This month’s update highlights children and armed conflict concerns and provides recommendations for the protection of children in the situations of Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mali. The update also reiterates key recommendations to the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict ahead of the conclusion negotiations on Afghanistan, still pending.
Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict is a network of local, national and international non-governmental organizations striving to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights. Monthly updates are based on the experience of Watchlist and its member organizations in specific country situations and Watchlist’s expertise in over a decade of engagement with the Security Council’s children and armed conflict agenda.
Recommendations to the Security Council
Afghanistan
The Afghan National Police (ANP), including the Local Police, and three armed groups (Haqqani Network, Hezb-e-Islami and Taliban forces) are listed for recruitment and use of children. All three armed groups are also listed for killing and maiming, while the Taliban are further listed for attacks on schools and/or hospitals. On August 1, 2013, the Government of Afghanistan reconfirmed its commitment to end and prevent recruitment and use of children by endorsing a ‘Road Map Towards Compliance’ with the UN. In December, the Secretary-General (SG) is expected to report on the progress of UNAMA, as per SCR 2210 (2015). The last progress report released in September (S2015/684) documents two verified reports of recruitment of children by the Afghan security forces in a reporting period of three months. Council Members should:
Urge the SG to continue to maintain the capacity of UNAMA’s human rights section and dedicated child protection capacity within that section, and request the SG to continue to include the matter of children and armed conflict in Afghanistan in all future reports;
Call on the Government’s full implementation of the measures outlined in the Road Map per SCR 2120 (2013) and SCR 2145 (2014), extended through the end of 2016, with the support of the Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (CTFMR);
Urge the Government to provide unimpeded access to its military sites and other areas where children may be present to enable the CTFMR to assist in identifying, registering and discharging all children present in the ranks of ANSF, and to allow national and international child protection bodies regular access to all detention facilities at all levels, including those of the Afghan National Defense Forces;
Urge the Government to establish child protection units throughout all ANP recruitment centers in all 34 provinces, deemed to be instrumental for preventing recruitment by the UNAMA child protection component from the four pilot provinces.
Spain is the lead country on Afghanistan. New Zealand is the Chair of the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the Chair of the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee.
Central African Republic (CAR)
The ex-Séléka coalition and associated armed groups are listed for recruitment and use, killing and maiming, and sexual violence against children, in addition to attacks on schools and/or hospitals. The anti-Balaka defense militias are listed for recruitment and use, killing and maiming, and sexual violence against children. In December, the SG is expected to report on the progress of MINUSCA, pursuant to SCR 2217 (2015). A final report by the Panel of Experts to the Sanctions Committee is also due in December, as per SCR 2196. The Council Members should:
Urge MINUSCA to fully and effectively implement its protection of civilians and child protection mandate, pursuant to SCR 2217 (2015);
Encourage MINUSCA to complete the development of the Special Operating Procedures on child protection and ensure that they are integrated into the overall planning, preparation, and conduct of operations;
Immediately review and approve designations for individuals, presented by the Panel of Experts, who have committed grave violations against children as per SCR 2196; and furthermore, enforce travel bans and other restrictions for those previously sanctioned through the CAR Sanctions regime without delay;
Encourage UNICEF and its partners to continue to separate and advocate for the release of children in armed groups and facilitate their reintegration into host families, using Transit Centers as a measure of last resort;
Ensure that financial and logistical support is provided for the establishment of the Special Criminal Court, and that its judicial framework enables the prosecution of alleged perpetrators of grave violations against children, including recruitment and use, killing and maiming, abduction, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and attacks on schools; the framework should also ensure the protection of children as victims and witnesses.
France is the lead country on CAR. Lithuania chairs the 2127 Sanctions Committee and Jordan is the Vice-Chair.
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Ten parties are listed for grave violations against children in 2015, including the DRC armed forces (FARDC). The Government signed an action plan in 2012 to end and prevent recruitment and use of children and sexual violence by the FARDC. In December, the SG is expected to report on the progress of MONUSCO, as per SCR 2211 (2015). The FARDC, listed for recruitment and use and rape and other forms of sexual violence in the DRC, are still serving in CAR as part of MINUSCA after having been re-hatted and scheduled to rotate out. In November, there were three more allegations of cases of sexual abuse against girls by the FARDC. The Security Council should:
Immediately and without delay ensure that FARDC troops are rotated out of MINUSCA and not permitted to participate in peacekeeping operations until they are delisted from the SG’s annual report on children and armed conflict;
Maintain MONUSCO’s capacity to document and verify child rights violations in order to improve reporting and ensure the status of implementation of the Action Plan is included as part of its public reports, specifically through the work of its child protection advisors;
Urge the Government to ensure that children encountered during military operations are treated in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law, and transferred without delay to child protection actors; children should not be arrested, detained or interrogated on the sole basis of their alleged association with armed groups;
Urge the Government to prioritize criminal investigations and prosecutions of individuals suspected of having committed grave violations against children, and to provide regular information on the number of disciplinary sanctions, prosecutions, and convictions for those violations.
France is the lead country on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jordan chairs the 1533 Sanctions Committee, and Chile and Lithuania are Vice-Chairs.
Mali
Three armed groups (Ansar Dine, MNLA, and MUJAO) are listed for recruitment and use and sexual violence against children. In December, the SG is expected to report on MINUSMA’s progress, including on the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation, as per SCR 2227 (2015). As of November, three boys remain in detention at the Central Prison of Bamako, alongside adults, even though separate juvenile facilities exist. The Security Council should:
Urge the Government to have the relevant authorities immediately transfer the children to the juvenile facilities and guarantee their release, as well as implement its Protocol d’accord on the Release and Handover of children associated with armed forces or groups, signed on July 1, 2013, with the help of MINUSMA and other child protection actors; children arrested during military operations should be primarily treated as victims and held separately from adults;
In observance of the ceasefire, strongly encourage MINUSMA to ensure implementation of the child protection provisions in the Bamako peace agreement, especially those relating to the release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups;
Recalling paragraph 33 of SCR 2227 (2015), urge all parties to implement the Working Group conclusions on Children and Armed Conflict in Mali negotiated in July 2014.
France is the lead country on Mali.
Recommendations to the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict
Afghanistan
On July 6, the SG’s report on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan was formally presented to the Working Group, and negotiations on the conclusion are still pending as the Working Group members continue to wait for the Chair to circulate the first draft. For detailed recommendations on Afghanistan, see Watchlist’s ‘Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update August 2015’.
Presidency of the Security Council for December: United States
Party to the Geneva Convention IV, Optional Protocol to the CRC, and ILO Convention 182;
Not a party to the Additional Protocol I or II of the Geneva Convention, the Rome Statute of the ICC, and is the only UN member to have not ratified the CRC; Has not endorsed the Paris Principles and the Paris Commitments, and has not endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration.