Statement [Made on Behalf of the Security Council, at the 8721st Meeting, 12 Feb. 2020, in Connection with the Council's Consideration of the Item Entitled "Children and Armed Conflict"]

S/PRST/2020/3View 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 2020.

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Child Soldiers Children in Armed Conflicts Guidelines Human Rights Violations Mediation

What’s in this document?

19 paragraphs

At the 8721st meeting of the Security Council, held on 12 February 2020, 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 reiterates its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the Charter of the UN, and, in this connection, its commitment to address the widespread impact of armed conflict on children, and the long-term consequences this has for durable peace, security and development.

“The Security Council recalls that all parties to armed conflict must comply strictly with the obligations applicable to them under international law for the protection of children in armed conflict, including those contained in the Geneva Conventions of 12th August 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977 as well as in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of Children in armed conflict, and welcomes the steps taken by a number of Member States to make commitments to protect children affected by armed conflict, including through the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and through ongoing international and regional initiatives on Children and Armed Conflict, including the international conference held in Paris in 2007 on protecting children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups and the follow-up conference held in Paris in 2017, and the commitments during the conferences.

“The Security Council reiterates further its 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 forms of sexual violence, abductions, attacks against schools and hospitals as well as denial of humanitarian access by parties to armed conflict and all other violations of international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights law and refugee law, committed against children in situations of armed conflict and demands that all relevant parties immediately put an end to such practices and take special measures to protect children.

“The Security Council remains convinced that the protection of children in armed conflict should be an important aspect of any comprehensive strategy to resolve conflict and sustain peace and stresses also the importance of adopting a broad strategy of conflict prevention, which addresses the root causes of armed conflict in a comprehensive manner in order to enhance the protection of children on a long-term basis.

“The Security Council stresses the importance of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and recognizes that a strong focus is needed on combatting poverty, deprivation and inequality to prevent and protect children from all violations and abuses in particular in the context of armed conflict and to promote the resilience of children, their families and their communities, and the importance of promoting education for all and peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.

“The Security council acknowledges that, in the last fifteen years, the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict has generated progress in preventing and responding to violations and abuses committed against children, in particular through its adopted conclusions.

“The Security Council renews its call to Member States, United Nation entities, the Peacebuilding Commission, and other parties concerned to integrate, from the early stages of all peace processes, child protection provisions, including those relating to the release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups, as well as provisions on the rights and well-being of children, including those that put strong emphasis on the best interest of the child, the treatment of children separated from armed groups as victims and focus on family and community-based reintegration, into all peace negotiations, ceasefire and peace agreements, and in provisions for ceasefire monitoring, and taking into account children’s views, where possible, in these processes, and, ensuring that the specific needs of girls and boys as well as children with disabilities are addressed.

“The Security Council renews its call to Member States, United Nation entities, the Peacebuilding Commission, and other parties concerned to ensure that the protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of children affected by armed conflict are fully incorporated and prioritized in all post-conflict recovery and reconstruction planning, programs and strategies as well as in efforts on peacebuilding and sustaining peace and encourage and facilitate consideration of the views of children in these processes.

“The Security Council commends the work by the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, together with relevant child protection actors, to develop a United Nations practical guidance on the integration of child protection issues in peace processes, entitled “Practical Guidance for mediators to better protect children in situations of armed conflict” (the practical guidance), as encouraged by the Security Council in its PRST/2017/21 and of which the compilation process launch was welcomed in resolution 2427 (2018).

“The Security Council encourages the Secretary-General, including through the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, to broadly disseminate the practical guidance to UN entities, Member States, regional and sub-regional organizations, as well as other relevant actors involved in peace and mediation processes and to promote the use of the practical guidance in UN-supported, -sponsored, and -facilitated peace and mediation processes;

“The Security Council reiterates its call upon States and the United Nations to mainstream child protection into all relevant activities in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations with the aim of sustaining peace and preventing conflict, and considers this practical guidance a tool in that respect.

“The Security Council encourages United Nations entities, Member States as well as regional and sub-regional organizations involved in peace and mediation to strengthen cooperation and collaboration to promote the integration of child protection issues in peace processes.

“The Security Council encourages mediators, facilitators and other negotiators, including Member States, regional and sub-regional organizations and all other relevant actors involved in peace and mediation processes, to use this practical guidance as a tool, as much as possible, in peace and mediation processes.

“The Security Council encourages the Secretary-General to provide to Member States as well as to regional and sub-regional organizations, upon their request, lessons learned and best practices on the children and armed conflict mandate, in their efforts to apply the practical guidance accordingly.

“The Security Council renews its request to parties to armed conflict to include, where appropriate, provisions for the protection of children related to gender- and age-sensitive disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of children associated with armed forces or armed groups, in peace negotiations and in ceasefire and peace agreements and the involvement of children, where possible, in these processes, particularly in the design of DDR processes that will include them.

“The Security Council continues to urge Member States, United Nations entities, regional and sub-regional organizations and other parties concerned to ensure that child protection provisions relating to the release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups, including the establishment of standard operating procedures for the rapid handover of these children to relevant civilian child protection actors, are integrated into all peace negotiations, ceasefire and peace agreements, and in provisions for ceasefire monitoring.

“The Security Council stresses the importance of accountability for all violations and abuses against children in armed conflict and calls on all States to continue to address impunity by efforts to strengthen national and international accountability mechanisms, including building investigative and prosecutorial capacities, ensuring that those responsible for violations and abuses against children are brought to justice and held accountable without undue delay, including through timely and systematic investigation and prosecution, the results of which are made public, and ensure that all victims have access to justice as well as to the medical and support services that they need.

“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.”

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