two-year mandate.

“By having to take part in hostilities, by being compelled to become instruments of war, the most fundamental rights of children are violated: their right to life, to health, to education, to protection from physical or mental violence,” said Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg.

“Our common goal is to ensure that these countries succeed in translating their commitments into concrete actions. We now need to galvanize the support of the international community, regional organizations and the entire UN system to ensure that adequate resources and expertise are available to reach our objective,’’ said Special Representative Zerrougui.

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Note to editors 

An action plan is a signed commitment that allows the United Nations to support a party to conflict listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict by laying out concrete and time-bound measures it must take to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children, as well as other graveviolations. Measures requested in the action plans usually include, but are not limited to, the issuance of military orders prohibiting the recruitment and use of children, criminalization of the recruitment and use of children, the release of all children in the ranks of security forces and the establishment of programmes to support their reintegration into civilian life, as well as the inclusion of age-verification mechanisms in recruitment procedures and the strengthening of birth registration systems.

For additional information, please contact:

Stephanie Tremblay, Communications Officer, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, +1-212-963-8285 (office), +1-917-288-5791 (mobile), tremblay@un.org, www.childrenandarmedconflict.un.org  

Najwa Mekki, UNICEF New York, +1-212-326-7448 (office), +1-917-209-1804 (mobile), nmekki@unicef.org, www.unicef.org 

Campaign hashtag: #CHILDRENnotsoldiers