Children in Conflicts Today

Post by Erica McCauley.

1.) STATEMENT BY SRSG FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT ON THE SITUATION IN COTE D'IVOIRE

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy, made a public statement to the United Nations on January 25, 2011 specifically targeting child soldiers in Côte d’Ivoire. She reminds the audience that Côte d’Ivoire recently signed agreements against abducting children into forces. However, she sees a decline in the willingness of other parties to keep encouraging States to stop allowing the trafficking of children into armies. She reminds the United Nations that there is an obligation to stay honorable to the agreement.

                            2.) The Zero Under 18 Campaign                                  

            On May 25^th, 2010 members of the Specialty Group, “Children and Armed Conflict” and other members of the Unite Nations launched a 2 year campaign to achieve universal ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) by 2012.