This page is background information, last updated in May 2002 and still available for reference. For the latest on the Special Session on Children, please go to the Special Session index.

Protecting Girls and Boys during Armed Conflict

A highly interactive panel discussion on 'Protecting Girls and Boys during Armed Conflict,' held during the Special Session on Children today, called for immediate country-level implementation of treaties and resolutions to protect children living in conflict situations. The panel also called for improvements in monitoring and reporting on child rights violations, and a long-term commitment for the disarmament, demobilization and especially reintegration of former child soldiers. The event emphasized children as integral to the United Nations peace and security agenda, assessed progress made in protecting children during armed conflict, and identified existing and emerging challenges in this important area.

The panelists included Graça Machel, former minister of Education for Mozambique and author of the landmark report on the Impact of War on Children of 1996 (an update of this important report was published in 2001), Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, Rima Salah, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Carlinda Monteiro, from the Christian Children's Fund in Angola, Arvind Ganesan, Director for Business and Human Rights at Human Rights Watch, and Akello Betty Openy, an adolescent researcher from Northern Uganda. The panel discussion was very interactive, featuring questions from the audience and spontaneous responses from panelists instead of formal prepared statements. Government ministers, NGOs, experts, and young people all posed challenging and thoughtful questions. Stephen Lewis, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for HIV/AIDS in Africa, moderated the discussion.

Although progress has been made in the protection of children in armed conflict, this has mainly taken place at the global level. "On the ground, very little has changed," said Olara Otunnu. Better monitoring and reporting on child rights violations is an important way to translate the treaties and resolutions of the Security Council into the realities on the ground. Monitoring and reporting is also the goal of the NGO Watchlist on children and armed conflict, explained Carlinda Monteiro. The Watchlist was formally launched at this event, and promises to be a key tool in the effort to strengthen monitoring of children's rights in conflict situations.

Panelists and participants discussed the role of business in directly and indirectly perpetuating conflicts. There was an animated exchange about the extent to which conflicts are influenced by political interests and by powerful external actors, who do not consider the effects of the conflict on children. Governments have not given priority to the needs and rights of children - the result is that children bear the brunt of war.

Participants called for greater involvement of children in matters that were of concern to them, especially in situations of armed conflict. Graça Machel highlighted the participation of hundreds of young people in the Special Session and the fact that children had been allowed to address the Security Council as evidence that young people are being taken seriously in decision-making forums, and that the international community is listening to them.

There was a sense of frustration expressed by both the panel and the audience over the fact that many conflicts remain unresolved and seemingly intractable, all the while having devastating effects on children. "You have spoken about many solutions to help us. What are you waiting for, to do something?" asked one youth participant. Another youth delegate called on all present to overcome the "barriers of hatred" and to mobilize political will and resources to create peaceful alternatives for children, such as education.