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Children and Armed Conflict Cross-Cutting Report Children and Armed Conflict An internally displaced child plays outside a war-ravaged Security Council Report’s fifth Cross-Cutting 1998, expanding the criteria for inclusion in the building in Mogadishu, Somalia. Report on Children and Armed Conflict analyses Secretary-General’s annexes to include attacks statistical information on children and armed on schools and hospitals, the repercussions of the conflict in country-specific decisions of the Secu- differences that emerged during the negotiations rity Council and trends in 2011 and early 2012. are still being felt in 2012. While resolution 1973 2012, No. 3 27 August 2012 It also suggests options for improving Security on Libya set off a series of reactions that signifi- Council and Working Group decision making on cantly affected Council dynamics in most areas This report is available online and can be viewed together with this issue. After several years of largely positive of its work, our findings indicate that this did not research studies and Update Reports developments and progress, in 2011 the protec- affect the children and armed conflict agenda at securitycouncilreport.org. tion of children in armed conflict agenda faced substantively although it may have led to a more For daily insights by SCR on evolv- ing Security Council actions please a number of challenges. Although it was pos- cautious approach to the issue in order not to subscribe to our “What’s In Blue” sible for the Council in 2011 to adopt resolution roll-back progress made in the past. • series at whatsinblue.org or follow @SCRtweets on Twitter. Security Council Report Cross-Cutting Report August 2012 securitycouncilreport.org 1 Summary and Conclusions 2 Summary and Conclusions After several years of largely positive develop- • There are some signs that political will 4 Background and Normative ments and progress, in 2011 the protection within the Council on this issue is weaken- Framework of children in armed conflict agenda faced a ing. With the Working Group on Children number of challenges. Although it was possi- and Armed Conflict now being the main 4 Key Developments at the Thematic Level ble for the Security Council in 2011 to adopt driver the Council is becoming increasingly resolution 1998, expanding the criteria for divorced from the issue. 4 Security Council Activity on inclusion in the Secretary-General’s annexes • The greater interaction and transmission Children and Armed Conflict to include attacks on schools and hospitals, of information between the Office of the Spe- 7 Office of the Special questions related to the definition of “situ- cial Representative of the Secretary-General Representative of the ations of concern” and the process of list- for Children and Armed Conflict, the Work- Secretary-General for Children ing and delisting of parties from the annexes ing Group and relevant Security Council and Armed Conflict to the reports of the Secretary-General were sanctions committees appear to have pro- 9 Application of International raised. Some members also appeared keen to duced some results. Four sanctions commit- Norms/Laws in International revisit issues related to why situations not on tees (Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic Courts and Trials the agenda of the Council were being con- of the Congo [DRC], Somalia and Sudan) 10 Analysis of Council Action in sidered at all by the Working Group of the now have designation criteria on grave viola- Specific Cases Security Council. tions against children. The decision to add 10 Working Group on Children and Resolution 1973 on Libya set off a series recruitment and use of children to the Soma- Armed Conflict of reactions that significantly affected Coun- lia sanctions regime came about after a brief- 13 Cross-Cutting Analysis cil dynamics in most areas of its work. While ing by the Special Representative. our recent Cross-Cutting Report on Protection of • Addressing the issue of persistent perpetra- 13 Resolutions Adopted by the Civilians in Armed Conflict (published 31 May tors and finding better ways of reaching out to Security Council 2012) came to the conclusion that the level of non-state actors has grown in urgency. There 17 Presidential Statements mistrust in the Council following resolution has been a significant increase in the number Adopted by the Security Council 1973 did not negatively affect its approach of persistent perpetrators (parties that have 19 Secretary-General's Report to protection of civilians in terms of measur- been listed by the Secretary-General for more 20 Peace Agreements and able outcomes, our findings for children in than five years). The 2012 report on children Protection of Children and armed conflict indicate that the more diffi- and armed conflict (S/2012/261) lists 32 par- Armed Conflict cult dynamic in the Council, while not affect- ties that come under the category of persis- 21 Reports of Security Council ing this issue substantively, may have led to tent perpetrators. Of these, 13 were similarly Visiting Missions a more cautious approach in order not to designated in previous years, while 19 were roll-back progress made in the past. In addi- newly added to the 2012 annual report. 21 Progress on Dialogue, Action Plans, DDR, Convictions and tion, the apparent reduced attention to the- • While there has been little movement with National Legislation matic issues among several Council members, getting non-state actors to agree to action either due to other priorities or the belief that plans to stop recruitment of children, there 23 Issues Involving Peacekeeping these issues are best addressed in the Gen- has been some progress made with govern- 23 Developments in the Area of eral Assembly, may have led to a lessening ment armed forces to move towards ending Sanctions of political will to advance this issue. As a recruitment and use of children. Four action 24 Case Study: Somalia result the picture in 2011 and early 2012 is a plans on recruitment and use of children were 30 Council Dynamics mixed one for the children and armed con- signed in 2011 and another two in the first 31 Looking Ahead: Possible Future flict agenda. half of 2012. Options Among the findings of this Cross-Cutting • Although the monitoring and reporting Report are: triggers have been expanded to include sexual 32 Annex I: UN Documents and • While the Council continued to address violence and killing and maiming, the main Useful Additional Sources child protection issues in relevant country- signs of progress appear to be in the area 36 Annex II: Methods of Research specific decisions, there was a decrease in of the original trigger, recruitment of chil- 37 Annex III: Background the overall percentage of resolutions and dren. There has been only one action plan Information presidential statements addressing the issue signed on killing and maiming and none on of protection of children in armed conflict. sexual violence. (Both were added as triggers However, when there was child protection for the listing of parties in the annexes fol- language it was not only updated but often lowing the adoption of resolution 1882 on strengthened compared to previous years. 4 August 2009.) There were no action plans The number of presidential statements with signed for the most recent trigger, attacks on child protection references also increased schools and hospitals, but it is probably too slightly. early to assess its impact as it was only added 2 securitycouncilreport.org Security Council Report Cross-Cutting Report August 2012 Summary and Conclusions (con't) following the adoption of resolution 1998 on of work. Regarding Libya, it seems there was trips as a way of pressuring parties named in 12 July 2011. insufficient concrete evidence of violations the annexes: in June 2011 it visited Afghani- • Child protection was usually addressed in against children to warrant adding Libya to stan. However, the self-funding requirement the reports of the Secretary-General as part the annex. has resulted in very few Working Group mem- of a broader section (e.g. peace consolidation, • There was some interest from within the bers participating in the trips. mandate implementation, human rights or UN to find ways of creating coherence within Observations from the Somalia Case humanitarian assistance). Only the reports the Secretariat on some thematic issues. This Study: on the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in led to senior level UN discussions on coordi- • In a situation where there is little appetite the Central African Republic (BINUCA) had nation and coherence of overlapping thematic for significant UN involvement, it is unlikely child protection as a stand-alone section. This issues such as: children and armed conflict; that any attention will be paid to an issue like may suggest that in many UN missions child women, peace and security; and sexual vio- children and armed conflict, even when there protection has been subsumed under a larger lence in conflict. is a clear protection of civilians aspect. In human rights agenda. At the same time there • The convictions by international courts of such cases, a subsidiary body like the Working were more direct references to child protec- Thomas Lubanga Dyilo and Charles Taylor Group on Children and Armed Conflict can tion and to progress made with action plans have helped raise awareness of the criminal play a pivotal role in highlighting a significant in the “observations” sections of the reports nature of the recruitment and use of chil- protection issue. indicating higher
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