YouSaid · the spoken record

Otunnu

lines on the record: 204
first: 1998-06-29
most recent: 2005-02-23
sittings or episodes: 17
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“For practical reasons, the present list is limited to the phenomenon of child soldiering. That is only one aspect of the impact of war on children; there are many other equally grave dimensions of the impact of conflict on children. All child victims of war deserve the attention and protection of the international community. Developments unfolding in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel are a matter of great pain and preoccupation. They have grave impact on children. As the Secretary-General's report indicates, his Personal Envoy reported last August that stricter closures, curfews, roadblocks and checkpoints have created humanitarian problems including frequent school closures in the West Bank and Gaza and a drop in immunization levels among Palestinian children.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“In that connection, I recommend the following measures for the Council's consideration: a call on the parties on the list to immediately end recruiting and using child soldiers and to provide full information on measures they have taken to this effect; consider taking targeted measures against parties where substantial progress is not found to have been made - such measures should include imposition of travel restrictions on leaders and their exclusion from any governance structures and amnesty provisions, a ban on the export or supply of arms to those groups, and restriction on the flow of financial resources to the parties concerned; and a comprehensive list in the next report of the Secretary-General to include all parties involved in armed conflict which continue to recruit and use child soldiers.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“In this respect, therefore, the list represents the thin end of the wedge, leading to systematic monitoring and reporting on the conduct of parties to conflict. The present report and the list are confined to situations that are on the agenda of the Security Council. There are other situations of equal concern, which have been discussed and included in the main body of the Secretary-General's report. There are other conflict situations where the use of child soldiers by certain parties to conflict is widespread. They include Colombia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, the Sudan, Uganda and Sri Lanka. The list provides an important opportunity for the Security Council to respond by sending the clearest message of its determination to embark on an era of application by holding parties responsible for their actions.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“In most of those areas, the Security Council has a key role to play. In resolution 1379 (2001) the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to provide a list of parties that use or recruit children in situations of conflict of which the Council is seized. The list annexed to the present report of the Secretary-General (S/2002/ 1299) breaks new ground: for the first time, an official report has specifically named and listed those responsible for brutalizing children in situations of conflict. The list signals a move towards the era of application. It puts on notice parties to conflict that exploit and brutalize children that the international community is watching and will hold them accountable for their action.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“We need to redouble our efforts to ensure that the concerns of children are included in all peace negotiations and peace accords; that the rehabilitation of children becomes a central component of any post-conflict programme; that there is full integration of child protection in all aspects of peacekeeping mandates, training and activities; that the deployment of child protection advisers becomes a general practice in all peace operations; that, with the establishment of the International Criminal Court, we work to ensure that individuals responsible for war crimes against children will be among the first to be prosecuted in that Court; and that all reports to the Security Council on country-specific situations include the protection of children as a specific aspect of the reports.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Secondly, information received through such monitoring and reporting must serve as a trigger for action, a trigger for the application of concerted pressure and targeted measures against violators. When information is received about grave violations against children and no action is taken, it betrays the trust of the children. There are other measures which are critical to translating the concept of an era of application into a meaningful reality.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“For this, as the Secretary-General has called for, it is imperative to embark on an era of application; the Security Council is well placed to lead the way by its example and its action. As we embark on such an era of application, two issues above all will test our collective resolve to make a real difference on the ground. First, we need to ensure systematic monitoring and reporting on the conduct of parties to conflict. This is not a proposal for some general and dispersed exercise. It is a project focusing on compliance with a set of agreed and very specific obligations and commitments concerning the protection of children, most of which are laid out in equally specific instruments and commitments.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“A lot of progress has been achieved outside the framework of the United Nations, particularly through the advocacy and activities of NGOs, civil society organizations and regional organizations. There has also been a significant increase in public and official awareness of children exposed to war. We have now reached a critical juncture in the development of this agenda. With these gains in place, what should be the next steps in the development of this agenda? The most pressing challenge facing us collectively is how to translate the principles, standards and measures that have been put in place into facts on the ground - into a protective regime that can save children in danger.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Parallel to those important developments in the Council, tremendous progress has been made over the last few years to strengthen and codify international norms and standards for protecting children exposed to war. As the Secretary-General has just indicated, key international instruments that have entered into force over this period include the Optional Protocol, the Rome Statute, Convention No. 182 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. We now have in place a very impressive body of norms and standards. We have in place a comprehensive set of principles and measures set out in the three Security Council resolutions to which I have referred.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Those include the three resolutions devoted to this issue - resolutions 1261 (1999), 1314 (2000) and 1379 (2001) - an annual review and debate of the issue; the incorporation of child protection into peacekeeping mandates and training; the inclusion of children's concerns in country-specific reports; the creation of the role and deployment of child protection advisers in peacekeeping operations; the inclusion of children's concerns in peace negotiations and accords; the direct participation of children in the deliberations of the Security Council; increasing focus on children in post-conflict programmes in situations such as Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan; and regular engagement with non- governmental organizations (NGOs) in the context of Arria formula consultations. I congratulate the Security Council on those major achievements.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Since the Security Council formally affirmed that the protection and well-being of children exposed to conflict constitute a fundamental peace and security concern that belongs on its agenda, the progressive engagement of the Council has yielded significant gains for children.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“Mr. Otunnu: It is very good to see you, Mr. President, back at the United Nations and at the Security Council. Your previous engagement and leadership in this arena left a mark that precedes you on this occasion. We are very grateful for the leadership that France has been providing in the Council on the agenda for the protection of children affected by armed conflict. We recall that, but for the terrorist attacks of September 2001, the Security Council would have held a special summit that month devoted to this issue, on the initiative and under the leadership of President Jacques Chirac. We also recall that France played a key role in drafting resolution 1379 (2001), which, in part, created the basis for the list under discussion today.”
2003-01-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4684 (2003) · source
“This is the best gift we could give to the children who are here with us this afternoon and who, on behalf of millions of other children around the globe, will spread the good news emerging from the Council's deliberations this afternoon.”
2002-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4528 (2002) · source
“As for countries that are emerging from conflict, we ask that the rehabilitation and well-being of children should be a centrepiece of any reconstruction, healing and rebuilding programme, and that this be expressed as a matter of urgency in policy-making, priority-setting and, above all, in resource allocation for the benefit of children and young people. We can already point to this commitment today in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, the Balkans and, we hope, in Angola. Finally, I ask the Security Council to spare no effort to ensure that the wonderful and very impressive norms, rules, obligations and commitments, including Security Council resolutions, are translated into reality on the ground - reality that can provide protection to children and women exposed to war.”
2002-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4528 (2002) · source
“I ask that child protection advisers be included on the staff of peacekeeping missions to strengthen the capacity for advocacy and protection on the ground; that we actively promote the participation of young people themselves in peace processes, so that they thereby become actors and advocates on their own behalf and on behalf of other children - that is why I am so glad that the young people are here today; and that the demobilization and rehabilitation of former child- soldiers are an important component of any disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme on the ground.”
2002-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4528 (2002) · source
“I ask that, working together with you, we should ensure that the protection and well-being of children is included in negotiations to end conflict and in every peace accord in a systematic way; that the protection of children becomes truly part of the raison d'etre of peace operations, expressed in mandates and reports to the Security Council; that effective training and codes of conduct be provided for peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel, so that they, by their conduct, might set the best example for the respect and protection of children and women.”
2002-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4528 (2002) · source
“They are killed and maimed, orphans and refugees, traumatized and sexually abused, denied education and exposed to malnutrition and, of course, exploited as child soldiers. I greatly appreciate the commitment of the Security Council and its work over the past several years to incorporate the protection and well-being of children into the peace and security agenda of the United Nations. With regard to the efforts under way today to mainstream this activity, what do I ask of the Council in particular?”
2002-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4528 (2002) · source
“Mr. Otunnu: On behalf of children affected by war all over the world, I thank you, Mr. President, for convening this particular meeting devoted to the protection of children in war situations. I also thank the Ambassador of France for having set in motion this initiative last September. It is a particular honour to have in our midst Ms. Graca Machel of Mozambique and South Africa. Her groundbreaking work, commitment and passion laid the foundation for this work. We are watering the plant, the seed of which she planted. How wonderful to have young people at this table. The door has finally been opened to those who are most affected by conflict. When we adults wage war, the highest price is paid by children.”
2002-05-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4528 (2002) · source
“I have also taken note of the tremendous desire on the part of Council members to see the gap between words and deeds narrowed, and I hope that the next time we return to this debate in the Council there may be some concrete, even if modest, steps, made to try to bridge this gap. Finally, I want to say that I have taken note of the wish of the Council to see a particular focus on Afghanistan. I shall be working very closely with UNICEF and other colleagues within the United Nations system and the leadership of Ambassador Brahimi to make this indeed an example of a more comprehensive and proactive response to the needs and the rights of children. Once again I thank the Council. I thank the Council very much for allowing Alhaji Babah Sawaneh to address the Council on this occasion. It has been a historic day.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Mr. Otunnu: Given the late hour, my remarks will be very brief. I thank you, Madam President, and all the members of the Council for this debate. I have taken note of the critique, the comments and the proposals by members, and I shall do everything within my power to act on them. Secondly, I want to say that the mandate that has been entrusted to me concerns the fate of children in all situations of armed conflict. Let me say, thirdly, that all of us, especially within the international community, cannot discriminate among children affected by armed conflict, regardless of their geographic location or the political circumstance in which they may be, which is the reason why I said this morning that all the children are waiting for the same thing - redemption songs.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422Resumption1 (2001) · source
“I hear him saying something like this: "Hear the children cryin' We had told them in yesteryears Don't worry about a thing 'Cause every little thing gonna be all right. "Hear the children cryin' From Afghanistan to Angola Asking for the same thing - One Love. "Hear the children cryin' From the Balkans to Burundi Waiting for the same thing 7 Redemption Songs. Redemption Songs. "Won't you help to sing These songs of redemption Rendering hope and protection. "I hear three little birds Perched on the doorsteps of the Council Singin' melodies pure and true Sayin' again and again 'This is our message to you-ou-ou."'”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“Only by doing what is right for children today can we build a solid foundation for peace and security tomorrow. However, while properly focusing on the serious situation in Afghanistan, we must not lose sight of the needs of other war-affected children who equally need our attention and support. The full text of my remarks will be distributed, and therefore I will not read the entire text. However, before concluding, I hope you will forgive me, Madam President, for invoking the voice of Jamaica's favourite son, your special gift to the world, whose powerful voice gave the world the gift of reggae music. Bob Marley's often deeply spiritual renditions of the themes of suffering and redemption seem particularly appropriate for our deliberations today. I hear Bob Marley's voice calling us to action on behalf of children.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“I appeal to the Security Council and the international community in general to ensure that the well-being and rehabilitation of war-affected children become central concerns in any response to the situation in Afghanistan. In order to facilitate this, I urge the Council to support the efforts of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan to ensure that child protection remains a priority throughout the peacemaking and peace-building processes in Afghanistan, including through the deployment of specialized child protection staff. No peace is likely to be sustainable there unless children and youth are provided with rehabilitation and hope, so that instead of being potential spoilers they become a constructive force in rebuilding their country.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“We need to do a good deal more to ensure public education and prevention. We meet at a time when our collective attention is focused on Afghanistan. Indeed, taking place in Washington at this very moment is a very important meeting, convened by Japan and the United States, on recovery and reconstruction in Afghanistan. Children today make up more than 50 per cent of the total population of that country. Twenty-three years of war in Afghanistan has defined the lives of at least two generations of children and youth, most of whom have grown up amid violence, death, deprivation, lack of education and despair. Key indicators present a sobering picture of the direct and indirect impact of that conflict on Afghan children.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“I recall that girls in Rwanda suddenly became the heads of some 60,000 households in the aftermath of the genocide; the trafficking of girls from the Balkans into prostitution rings in Western Europe; the abduction of schoolgirls by the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda; the systematic denial of education to girls in Afghanistan; that in January 1999, the Revolutionary United Front abducted more than 4,000 children from Freetown alone, 60 per cent of them girls; and sadly, that there are fighting groups we know whose preferred agents to serve as suicide commandos remain girls. We must do much more to protect and rehabilitate girls exposed to war. Last year the Security Council took up for the first time the issue of the correlation between war and the spread of HIV/AIDS, especially in the corridors of war.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“Similarly, following the call made by the Security Council, we have formed an informal working group to strengthen the training of peacekeeping personnel. The international community is not doing as much as it should to prevent harm to girls in times of war and to ensure their recovery and rehabilitation. Several recent examples underscore the very particular vulnerability of girls in situations of war.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“I urge the Security Council to redouble its efforts in this regard. As indicated by the Secretary-General earlier, the appointment of child protection advisers represents an important innovation for integrating child protection concerns into peacekeeping operations. This practice needs to be strengthened and given wider application. The current situation in Afghanistan and Burundi present immediate opportunities for designing child- conscious mission mandates and for deploying child protection advisers. We are eager to learn from our collective experience thus far. For this reason, we have formed an informal inter-agency working group to strengthen our ongoing initiatives on incorporating child protection into peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace-building processes.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“A particular scandal in warfare today is the pillage of natural resources by parties to conflict and others. This is robbing children of their birthright. Resources that should provide for rehabilitation, education, health care and nutrition for children are instead being plundered by networks of local, neighbourhood and international actors. Who is reaping the benefits of the rich diamond resources of Angola and Sierra Leone, or the diamond, gold, coltan, timber and coffee of the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Certainly not the children of those countries. Moreover, this has become a means of fielding and prolonging conflicts in which children suffer most. For the children of Angola, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries, the blessings of natural resources have been turned into a veritable curse.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“The entry into force of the Optional Protocol will constitute a milestone in our collective endeavours to end child soldiering. But this milestone will remain largely a theoretical achievement unless it becomes a prelude to concrete measures on the ground. We need to take the following actions, among others: ensure the application of the Optional Protocol in theatres of conflict; mobilize adequate resources for programmes of demobilization and social rehabilitation for children who have already been made to participate in conflict; and, above all, address underlying causes - political, social and economic factors - that create an environment conducive to the alienation, exploitation and radical indoctrination of children and young people, thus facilitating their involvement in conflict.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“There is an urgent need for the international community to organize a more systematic and effective way of monitoring and reporting on the conduct of parties to conflict in terms of their treatment of children. Who is brutalizing and targeting children? When and where are they doing so? Which parties to conflict are observing or flouting their obligations and commitments concerning the protection of children? Such monitoring and reporting, conducted on an objective and impartial basis, would then serve as the basis for concerted action, triggering targeted advocacy and mobilization of pressure by all concerned. We have good news on the Optional Protocol: just last week we attained the required threshold of 10 instruments of ratification. This means that that important treaty will enter into force in February next year.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“In spite of the impressive progress which has been registered, especially at the levels of advocacy, public opinion, policies and programmes, I regret to report that the overall situation of children exposed to war remains grave and entirely unacceptable. The full magnitude and details of this situation are set out in the report of the Secretary-General, which is before the Council. We share a common preoccupation: how to change the situation for children on the ground. In this context, I should like to underscore some measures, drawn from the report of the Secretary-General and the draft resolution before the Council, which I believe are particularly important for changing the situation on the ground.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“My Office has developed very close collaboration on this agenda item with various United Nations partners, particularly the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the United Nations Children's Fund; I express warm appreciation to Carol Bellamy and Jean- Marie Guehenno for their strong support and cooperation. I must pay a special tribute to our partners in the non-governmental-organization community; quite simply, the advancement of this agenda depends in large measure on their work - their advocacy and programmes on the ground. I also thank members of the Council for inviting to today's debate a young person who comes from a conflict situation where children have experienced unbelievable horrors of war. I extend to Alhaji Babah Sawaneh of Sierra Leone a very warm welcome.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“This has resulted in an impressive body of practice, key elements of which include resolutions 1261 (1999) and 1314 (2000); the progressive inclusion of child protection provisions in peacekeeping mandates; the creation of the role of child protection advisers; the incorporation of child protection issues into peace agendas and peace accords; and the establishment, as a regular feature of reports to the Security Council, of specific sections on child protection. The Security Council is at the centre of these developments. On behalf of millions of war-affected children, I would like to thank the members of the Council for embracing and promoting their cause.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“Mr. Otunnu: As always, it is a great honour to participate in this debate under your presidency, Madam; you are a true advocate of the protection and rights of children. This is the fourth open debate of the Security Council devoted to the protection, rights and rehabilitation of children affected by conflict. Since 1998 we have seen the progressive integration of these concerns into the peace and security agenda of the United Nations.”
2001-11-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4422 (2001) · source
“Mr. Otunnu: I thank you, Mr. President, for inviting me to brief the Security Council, and I thank you very much for your deep interest and for your commitment to helping the children of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I have taken note of all the important comments made by Council members and other delegations. I will act on them and will continue the dialogue with the Council. My Office is at the Council's disposal to work with its members. I very much hope that the Council will consider incorporating into the draft resolution it is preparing for subsequent adoption some of the practical recommendations I have placed before it. Again, I thank you, Sir; I thank the members of the Council; and I thank all the other delegations that participated in this discussion.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327Resumption1 (2001) · source
“President, as well as with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, MONUC, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other agencies and non-governmental organizations to follow up on these issues and on the recommendations which I have brought to the Council's attention.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“Moreover, it has become the surest way to fuel the continuation of the war. The children of the Congo are looking to the Council to take decisive action to bring this practice to a halt. In conclusion, I should like to say that I was particularly impressed and encouraged by the commitment of all sectors and of Congolese people of all persuasions to preserve their national unity; by the strength and engagement of civil society throughout the country; and by the resilience and determination of local communities and the youth. A united, peaceful and vigorous Congo is good for Congolese children. It is good for the development and future of Africa, and it is good for international peace and security. I look forward to working very closely with you in the Council, Mr.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“I urge the United Nations and other actors of the international community to link our efforts much more closely with those of local civil society organizations. This is the best way, in the long term, to make our efforts sustainable and to build local capacity for protection and advocacy. Everywhere I went, children and their parents called for an end to the war - the Congolese children have suffered far too much - and an end to the looting of the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I have to say that the widespread and systematic looting of diamonds, gold, coltan, timber and coffee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo by all concerned is entirely unacceptable. This is robbing the Congolese children of their birthright, of resources that should be used for their education, health care and development.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“This is all the more important because of the social stigma and the reticence that prevails, which makes it difficult to address these issues within the communities. We also must be very vigilant in taking measures to ensure that there is no impunity, now or later, for crimes committed against children. I urge and encourage troop-contributing countries - and I know that our colleagues in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations are doing everything in their power - to provide more systematic training for troops who are serving with MONUC. What I saw in the Congo encouraged me enormously at other levels. I was very encouraged by the vigour and commitment of civil society throughout the Congo.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“Child soldiering has also become a cross-border and subregional activity. Children are being recruited in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, taken to neighbouring countries for training, and then brought back to fight in the Congo. Similarly, children of neighbouring countries are being recruited and taken to fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We therefore need a neighbour with the initiative to promote protection, control and advocacy with respect to this damaging practice at the subregional level. I referred earlier to the particular vulnerability of girls exposed to sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS by soldiers of various groups. There is a need for a special programme to address the special needs of this category of victims.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“In this connection, may I warmly welcome and congratulate the Government and the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the recent ratification of the Optional Protocol that was announced during my visit to the country. These important commitments and measures need to be translated into concrete action that can make a difference to the lives of children on the ground. I am counting on the political and military leaders to demonstrate the necessary political will and to deliver on their commitments. But in the meantime, we of the international community, working closely with local and civil society organizations, need to establish a framework - a network - to monitor the conduct of the parties in conflict relative to their obligations and commitments for the protection of children.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“The programme is a complete stop - a definitive, complete stop to all recruitment of young persons below the age of 18 and the establishment of a mechanism to monitor and report on the application of that commitment; the organization of a major public-awareness campaign to sensitize the military, civil society and local communities; the undertaking of joint visits by MONUC, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and military authorities to military camps and barracks where children are suspected of being housed; and the establishment of the necessary capacity and structures on the ground for the demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“These measures are necessary to break the present cycle of despair and exploitation. They will also serve as means to protect and rehabilitate children and prevent their being caught back up in that cycle. The massive recruitment and use of children as child soldiers has become nothing short of a plague that is steadily destroying the fabric and the future of the Congo and of that entire zone of Africa. The place of children is in schools, with their families and with their communities - not in battlefields. I have therefore proposed the following five-point programme of action, which has been accepted by the political and military leaders of all groups.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“The peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has gained a new lease on life, needs to be accompanied by parallel efforts to gain access and to provide serious humanitarian assistance to populations in distress - particularly children and women. The priority responsibility for ensuring the well-being of the children - and, therefore, the future of the country - naturally rests with the Congolese leaders. I have urged them to fully assume their responsibility in this regard. But today I appeal to the international community to do its part to reach out to the Congolese children and offer concrete assistance, focusing in particular on the rehabilitation of schools and health-care centres at the primary and local levels and providing much-needed resources for the demobilization of child soldiers.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“A word about the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). The arrival of the military contingent and military observers has had a striking impact on the local populations. Three elements seem to have particular meaning for the local communities. The sheer presence of these personnel is bringing much- needed confidence and reassurance to the local populations, allowing them to pick up pieces of their shattered lives. These personnel are facilitating and engaging in humanitarian activities and are closely associated with the protection of children. I would strongly recommend the expansion and strengthening of these elements of the role of MONUC. This will benefit the local populations and enhance further the considerable credibility of the United Nations.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“There is the particular and silent trauma of girls exposed to sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS and forced to become concubines by soldiers of various affiliations. Everywhere I went I received consistent reports of the massive recruitment and use of child soldiers throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All these categories of war-affected children need our urgent attention and support. In the light of my visit I would like to put forward the following recommendations for the Council's consideration. There is an urgent need for a plan of action to address the grave situation of war-affected children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their protection and rehabilitation must become a national and political priority. This should figure prominently on the agenda of the inter-Congolese dialogue and in the peace process in general.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“According to a non-governmental organization, the International Rescue Committee, since the outbreak of hostilities in August 1998 there have been no less than 2.5 million so-called excess deaths - meaning, above the number usually expected - in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo alone. The majority of these victims have been children. Most families in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today subsist on $1 a day. Forty per cent of the country's children are systematically and seriously malnourished. In the past 10 years, infant mortality has doubled. More than half of the children of school age in the country are not attending school, and the incidence of child labour - especially at mining sites - child prostitution and street children has sharply increased.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“But above all, throughout the country I was able to meet and hear directly from different groups of war-affected children and their families. I have to tell the Council that the direct and indirect impact of the wars has taken a very heavy toll on the children. In a country in which somewhere close to 50 per cent of a population of 49 million people are children under 16 years of age, consider the following. The vast majority of some 2 million people displaced within the country by the wars are children and women. Hundreds of thousands of children suffer or have died from severe malnutrition and preventable diseases because of the conditions created by the wars.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“Mr. Otunnu: It is wonderful to see you, Sir, a devoted advocate of the protection of children, presiding over this meeting. And it is very good to have the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with us this morning as well. I have just concluded a mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The purpose of my visit was to assess firsthand the impact of the wars on children. In the context of my mandate and pursuant to the request of the Security Council in resolution 1341 (2001), I was able to visit different parts of the country, including several of the provinces. Everywhere I went I held discussions with political and military authorities, local and international humanitarian non-governmental organizations and, of course, United Nations agencies and civil society.”
2001-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4327 (2001) · source
“He will be happy to hear that I do not wish that the Massacre of the Innocents had taken place around the time of his birth. On the contrary, the United Nations would be so much poorer without the systematic and serious perspectives that the delegation of India brings to our discussions and dialogue. I very much regret that due to the constraint of time we cannot have a constructive dialogue on the issues he raised, but I am sure that he and I and others will find opportunities outside this Chamber to continue this dialogue.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176Resumption1 (2000) · source