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

“Mr. Otunnu: I wish to thank very much all of the members of the Council as well as the broad membership of the United Nations, especially those that participated in this open debate. My colleagues and I have taken very careful note of all the observations and critiques that have been made. We will do our best, together with the Council, to incorporate them into the development of the mandate of the Special Representative. I very much look forward to continuing to work closely with the Council and to the outcome of this debate and of the report before the Council. Allow me one other comment. I wish very sincerely to congratulate my very good friend Ambassador Kamalesh Sharma of India for a characteristically rigorous and brilliant critique of the mandate of the Special Representative and of the report before the Security Council.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176Resumption1 (2000) · source
“The time has come for the international community to move beyond the elaboration of norms to the era of application; beyond declaration to taking very specific, targeted measures on the ground, including targeted sanctions against actors, especially parties in conflict who flout international standards regarding the protection of children.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“I cannot complete my remarks without paying a very special and heartfelt tribute to Madam Graca Machel. She is the one who laid the foundation for what we are discussing and the activities we are undertaking today. To the operational actors on the ground, beginning with the United Nations agencies - UNICEF, first and foremost, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme and other actors within the United Nations system - as well as, of course, the non-governmental organizations. Their activities on the front line are what truly make a difference to the fate of children affected by conflict. May I say, finally, that we have said enough; we have elaborated enough norms.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“The international community needs to do a good deal more to fill three gaps within our present mode of response: the special needs of the girl child, the vulnerability of the adolescent and the importance of providing more consistent education to children caught in the midst and the aftermath of conflict. I have to say that in my work I have been especially impressed by the role being played by non- governmental organizations - their advocacy, their activities on the ground and their role in shaping this agenda. It is quite simply not only crucial but indispensable. It is for this reason that I hope the Security Council will seize the opportunity offered by non-governmental organizations to engage in constructive dialogue and collaboration. All of us will benefit from this. Above all, children will benefit from such collaboration.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“We cannot move very far in this task - building the movement for the protection of children - without involving young persons themselves in this movement. We must involve them in the protection of children affected by conflict, including in programmes for reconciliation, peace consolidation and peace-building and in developing children-to-children networks. Beyond the call for the rapid ratification of the Optional Protocol, we must surely turn our energies, in terms of curbing child soldiering, to action on the ground by mobilizing political pressure, by addressing the economic, social and political factors underlying this phenomenon, and by enhancing the woefully thin capacities on the ground to receive and rehabilitate child soldiers.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“I hope the Security Council will encourage the regional organizations to now move to the next step and systematically incorporate the rights and protection of children into their policies, activities and programmes by the allocation of resources where applicable; by the creation, perhaps, of child protection units within their secretariats; by considering the posting of child- protection staff within peace and field operations; and by providing more systematic training on child protection to their peace and field operations staff, and by undertaking initiatives to curb cross-border activities that are deleterious to children in times of war - in particular, the illicit movement of small arms, illicit trading in natural resources and cross- border recruitment and abduction of children.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“I am very struck by the existence, in societies caught in the midst of conflict, of deeply rooted values and norms relative to this agenda. The international community needs to do more to recognize the importance of such values and to work closely with local communities in their efforts to strengthen local values and norms and social networks that have traditionally provided for the protection of children in times of war. I am very encouraged by the actions which have been taken by major regional groups.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“Surely, the time has come for the international community to develop a more systematic response and framework for providing access, protection and practical support to such internally displaced persons. The mainstay of our efforts on the ground comprises local actors and local people. It is for that reason that I address a special appeal to United Nations agencies, international non-governmental organization and the donor community to do a good deal more to provide support, and to strengthen the capacities of national institutions, local governmental organizations and civil-society organizations. That is important not only for creating local capacity, but also for the sustainability of our initiatives and efforts.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“The Security Council should continue to investigate the linkages between such illicit trade and the war machines in various parts of the world, and should consider bans on such exports of natural resources, especially gold, timber and diamonds. In the context of peace processes, it is important that the international community should exclude grave crimes against children from any amnesty provisions and legislation. Children tend to suffer the worst in situations of sanctions regimes. I therefore hope that the Council will continue to explore, within the present framework, measures to ease the impact of such sanctions on children. During my visits to countries affected by conflict, I have been deeply distressed by the conditions of internally displaced persons, the vast majority of whom, as we all know, are children and women.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“The international community should make any assistance - political, diplomatic, financial, material or military - to parties to armed conflict contingent on their observing standards for the protection of children. In the spirit of the Secretary-General's Global Compact initiative, on which a most important meeting is taking place today, the international community should encourage the corporate sector to develop voluntary codes of conduct regarding illicit trade with parties in conflict in situations where children and women are the primary Victims of such conflict. In that context, Member States should consider putting in place executive and legislative measures to discourage corporate actors within their jurisdictions from engaging in such illicit trade.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“If those elements reflect the progress that has been made thus far, the Secretary-General's report indicates a number of challenges ahead. A number of measures need to be undertaken as part of an agenda for action, looking to the future. Over the past two years, a number of parties in conflict have made concrete commitments concerning the protection of children. The challenge now is how to ensure adherence to those commitments. The Security Council and other key actors can make a big difference in this regard by using their collective weight and influence to lean on parties in conflict. In today's world, no party in conflict is an island unto itself.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“Other elements of this progress are: child protection concerns are now being systematically incorporated into peace operation mandates by the Security Council; reports to the Security Council on specific conflict situations now contain distinct sections on the protection and well-being of children; the establishment of the role and the deployment of Child Protection Advisors; the placing of children's concerns on peace agendas, as we have seen in Sierra Leone, Colombia and Burundi; the elaboration of training programmes for peacekeepers in the domain of the rights and protection of children and women; the increasing and widespread engagement of non- governmental organizations in advocacy work, the provision of information and programme activities on the ground; increasing focus and resource allocation for children in post-conflict situations, as we are witnessing in East Timor, Sierra Leone and Kosovo; and some innovative national initiatives on behalf of war-affected children, such as the National Commission for War Affected Children in Sierra Leone, and the enactment of a new law in Rwanda which opened the way for girls to inherit land and other property in the aftermath of a very tragic conflict.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“As the report indicates, in the course of the last two years we have witnessed significant progress on this agenda: the level of public awareness has increased significantly; after almost six years of difficult negotiations, a consensus agreement was reached last January raising the minimum age for compulsory recruitment and deployment from 15 to 18. Several regional organizations have come to adopt this agenda as their own, the most recent actions in that regard being those of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Group of Eight.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“For the first time ever, the Council has received a report from the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict. The report has some very important features: it contains a comprehensive overview of the fate of children caught in conflict; it draws on specific, concrete activities from the field; it traces the progress made thus far, as well as indicating the challenges that lie ahead; and it provides a comprehensive set of recommendations, many of which are addressed directly to the Security Council.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“Mr. Otunnu: I warmly salute your leadership and your commitment to this issue, Madam President. Your country, Jamaica, has always been a leader, spearheading the struggles for freedom, social justice and international solidarity. It is also to your country that the international community owes its heritage of that very special form of musical expression, reggae. The Security Council's systematic engagement with the issue of children and armed conflict began with the open debate and presidential statement of June 1998. Last year, the Council took a momentous step when it adopted resolution 1261 (1999), which, as the Secretary-General indicates in his report, document S/2000/712, represents a veritable landmark for the cause of children affected by armed conflict. Today marks another milestone in this engagement.”
2000-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4176 (2000) · source
“The Lome Peace Agreement is a fragile instrument of peace that requires a lot of local and international support for its implementation and consolidation. It is now afternoon in Sierra Leone. I can see the young people congregating around small transistor radios. They are tuned in, eagerly awaiting the outcome of the Council's deliberations. Thank you for taking steps that will provide hope for the children and all the people of Sierra Leone. Giving renewed hope to the children of Sierra Leone is surely one of the best ways to ensure national recovery for a country that has suffered so much for so long.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“I appeal to the political leaders to demonstrate their commitment to peace by taking bold and concrete measures to implement the Lorne Peace Agreement. In this regard, I welcome the return of Mr. Foday Sankoh and Mr. Paul Koroma to Freetown. This was a matter of great relief for the people of Sierra Leone and a critical element for generating confidence in the peace process. I urge the leadership of the RUF and the AFRC to level with the children of Sierra Leone and to acknowledge fully their role in the horrific atrocities committed during the war, most of them directed against children and women. Finally, I address a particular appeal to the international community not to let the children of Sierra Leone down by again adopting a wait-and-see attitude.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“Among them are an elected Government that enjoys widespread legitimacy within the population - a rare fact in the aftermath of a war; a strong and active civil society; a fabric of national cohesion, without significant polarization along ethnic or religious lines; a land endowed with rich soil and considerable mineral resources; and a tradition of higher education. After all, Fourah Bay College was for several decades a leading regional centre of excellence for the whole of West Africa. Of course, none of these strong points can kick in without the prerequisites of peace and security being in place. The international community can play an important role in creating that environment. In conclusion, I should like to make the following appeals on behalf of the children of Sierra Leone.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“In the prefecture of Kissidougou, for example, I discovered that the local community had decided on their own initiative to have their own children attend school only a half-day, in the morning, in order to allow refugee children to use the same school facilities in the afternoon. The sheer magnitude of this burden on Guinea has begun to place significant stress on the economy, social services, environment and security. Guinea deserves more recognition and support for its role and solidarity, and the UNHCR needs more resources to provide for the refugees in the country. Fifthly, in spite of the nightmare that the country has gone through, Sierra Leone is not a basket case. Sierra Leone is a country which has retained a number of hidden strong points which have survived the war.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“Currently it is hosting more than half a million people from Sierra Leone and Liberia who are officially registered with UNHCR, in addition to a significant number of unregistered persons who have also fled from neighbouring countries. The population of officially registered refugees now constitutes more than 10 per cent of the population of Guinea. I was so very struck in these circumstances by the hospitality of the local population, by the excellent rapport between the local population and the refugees and by the cooperation extended to the UNHCR by the Government of Guinea.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“I thought the lad must be bluffing, so I asked him "Where did you get these figures?" He looked right at me and shot right back: "I got these figures from the BBC". I checked afterwards; he was right. This experience underscores the critical need - in order to maintain credibility and solidarity - for the international community to be seen to be responding with the same level of concern wherever children are in need of protection and support. The deliberations of the Security Council today and their outcome will go a long way to address this issue. Fourthly, Guinea is a small and relatively poor country, but it has assumed a major responsibility for refugees about which we hear very little.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“Rather, it was the work of a small segment of the population - well armed, deeply alienated and bitter - unleashing organized and indiscriminate terror on the rest of society. Thirdly, I discovered that Sierra Leoneans at all levels are remarkably well informed about Kosovo. Everywhere I went, I was challenged to explain perceived discrepancies in the attitude and response of the international community with regard to the needs of children in the two situations. I recall that in the Massakoundou refugee camp in Guinea a young man approached me and gave me figures in dollars and cents of what the international community was spending on a child in Kosovo as compared to a child in Sierra Leone.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“First, the Sierra Leoneans are very lucid about the very high moral price they have had to pay to end the war and the attendant atrocities. Typically, they told me and over again: "We had to swallow a bitter pill for the sake of peace; we had to do whatever it took to end this war, or, that was the price we had to pay to end the atrocities". It is too early to tell how this will play out in the long run in terms of the imperatives of both accountability and reconciliation. Secondly, the diabolical atrocities committed in Sierra Leone were not the result of mass violence or inter-communal upheavals along ethnic or religious lines, as we have seen in other situations of conflict.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“This is why we have proposed a neighbourhood initiative for the sub-region comprising Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. An inter-agency mission led by a task force under the leadership of United Nations Children's Fund and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will soon visit the region to assess and propose concrete initiatives for this purpose. Translating this agenda into action will require serious commitment and concerted effort on the part of both national actors and the international community. Now the particular fate of children is being played out in a broader context of war and peace in Sierra Leone, and in that connection, some of the more enduring and general impressions I formed were the following.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“More resources will be needed to increase the capacity of the Government, relief agencies and non-governmental organizations to organize the return and resettlement. With regard to rehabilitation of basic educational and medical services, basic social facilities and services were largely destroyed during the years of war. The rehabilitation of services that benefit children, especially educational and medical facilities, particularly in rural areas, should constitute a clear priority in the post-conflict recovery programme. As to neighbourhood initiatives, it has become clear that a number of cross-border issues, including small arms flows, refugee movements, cross-border recruitment of child soldiers, family tracing and reunification, impact on the protection and rights of children within Sierra Leone.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme about to be implemented should therefore incorporate specific components for children. Two days ago the Government of Sierra Leone launched a programme to disarm and demobilize rebel fighters. In a symbolic ceremony in Freetown, rebel soldiers, many of them children, handed in their weapons to the cheers of hundreds of civilian onlookers. This is a very welcome development. More than three million persons, over 60 per cent of whom are children, have been displaced by the war in Sierra Leone. More than 2.5 million are displaced within the country in very difficult conditions, and more than half a million have fled as refugees to neighbouring countries, mostly to Guinea.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“A special programme is needed to address the special needs of this group of victims, including their health needs, a campaign of sensitization of local communities and trauma counselling. A large number of children were abducted during the war, most of whom still remain behind rebel lines. Gaining access to them and obtaining their release is a most pressing concern. Moreover, the health and food situation behind rebel lines remains very poor. Furthermore, based on the experiences of those children who have been released, we believe that many children behind rebel lines were reconditioned with hard drugs following their capture. The disarmament and demobilization of combatants is at the heart of the Lome peace process. Within that critical process, the demobilization and reintegration of children needs special attention.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“On the subject of rehabilitation of amputees, a whole new community of persons has suddenly emerged in Sierra Leone - persons without limbs - as a result of the diabolical practice of brutally cutting off the hands and legs of victims. One of the most horrifying experiences I had was my visit to the Murray Town Camp for amputees in Freetown. This is a completely new phenomenon, one to which the community in Sierra Leone has no ready response. A special programme is needed for this category of victims, to provide trauma counselling, physical therapy and technical and material support. The extensive and systematic sexual abuse visited upon young girls is one of the most painful and traumatic legacies of the war in Sierra Leone. The victims' trauma is compounded by social stigma and reticence to address this issue.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“As to incorporating child protection into the mandate and operations of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), I have been advocating that, as a general policy, child protection and welfare should constitute an explicit priority in the mandate of every United Nations peace operation, that a child-protection advocate should always be attached to each operation to promote the implementation of this component of the mandate, and that appropriate training should be given to peacekeeping personnel, both civilian and military, concerning the protection of the rights of children and women. I am pleased that these three new elements are now being incorporated into the mandate and operation of UNAMSIL. The first child-protection advocate will be drawn from the ranks of the United Nations Children's Fund.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“There is an urgent need to establish a national commission for children to ensure that their protection and welfare will be a central concern in the aftermath of the war, and that this will be reflected in national priority- setting, policy-making and resource allocation.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“Today there are more than 3,000 "street children" in Freetown alone; and many children are suffering from serious psychological trauma, the particular trauma of children within the generalized trauma of the entire society. In view of what I have witnessed on the ground in Sierra Leone recently and the discussions I held with the national leaders, United Nations agencies and non- governmental organizations, and drawing on previous commitments made to me, I have proposed a special agenda for action for the children of Sierra Leone. These are extraordinary circumstances requiring special measures on behalf of children. Children must not be short-changed during this critical period of healing and rebuilding. To this end, the lS-point agenda puts forward several measures and initiatives. Among the principal elements are the following.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“In the month of January 1999 alone, over 4,000 children were abducted during the incursion by the rebels into Freetown; it is estimated that 60 per cent of abducted children are young girls, the vast majority of whom are reported to have been sexually abused. Thousands of children have been serving as child soldiers in the three main fighting groups: the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone (RUF), the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Civil Defence Force (CDF). Over 3 million Sierra Leoneans - two thirds of the total population - have been displaced by war within and outside their country, more than 60 per cent of them children. Some 10,000 children are estimated to have been separated from their parents as a result of the war.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“Secondly, they want to see the re-establishment of a credible level of security in the country; above all, this means disarming the combatants. Many Sierra Leoneans believe that without disarmament, they will remain highly vulnerable, as the armed groups might be tempted to reverse the little progress made so far. Apart from the immediate imperatives of ending the war and re-establishing security, the most daunting challenge facing Sierra Leonean society today is what they call "the crisis of young people", the desperate conditions of young children and adolescents. The children of Sierra Leone have suffered beyond belief. Many children have been deliberately maimed, with their limbs brutally cut off. The youngest child I met, Abu Sesay, who is now 10 months old, had his leg cut off by the rebels when he was barely two months old.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“Mr. Otunnu: I should like from the outset to pay a very special tribute to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), and to Nigeria in particular, for the very exceptional contribution and sacrifice that they have made over these last several years on behalf of the children and the people of Sierra Leone. I visited Sierra Leone recently to assess first-hand the conditions of children in the country following the signing of the Lome Peace Agreement and to identify key measures and initiatives needed to ensure the protection and welfare of children in the aftermath of the war. The people of Sierra Leone have two overriding preoccupations. First, they desperately want to be sure that this very evil war has finally ended for ever.”
1999-10-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4054 (1999) · source
“The children there are so full of energy, so eager to learn, so cheerful, ready to go - but they have no opportunities. They only ask for a little help for schooling or health care. I say that we of the international community must get closer to these communities. We must learn from them. We must draw inspiration from their example, and we must reinforce their local efforts. This is why, in spite of the suffering I have seen and the adversity in the places I have visited, I have come back with a renewed sense of hope, and I say to the Council and the rest of the international community that the way forward to help these communities that are caught in the midst of war and its aftermath is to go women, go children, go local. I thank you, Sir, for your initiative in convening this meeting.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“I remember the evening I spent with the women of the Kuku and Yei camps in southern Sudan - women who, in spite of their adversity and suffering, were singing and rejoicing. They simply defied the fate imposed upon them by war. They were busy building schools and huts for their children. They asked for only two things. First, they told me, "Go tell our leaders and the international community we just want peace." Their second request: "We want some assistance with schooling for our children." I think of my visit to Rwanda, where I met some of the 60,000 children who from one day to the next became the heads of households because all their parents had been massacred. More recently I was in Colombia. I think of a visit to camps for internally displaced persons, in Quibdo and elsewhere.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“When I met Beatrice I asked her how it felt, after what she had experienced, to be taking care of those children. She looked me in the face, gave a confident smile and said, "Working here with Maggy, taking care of these children, has given back to me the dignity of a mother." And then I think of my visit to Juba in southern Sudan, of my reunion with my university roommate Dr. Paul Tingwa, who at the time was a refugee in my native country of Uganda. Now he is running a hospital in the middle of a war zone, with barely any shirt on his back or shoes on his feet. But he is holding on tenaciously in this zone because of the desperate need of the children and women in that area.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“She resolved to rebuild homes for child survivors of these massacres, children of all ethnic groups. When I visited I saw several of these homes. In Ruiigi, I encountered another remarkable woman - Beatrice, a Hutu - who is now working with Maggy to take care of these children. Beatrice fled Burundi in 1972 during an earlier set of massacres. She went to Rwanda and met another Hutu refugee from Burundi, got married and had eight children. In 1994, following the genocide in Rwanda, the family fled to the Congo. In 1997 their camp was attacked and her entire family was massacred. She was the only survivor. Beatrice walked back to Burundi, met Maggy from her village, and the two women exchanged stories. The two women determined together that they would make common cause across the Tutsi-Hutu divide.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“But in an extraordinary demonstration of solidarity and generosity, they opened their homes and hearts to more than 50 refugees from Kosovo, most of whom were children and women. I think of my visit last February to a little village in Burundi called Ruiigi. We have all been told that in Burundi and Rwanda Tutsi and Hutu can never get along with each other. But in Ruiigi I encountered three remarkable people - Maggy, Beatrice and Isaac - who by their examples have repudiated this paradigm. Maggy is a Tutsi woman who in her Village during the upheavals of 1993 witnessed unspeakable inter-communal massacres, even in the secretariat of the church where she worked. She determined at that time to become a revolutionary for peace and reconciliation among the Hutu and the Tutsi.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“In order to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of conflict, both international and national actors have a responsibility to take political, economic and social measures that can generate within communities a sense of hope in place of despair, a sense of inclusion and participation instead of exclusion and a sense of belonging instead of alienation. In conclusion, I must tell the Council how, in my recent Visits to countries affected by conflict, I have been so deeply touched and humbled by examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things within their local communities. I think of the host families I visited in Albania and Macedonia, in Kukes and Tetovo. They were ordinary and, for the most part, very poor families, with nothing to spare.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“Their predicament underlines the need and the urgency for the international community to find a way to provide more systematic protection and practical support to the some 25 million persons presently displaced within their own national borders. Most of these people are children and women. The magnitude of this problem has been brought home to us by Mr. Francis Deng. The guidelines he has produced on internally displaced persons should be widely disseminated and used by Governments, parties in conflict and the humanitarian community as a whole. Ultimately, the best way to end to the suffering of children is to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of conflict.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“As regards providing for children in situations of imperfect peace, I have been struck by the fact that even in situations of imperfect peace there are often spaces for responding more systematically to the needs and welfare of children. I have seen this in Rwanda, in the Sudan, in Burundi, in Colombia and in Sierra Leone. Child protection and welfare must not depend on the attainment of complete peace, but should be provided whenever the space exists to do so. Turning to the situation of internally displaced communities, on my missions this past year I have everywhere witnessed the deeply distressing and precarious situation of internally displaced populations. In fact, most of the children I have encountered in my visits were internally displaced within their countries.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“Thirdly, and equally important, we must address the political, social and economic factors that create an environment in which children are induced by appeal of ideology or by socio-economic collapse to become child soldiers. As regards signing and ratifying international instruments, I strongly urge all Member States to sign and ratify those international legal instruments that afford protection to children in situations of armed conflict. I am referring in particular to the Statute of the International Criminal Court and the recent International Labour Organization Convention, adopted in June of this year.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“We therefore need to develop in those situations radio stations and programmes devoted entirely to the needs of children in situations of conflict and its aftermath. A twelfth recommendation relates to the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. The participation of children in armed conflict is one of the most horrendous trends of recent times. To stem the present tide, we need to adopt a three-pronged approach. First, I support the efforts to raise the age limit for recruitment and participation from 15 to 18 years. Secondly, parallel with the efforts to raise the age limit, we must mobilize right now an effective movement of international pressure that can lean on the armed groups that are currently abusing children in this way.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“This will provide the Council with information on the basis of which the protection and welfare of children can be addressed on an ongoing basis. A tenth point is the need to review the effects of sanctions on children. All efforts should be made to relieve the suffering of children living under sanctions regimes. Whenever the Security Council adopts measures under Article 41, it is critical to give consideration to their impact on children and to provide appropriate humanitarian exemptions. An eleventh point concerns the voice of children. I have been struck by the absence of and hunger for information and recreation among children in situations of conflict and its aftermath.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“Secondly, to ensure the implementation of such mandates, there should be a senior officer dedicated to coordinating and ensuring that the welfare of children is respected. And thirdly, we believe that training must be given to all members of a peacekeeping team, civilian and military, on issues regarding the protection, welfare and rights of women and children. A ninth recommendation concerns the importance of reporting to the Security Council on the fate of children. It is important, in our View, that whenever reports are submitted to the Council on situations of armed conflict and related humanitarian emergencies, such reports should include assessments of the impact of those situations on children.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“At the international level, the key actors must make this central in their programmes and in their planning. At the national level, I am equally convinced that there is need for a national body, perhaps a national commission on children, to ensure an effective response to the needs of children affected by war. Eighth, special attention should be paid to the protection and welfare of children in the context of peace operations. Particular attention needs to be paid to the protection and welfare of children in United Nations mandated field operations aimed at promoting peace, preventing and resolving conflicts and implementing peace agreements. There are three distinct elements which are important in this regard. First, the needs of children should be explicitly recognized as a priority in the mandates.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“Sixthly, children's protection and welfare should be placed on the peace agenda. Children suffer disproportionately in times of war, and therefore they have the highest stake in peace. That is why we must ensure that their protection and needs feature prominently in any negotiations to end war and in peace accords. I am pleased that this is beginning to be the case in the peace processes in Burundi, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Colombia. Seventh, the needs of children in the aftermath of conflict must be addressed. Even when fighting stops, children will continue to bear physical, social and psychological scars and to suffer the long-term consequences of war. In post-conflict situations, children' s needs must be at the forefront of sustained efforts for reconstruction, the consolidation of peace and the support of local rehabilitation.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“The idea is to develop dialogue that would ultimately lead to specific agreements and concrete measures at the neighbourhood level on cross- border threats to children. Fifthly, the business community should be engaged. There is an urgent need to monitor and control the flow of weapons, especially small arms, and the exploitation of natural resources in theatres of conflict, where there is evidence that children and women are being systematically brutalized. Illicit trade in timber, gold or diamond tends to fuel the war machines responsible for atrocities against children and women. I urge the business community to assume their social and moral responsibility in this regard. For a start, I urge them to develop voluntary codes of conduct within their own industries to address this serious issue.”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source
“It is critical that concerned actors - beginning with the Security Council, plus Governments, regional organizations, United Nations agencies and civil society organizations - reinforce these commitments through their own channels of communication and influence. My fourth recommendation concerns neighbourhood initiatives. Although most of today's armed conflicts are internal, the victimization of children is often exacerbated by cross-border activities, the transfer of weapons, the use of landmines, the recruitment and abduction of children and the movement of displaced populations. Threats facing children within countries in conflict often cannot be brought under control without addressing the cross-border dimensions. That is why we have proposed the development of "neighbourhood initiatives".”
1999-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4037 (1999) · source