S/PV.8305 Children and Armed Conflict 09/07/2018
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United Nations S/ PV.8305 Security Council Provisional Seventy-third year 8305th meeting Monday, 9 July 2018, 10 a.m. New York President: Mr. Löfven/Mr. Skoog/Ms. Schoulgin Nyoni .......... (Sweden) Members: Bolivia (Plurinational State of) ..................... Mrs. Cordova Soría China ......................................... Mr. Ma Zhaoxu Côte d’Ivoire ................................... Mr. Djedje Equatorial Guinea ............................... Mr. Ndong Mba Ethiopia ....................................... Mr. Alemu France ........................................ Mr. Delattre Kazakhstan .................................... Mr. Umarov Kuwait ........................................ Mr. Alotaibi Netherlands .................................... Ms. Wever-Croes Peru .......................................... Mr. Meza-Cuadra Poland ........................................ Mr. Radomski Russian Federation ............................... Mr. Polyanskiy United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .. Ms. Pierce United States of America .......................... Mrs. Haley Agenda Children and armed conflict Protecting children today prevents conflicts tomorrow Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (S/2018/465) Letter dated 21 June 2018 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (S/2018/625) This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 ([email protected]). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 18-21402 (E) *1821402* S/PV.8305 Children and armed conflict 09/07/2018 The meeting was called to order at 10.15 a.m. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Expression of thanks to the outgoing President I wish to draw the attention of Council members The President: I should like to take this to document S/2018/465, which contains the report of opportunity, on behalf of the Security Council, to the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict. pay tribute to His Excellency Mr. Vassily Nebenzia, I wish to also draw the attention of Council members Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to to document S/2018/625, which contains a letter dated the United Nations, for his service as President of the 21 June 2018 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Council for the month of June. I am sure I speak for all Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations members of the Security Council in expressing deep addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting a appreciation to Ambassador Nebenzia and his team for concept paper on the item under consideration. the great diplomatic skill with which they conducted the Council’s business last month. Members of the Council have before them document S/2018/667, which contains the text of a draft Adoption of the agenda resolution submitted by 95 Member States. The full list of sponsors of the draft resolution will be reflected in The agenda was adopted. the official record of today’s meeting. Children and armed conflict The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution Protecting children today prevents to the vote now. conflicts tomorrow Report of the Secretary-General on children A vote was taken by show of hands. and armed conflict (S/2018/465) In favour: Letter dated 21 June 2018 from the Chargé Bolivia (Plurinational State of), China, Côte d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, France, Sweden to the United Nations addressed to the Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Secretary-General (S/2018/625) Russian Federation, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States The President: I wish to warmly welcome the of America Ministers and other representatives present in the Security Council Chamber. Their presence underscores The President: The draft resolution received the importance of the subject matter we will discuss 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been today. Before each member is a list of speakers who adopted unanimously as resolution 2427 (2018). have requested to take the floor in accordance with I now give the floor to Ms. Gamba. rules 37 and 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure and the previous practice of the Council Ms. Gamba: On behalf of the Secretary-General, in this regard. We propose that they be invited to who is currently attending the African Union-United participate in today’s meeting. Nations annual conference in Addis Ababa, I would like to thank Sweden and its Prime Minister, His There being no objection, it is so decided. Excellency Mr. Stefan Löfven, for taking the initiative In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s to hold today’s debate. In my own capacity, I would provisional rules of procedure, I invite the following also like to also thank Sweden for its exceptional briefers to participate in today’s meeting: Ms. Virginia role as Chair of the Security Council Working Group Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary- on Children and Armed conflict and its dedicated General for Children and Armed Conflict; Ms. Henrietta support for the children-and-armed-conflict mandate. Fore, Executive Director of the United Nations I also want to thank my close partners, in particular, Children’s Fund; and Ms. Yenny Londoño, civil society UNICEF, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, representative. the Department of Political Affairs and civil society. 2/96 18-21402 09/07/2018 Children and armed conflict S/PV.8305 This is the second time I have had the honour must be held to account, we also must not forget that to address the Security Council in the Chamber on children who have been recruited should be treated the situation of children affected by armed conflict. primarily as victims and that detention should be used Over the course of these past 13 months, I have had only as a last resort and for the shortest period of time. I the opportunity to follow first hand the outstanding feel strongly that rehabilitation and reintegration — and work undertaken by child-protection actors on the not retribution — must be the centrepiece of our efforts ground. These dedicated men and women are at the when engaging with recruited girls and boys. forefront of documenting, addressing and preventing Urgent action is needed to address those issues if we grave violations against children in some of the most want to live up to our legal and moral responsibilities. difficult conditions imaginable. I would like to take Recent commitments by parties to conflict are a source this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for of hope in that regard. Action plans were adopted in the their commitment. Central African Republic, Mali and Nigeria. The full Notwithstanding their efforts, I am profoundly implementation of its action plan by the Government of shocked by the appalling number of grave violations the Sudan and the advances in the protection of children perpetrated against children last year. Over 21,000 attained through the peace process in Colombia are violations were documented by the United Nations, testament to what we can achieve when political will representing a significant increase over the previous and international support coincide. The Government of year. Each and every one of these violations led to Iraq set out to develop an action plan to end and prevent unspeakable suffering for children, families and the recruitment and use of children by the Popular entire communities. The majority of these despicable Mobilization Forces, and the coalition to restore acts were perpetrated by armed groups, although legitimacy in Yemen established a child-protection unit Government forces and unknown armed actors played at its headquarters. The ratification of the Optional an important part. Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict by the A sharp rise in the number of abductions, Government of the Central African Republic in 2017 coinciding with increased levels of recruitment and moved us one country closer to universal ratification. use of both girls and boys, was of particular concern. In Somalia, Al-Shabaab abducted over 1,600 children Specific Member State initiatives, such as by threatening entire communities or targeting the ministerial conference organized by France to schools as places for recruitment. Surges in violence commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Paris also resulted in elevated numbers of children killed Principles and Commitments, the endorsement of the or injured, including in the Democratic Republic of Safe Schools Declaration by 15 States last year and the Congo, Iraq and Myanmar, while Boko Haram in the adoption of the Vancouver Principles, continued Nigeria and neighbouring countries continued to attack to shine a spotlight on the protection of children both military and civilian targets by using children to affected by armed conflict and catalyse support for this