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UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Welcomes New Security Council Resolution Requesting Action to Prevent Violations Against Children

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OSRSG Children and Armed Conflict
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New York – The UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, welcomes the adoption today of the Security Council’s Resolution 2427, following the 15-member Council’s unanimous approval of the draft, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations, along with 95 co-sponsors.

The resolution, adopted during the Security Council Open Debate on children and armed conflict, adds a series of measures to strengthen mechanisms to prevent violations against children in conflict.

“I would like to thank the members of the Security Council and the international community for their continued engagement and support on the issue of children affected by armed conflict,” declared Virginia Gamba. “Today’s resolution is providing us with important tools to better respond to the needs of boys and girls, such as the reintegration of former child soldiers.”

Resolution 2427 is also calling on Member States, the UN as well as regional and sub-regional organizations to include measures for the protection of children in all their activities related to the prevention of conflict and reaffirmed the important role the Special Representative can play in conflict prevention.

The resolution also calls for the establishment of strategies and coordination mechanisms to better address the cross-border nature of conflict and its impact on children. The Council stressed the need to develop standard operating procedures for the handover to child protection actors of children allegedly associated with non-State armed groups.

During her presentation to the Security Council’s Debate on the 2017 annual report of the Secretary-General, Virginia Gamba highlighted how once again this year, more children were affected by conflict and victims of a greater number of grave violations.

“The level and severity of violations, which fill the pages of the latest annual report of the Secretary-General should serve as a reminder that we must work in unison to change the tide of history,” she said. “We cannot further jeopardize our most precious resource through inaction, but must increase our efforts to develop preventive tools, utilize reintegration strategically to break cycles of violence and address the cross-border nature of violations through increased cooperation.”

She welcomed the launch of a consultative process to develop practical guidance on the integration of child protection issues in peace processes and renewed her call for adequate resources to ensure sustainable reintegration services for former child soldiers, as well as child protection expertise in all countries affected by conflict.