Foreløbig er 11.000 børn blevet løsladt fra krigstjeneste, siger FNs generalsekretærs særlige repræsentant for børn og væbnede konflikter og hun er meget optimistisk til den videre fremdrift.
NEW YORK, 3 April 2012: The UN Security Council process of naming and shaming groups that recruit and use child soldiers has been effective in combating the scourge, the United Nations envoy working on the issue says, adding that, like slavery, this horrible practice can be eradicated with concerted action.
“I have seen personally the effect of this process,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, said in an interview with the UN News Centre following a recent visit to South Sudan.
In 2001, the Council recommended that the then-Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, list parties recruiting and using children in armed conflict in his annual report to the 15-member body.
Since then it has also asked for lists on other violations against children, such as sexual violence, attacks on schools or killing and maiming.
“Last year 11.000 children were released from armed groups, so, in a sense, I think we can make a difference, and that is really what motivates me and my whole office”, noted Radhika Coomaraswamy.
“I have met heads of State and non-State actors and announced to them they are on this list, and it makes a big difference – there is no doubt about it,” said Ms. Coomaraswamy, a lawyer by training, and a leading international human rights advocate.
In her capacity as a Special Representative, she serves as a moral voice and independent advocate to build awareness and give prominence to the rights and protection of boys and girls affected by armed conflict.
“You can talk to people all you want but the fact that they are on a Security Council list really is something they would decide to do something about,” she said, adding:
“And they do try… not all, there are some who do not care about the Security Council, as we know… but many think they are going to be the legitimate rulers of their country in the future, so it has its weight.”
The process has led to State and non-State actors agreeing to actions plans to release children in their ranks, as well as actually handing children over, Ms. Coomaraswamy said.
A total of 17 action plans have been signed since the Special Representative took up her post in April 2006, and she hopes to have action plans in Burma and Somalia before she finishes her tenure in July.
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