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Please contact Sarah Gogel, UN Representative for FAWCO, for more information about this briefing.

“May I Ask a Question, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict?”

Summary of Briefing by Radhika Coomaraswamy,

May 21, 2009, 10h15 a.m.-12h15 p.m., Conference Room 2

by Sarah Gogel

Today’s briefing of the Department of Public Information (DPI) Non-Governmental Organizations, was moderated by Mr. Eric Falt, Director, Outreach Division in the DPI and led by Radhika Coomaraswamy, who was appointed first in April 2006 and then again in February 2007 as UN Secretary-General’s Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.  In this capacity, and as a lawyer by training, she has provided her moral voice to serve as an independent international human rights advocate to build awareness regarding the rights and protection of boys and girls affected by armed conflict.  Additionally, Ms. Coomaraswamy has served as former Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission and was an outstanding Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women from 1994 to 2003.  In April, 2009, she visited the Republic of the Congo to get a first-hand look at the state of children who have lived through years of armed conflict.  Ms. Coomaraswamy is a graduate of Yale and has a Masters in Law from Harvard.

By miracle, Grace Akallo escaped and walked for three days from a village where she was supposed to kill more people and was turned in to the Ugandan soldiers. Thereafter, she returned to the same Italian convent from where she had been abducted. This former child soldier has now turned activist, lobbying for rights of children in conflict zones around the world in the USA.  She received her BA from Gordon College in Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Coomaraswamy then continued with her presentation after this moving account and showing a short video of Grace speaking on April 29, 2009, at the UN meeting of the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict.  Everyone present from UNICEF and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations responded to her with resounding claps and appreciation for testimony, expressing their full commitment.

For example, six former offenders newly signed on to protection plans for children affected by armed conflict and were thereafter dropped from the list.  Additionally, this list has served to identify thousands of child soldiers who were released because of the targeted measures which could be turned against the countries which remain on the list.  However, Ms. Coomaraswamy reminds us that this list is not perfect and indeed should expand to create targeted measures beyond child soldiers, in order to protect all children of war such as those inflicted by sexual violence, sexual abuse, intentional killing and maiming.  This would further help move forward the issue of accountability.  There is a deterrent effect to combat impunity of crime against children.  The Secretary-General gives his full support and his Presidential Statement at the Security Council showed signs to move forward to makes these issues be on the list of shame.

• Answer: Going to high schools is one of the things Ms. Coomaraswamy does and promotes.  For example, she went to Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, New York, last year to teach high school students about the issue of child soldiers.  She thought it was really interesting and also showed a film to make these issues come alive.  October 23, 2009, she will be going to another high school.  Moral outrage that we expect is crucial but unfortunately in many concerned countries or even in the USA, some people still ask why this should be considered a crime.  This is mainly due to a lack of awareness of the consequences of this on children, for example that child soldiers have earlier deaths and their vulnerability is exploited.

• Answer: Elderly people are also very vulnerable in wartime, not only during the war but in the camps as well.  Actually, they are the ones who die first.  That is why the integration of children should not focus on solely the individual and it is widely known now that the child will heal better inside his or her own community.  Simultaneously, the relationships with elderly can be reestablished through participation of all members of society.

• Answer: To some extent, recognition is indeed necessary. However, compulsion and force are also at stake.  Some of the issue can be handled by incorporating women’s issues: sexual violence and sexual exploitation are very relevant and the reason why women get involved is important to further explore.

• Answer: As a rule, UNICEF and other NGOs are against institutional homes and prefer to bring children back to their homes or foster families.  The strategy is to surround children with nurture and care.

• Answer: Interestingly, girls do not show success in programs focusing on integration.  They have many more problems than boys, have more psychosocial needs.  For example, in Nepal girls who were forced to be soldiers do not want to go back to be a submissive girl at home.  Thus, they have a lot of social issues and pose far greater issues especially if they are victims of sexual violence. However, we need to remember the numerous stories of resilience such as Grace Akallo’s.  A network has been created to connect child soldier survivors.  As far as working with CEDAW, there is no direct work but rather through the Child’s Rights Convention and reinforcement of their recommendations.

• Answer: It is important to actually go talk to rebel leaders with permission of governments and tell them that they are on the shame list.  Mrs. Coomaraswamny said that this has worked thus far to delist five groups. For example, this is the method that was used to delist the military of Uganda. Despite the difficult negotiation, groups do not appreciate to be on this list.  There are three types of groups, including those that are too bloody minded to see clearly about anything list-related. However, in general, most groups find themselves in the middle, that is they recruit child soldiers without giving it much thought.  This group is the most likely to be successful in terms of outreach projects to prevent child soldier recruitment since they often can be talked to.

• Answer: Child soldiers’ age is an issue relevant to the mandate of the International Criminal Court (ICC), because when children are younger than 15 years old this is considered international crime. However, 18 is the protocol age as per the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Armies can recruit 16 to 18 year old children, but they are not allowed into conflict areas.  Trafficked children, especially those internally displaced are at highest risk of being recruited as soldiers or for sexual violence.

• Answer: The report has two annexes. Annex one has parties listed by name who are not on the Security Council.  Annex two consists of those on the Security Council. Since the beginning, there have been 19 lists of shame.  Resolution 1612 (2005) states that targeted sanctions could be implemented against repeat offenders.  For example, those who are mandated like in Cote d'Ivoire, Burundi and Sudan have aspirations. In Cote d’Ivoire there are no recent cases of child soldiers, and Sierra Leone and Liberia are no longer on the list of shame.  Groups like Al Quaida or the Taliban however are obviously not interested.

• A: Many overlap but the legal regime remains International Humanitarian Law specifically on recruitment of children, mainly under the International Criminal Court (ICC). The International Labor Organization spearheaded a movement by saying that trafficked children is equal to forced labor.  However, it remains that the ICC punishes Crime Against Humanity more so than it does forced labor.

• Answer: To some extent, UNICEF already has these types of programs.  Since the past three years, UNICEF has insisted that children be represented and assist meetings where they can have a voice about issues that are of concern to them and to find solutions. This is also the idea behind the network of survivors.

• Answer: During Mrs. Coomaraswamy’s recent trip to Nepal, child combatants came to speak to her regarding wanting to stay in the army. They held a two-hour meeting to explain other options other than joining the army.  Six months reintegration during peace time is evidently not sufficient to bring back these children to a normalcy that will allow them not to think of retaking their guns.

• Answer:  The ICC or Security Council can prevent.  UNICEF and UNDP try to guard against recruitment. They work with partners on the ground.  Conventions are pushed forward and many attempts are made to punish perpetrators. The ICC is based on consent jurisdiction so the country signs on or the Security Council can intervene such as with the recent indictment of Sudan’s president.

• Answer: We report our files annually in September with the Council, but they don't have a resolution.  That is one of the big debates going on in the Council.  Some are keen because they see this as a peace and security issue.  We are trying to push them to write some type of resolution on children and conflict.

• Answer: It becomes manifest when some children are recruited as child suicide bombers. Another example is the attacks on girl school.  To combat this prevention becomes primordial.

• Answer: Many rebel groups have a political base and this has to be understood first and foremost.  For example, ethnic wars causing grievances often has consequences of children joining because they saw their parents humiliated or they were humiliated.  Governments need to work on this in order to start separating out the real issues at hand.

• Answer: Congressmen should be contacted and your constituents mobilized towards this effort.  Interestingly, the USA is not taking the lead on the issue of child soldiers because it has less press than the issue of trafficking. 

• Answer: The Committee on the Rights of the Child is in constant contact with our office.  The High Commissioner's office is also dealt with when there are situations of armed conflict in which case we offer summaries of our reports.

• Answer: We have information from Gaza and the West bank but none from the Golan Heights.  Since we just have a newly elected first Special Representative on Violence against Children for the next three years, it is important to get a full picture and reports if you want to go ahead and provide this information you have.

• Answer: The list of shame is not a legal document.  It is a political document that comes out of the Security Council. It is a tool used to find compromise by empowering Mrs. Coomaraswamy, as well as UNICEF, OCHA and local NGOs. If the various parties do not comply, it is possible to impose various measures such as arms embargos and withdrawal of personal assets.  This list is effective as a deterrent.  In conjunction with the ICC, this works to move the Council more robustly and helps in negotiations, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cote d’Ivoire where sanctions of the Security Council imposed did stop the recruitment of child soldiers.

• Answer: It is important to not focus solely on the child but indeed on the child within the community.  Communities and families are an integral part of the peace-building process.  A programmatic response is essential.

• Answer: There is not a specific list but it has been almost 11 years since our first report was produced.  Strategic reviews and more reports on integrated programs are necessary and in the first week of June 2009 we will launch a platform describing all that we have done and learned.  Regarding South America, Colombia is on the list.  The gang situation is often brought up and this will be taken up as an issue by the newly elected first Special Representative (SRSG) on Violence against Children, Marta Santos Pais.

• Answer: Ishmael Beah, another former child soldier who has turned activist and who wrote and published a book on his experience that is a must-read (A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, www.alongwaygone.com), speaks about education and peace-building as being primordial. These can give children the skills that are more than just simple education.  Rather, these programs and projects offered through education and vocational training are a way of reintegrating and rebuilding children from within their societies.

• Answer: We do not look at that because for the moment, the list of shame is only if children are recruited and used directly as child soldiers.  With regards to human shields, it is briefly mentioned in our last report. However, Hamas is not listed on our list of shame because there are no facts that back up this as evidence.  The Taliban and Al Quaida are on the list however.

• Answer: Some children "voluntarily" leave to become child soldiers because of problems in the home such as violence.  Often the children do not know much better than their situation, so they opt to stay as soldiers.  When the children come back home, their mothers find it difficult to discipline them.

• Answer: There are 19 groups which are consistent violators and 56 that recruit.  The number is estimated at 250,000 to 300,000 child soldiers worldwide.