Obtaining commitments from parties to conflicts

Over the past several years, the Special Representative, DPKO, DPA, ILO and UNICEF have established the systematic practice of engaging in dialogue with offending parties. The objective of such dialogue has been to elicit from these parties firm commitments, such as refraining from recruiting and using children as soldiers, releasing abducted children, observing humanitarian ceasefires to facilitate feeding and immunization and allowing access for humanitarian relief and protection of displaced populations.

The strength of the Security Council's proactive process in the context of resolution 1612 (2005), combined with the application of international standards, has considerably enhanced the work carried out by child protection advocates.

In the past several years, numerous parties to conflict in places such as Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Uganda and elsewhere, have begun to implement action plans that put in place measures to prevent child recruitment and to identify and release children already associated with their forces. As such practical action to address the issue of children associated with armed forces and groups has gained traction, credibility and momentum, the process is now under way to structure similar dialogue and action plans to address other violations, such as the killing and maiming of children and rape and other forms of sexual violence.

As an independent moral voice and high-level advocate, the Special Representative has engaged in child protection dialogue with parties to conflict, including non-State actors, without prejudice to their political or legal status and with the consent of the Member States concerned.

In view of the fact that the vast majority of parties to conflict listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General's annual report are non-State actors, it is crucial that Member States facilitate contact and dialogue between the United Nations and these groups for the purposes of developing and implementing action plans to halt recruitment and use of children and to address without prejudice all other grave violations committed against children.

Since 2000, child rights and protection provisions have been incorporated into numerous agreements, accords and declarations. Some of the major themes articulated in these agreements include provisions to end the recruitment and use of children by armed forces or armed groups and ensure their immediate release and reintegration, to combat sexual violence and to address child detention and special provisions for internally displaced children.