Statement [Made on Behalf of the Security Council, at the 6980th Meeting, 17 June 2013, in Connection with the Council's Consideration of the Item Entitled "Children and Armed Conflict"]

S/PRST/2013/8View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Presidential Statement of the Security Council, under agenda item 187 Children and armed conflict, published in 2013.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 subjects

Child Abuse Children in Armed Conflicts Human Rights Monitoring Human Rights Violations Information Exchange Peacekeeping Operations Report Preparation Sanctions

What’s in this document?

26 paragraphs

At the 6980th meeting of the Security Council, held on 17 June 2013, in connection with the Council’s consideration of the item entitled “Children and armed conflict”, the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council:

“The Security Council takes note with appreciation of the 12th report of the Secretary-General (S/2013/245) on children and armed conflict and the recommendations contained therein as well as the positive developments referred to in the report, and notes the continuing challenges in the implementation of its resolutions and presidential statements on children and armed conflict reflected therein.

“The Security Council reiterates its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and, in this connection, its commitment to address the widespread impact of armed conflict on children.

“The Security Council reiterates further its equally strong condemnation of all violations of applicable international law involving the recruitment and use of children by parties to armed conflict as well as their re-recruitment, killing and maiming, rape and other sexual violence, abductions, attacks against schools or hospitals and denial of humanitarian access by parties to armed conflict. The Council condemns all other violations of international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law, committed against children in situations of armed conflict. The Council demands that all relevant parties immediately put an end to such practices and take special measures to protect children.

“The Security Council stresses the primary role of Governments in providing protection and relief to all children affected by armed conflict, and reiterates that all actions undertaken by United Nations entities within the framework of the monitoring and reporting mechanism must be designed to support and supplement, as appropriate, the protection and rehabilitation roles of national Governments.

“The Security Council notes that reference to a situation in the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict is not a legal determination, within the context of the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols thereto, and that reference to a non-State party does not affect its legal status.

“The Security Council welcomes the progress made in preventing and responding to violations and abuses committed against children, especially with regard to the increasing number of action plans signed or under negotiation by parties to armed conflict, and the thousands of children that have been demobilized, rehabilitated and reintegrated.

“The Security Council remains strongly concerned about the continued high number of perpetrators who persist in committing violations and abuses against children in situations of armed conflict in open disregard of its resolutions on the matter. The Council stresses its commitment to effectively deal with persistent perpetrators and welcomes in this regard the ongoing consideration by its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict of options for increasing pressure on persistent perpetrators of violations and abuses committed against children in situations of armed conflict, in accordance with its resolutions 1998 (2011) and 2068 (2012).

“The Security Council underlines the importance of concrete time-bound action plans to prevent and halt violations and abuses committed against children, and reiterates its call on parties to armed conflict listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict that have not already done so, to prepare and implement, without further delay and in collaboration with the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, action plans, to halt recruitment and use of children, patterns of killing and maiming of children, recurrent attacks on schools and/or hospitals, recurrent attacks or threats of attacks against protected persons in relation to schools and/or hospitals, in violation of applicable international law, as well as rape and other sexual violence against children.

“The Security Council also reiterates its call to all parties listed in the annexes to the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict to address all other violations and abuses committed against children and undertake specific commitments and measures in this regard.

“The Security Council encourages Member States to devise ways, in close consultations with the United Nations country-level task force on monitoring and reporting and United Nations country teams, to facilitate the development and implementation of time-bound action plans, and the review and monitoring by the United Nations country level task force of obligations and commitments relating to the protection of children and armed conflict.

“The Security Council welcomes the increased engagement between concerned Governments and the United Nations at country-level for better protection of children affected by armed conflict, and notes the value of inter-ministerial committees as a successful framework for partnership with Governments to discuss and follow-up on child protection commitments, and to foster action plan implementation.

“The Security Council recognizes that sufficient and sustained resources are critical to the protection efforts of children affected by armed conflict, especially the timely implementation of action plans. The Council requests the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to devise ways to coalesce the donor community in order to address funding gaps, in particular to ensure the timely and sustainable funding of action plans and associated monitoring, and encourages bilateral and international partners to provide financial support and capacity building in this regard.

“The Security Council reiterates its readiness to adopt targeted and graduated measures against persistent perpetrators of violations and abuses committed against children, taking into account the relevant provisions of its resolutions 1539 (2004), 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011) and 2068 (2012) and to consider including provisions pertaining to parties to armed conflict that engage in activities in violation of applicable international law relating to the rights and protection of children in armed conflicts, when establishing, modifying or renewing the mandate of relevant Sanctions regimes. The Security Council encourages its relevant Sanctions Committees to continue to invite the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to brief them on specific information pertaining to her mandate that would be relevant to the work of the committees and encourages the Sanctions Committees to bear in mind the relevant recommendations of the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict and encourages the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to share specific information contained in the Secretary-General’s reports with relevant Sanctions Committees expert groups. The Council further requests enhanced exchange of pertinent information on violations and abuses committed against children in armed conflict between its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and relevant Sanctions Committees and their expert groups.

“The Security Council stresses that ending impunity and holding perpetrators accountable is a crucial element in halting and preventing violations and abuses committed against children and recalls the primary responsibility of States in that regard, including to hold accountable those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other egregious crimes perpetrated against children. The Security Council recognizes that lack of capacity and resources can hamper efforts of national authorities to effectively prosecute alleged perpetrators of crimes against children in situations of armed conflict. The Security Council calls upon relevant United Nations entities as well as Member States to support efforts to strengthen national accountability mechanisms, including building investigative and prosecutorial capacities.

“The Security Council stresses further that the fight against impunity and to ensure accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other egregious crimes perpetrated against children has been strengthened through the work on and prosecution of these crimes in the international criminal justice system, ad hoc and mixed tribunals as well as specialised chambers in national tribunals. The Security Council highlights in this regard the contribution of the International Criminal Court, in accordance with the principle of complementarity to national criminal jurisdictions as set out in the Rome Statute, towards holding accountable those responsible for such crimes. In this regard, the Security Council reiterates its call on the importance of State cooperation with these courts and tribunals in accordance with the States’ respective obligations.

“The Security Council underlines the importance of engaging armed forces and armed groups on child protection concerns during peace talks and calls upon Member States, United Nations entities and other parties concerned to ensure that child protection provisions, including those relating to the release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups, are integrated into all peace negotiations and peace agreements.

“The Security Council further calls upon Member States, United Nations entities, including the Peacebuilding Commission and other parties concerned to ensure that post-conflict recovery and reconstruction planning, programs and strategies prioritize issues concerning children affected by armed conflict.

“The Security Council reaffirms the important role being played by child protection advisers in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and political missions deployed in line with the Council’s relevant country-specific resolutions and in accordance with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations’ (DPKO) Policy Directive on Mainstreaming the Protection Rights and Wellbeing of Children affected by Armed Conflict and in this regard expresses its intention to further strengthen provisions for the protection of children in all mandates of relevant United Nations peacekeeping, peacebuilding and political missions, including through ensuring the consistent deployment of child protection advisors.

“The Security Council welcomes the continued strengthening of the Monitoring and Reporting mechanism as requested by its resolutions 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009) and 1998 (2011), and commends the role of UNICEF and other UN entities at the field level in the collection of information on violations and abuses committed against children, in the preparation and implementation of action plans as well as in the implementation of the conclusions of its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict. In this regard, the Council further encourages the Secretary-General to ensure that adequate child protection expertise is available to the Resident Coordinator in situations listed in the annexes of the annual reports of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict.

“The Security Council reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to ensure that, in all his reports on country specific situations, the matter of children and armed conflict is included as a specific aspect of the report, and expresses its intention to give its full attention to the information provided therein, including the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions and of the recommendations of its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, when dealing with those situations on its agenda as well as to give specific attention to child protection issues when undertaking its relevant field visits.

“The Security Council recognizes the valuable contribution pertinent regional and sub-regional organizations and arrangements make for the protection of children affected by armed conflict. In this regard, the Security Council encourages the continued mainstreaming of child protection into the advocacy, policies, programmes and mission planning of these organizations and arrangements as well as training of personnel and inclusion of child protection staff in their peacekeeping and field operations and establishment, within their secretariats, of child protection mechanisms, including through the appointment of child protection focal points.

“The Security Council stresses the important role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict in carrying out her mandate for the protection of children in situations of armed conflict, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, as well as the importance of her country visits in facilitating better coordination among United Nations partners at the field level, promoting collaboration between the United Nations and concerned Governments, enhancing dialogue with concerned Governments and parties to an armed conflict, including by negotiating action plans, securing commitments, advocating for appropriate response mechanisms and ensuring attention and follow-up to the conclusions and recommendations of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.

“The Security Council recalls its invitation to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to brief the Security Council on questions relating to the delisting process and progress made, enabling an exchange of views.

“The Security Council commends the sustained activity of its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and stresses the importance of continuing to adopt timely conclusions and recommendations, in line with its resolution 1612 (2005), and subsequent resolutions. Furthermore, the Council invites its Working Group to make full use of its toolkit (S/2006/724) in light of ongoing discussions on enhancing compliance, and in this regard to continue considering the issue of persistent perpetrators and action plan implementation.

“The Security Council reiterates its determination to ensure respect for and the implementation of its resolutions and presidential statements on children and armed conflict to date, as well as respect for other international commitments and obligations for the protection of children affected by armed conflict.”

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

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