Coordination and mainstreaming

The mainstreaming of the concerns of children affected by armed conflict into the policies and programmes of United Nations system entities and into United Nations institutional processes is a central priority, and critical to ensuring the protection and well-being of war-affected children. Also vitally important is the mainstreaming of this issue beyond the United Nations, into the priorities and activities of regional organizations and other multilateral groupings, and into key national institutions and processes at country level.

The Special Representative convenes the Task Force on Children and Armed Conflict, which consists of all relevant United Nations offices, departments, funds and programmes. This forum serves as a locus of consultation and policy formulation on children and armed conflict, and as such represents an important tool for mainstreaming and coordination on children and armed conflict. A closer analysis of mainstreaming efforts will be considered in 2007, bearing in mind information already presented in the Special Representative’s 2004 report to the General Assembly (A/59/426). In this regard, the Special Representative looks forward to the completion by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of a long-anticipated review on the deployment of child protection advisers, with a view to making more effective and further institutionalizing this important initiative of United Nations peacekeeping.