VZCZCXYZ0416
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0403 1122048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 222029Z APR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS STATE 040403 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNSC GG PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR UN SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATE ON 
CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request:  USUN is instructed to draw 
from the points below during the UN Security Council thematic 
debate on Children and Armed Conflict scheduled for April 29, 
¶2009. 
 
¶2. (U) Begin points: 
 
-- Secretary Espinosa, Mr. President, thank you for hosting 
today,s debate on Children and Armed Conflict.  The United 
States also thanks Mexico for its initiative and efforts as 
the new Chair of the Security Council Working Group on 
Children and Armed Conflict.  We also applaud France for its 
leadership as Chair of the Working Group over the last four 
years. 
-- We also thank Special Representative Coomaraswamy for her 
briefing and commend her unyielding advocacy for children. 
You continue to have our full support. 
 
-- Madame Secretary, Mr. President, the United States is 
deeply committed to addressing issues 
regarding the welfare of children, including protecting 
children from the scourges of war. 
This commitment has its foundation in President Obama,s 
steadfast dedication to safeguarding 
human rights and to preventing violations of international 
humanitarian law.  Every day, 
hundreds of thousands of children are caught in the middle of 
armed conflict.  In most cases, 
they cannot ensure their own safety, protection, and dignity. 
 
 
-- The roles that the Security Council and the Working Group 
play are important in this regard.  They send a signal of 
strong political will and provide a valuable forum to focus 
the international spotlight on this issue.  Perhaps more 
importantly, in coordination with Special Representative 
Coomaraswamy, the Working Group calls for action by both 
state and non-state actors. 
-- The United States welcomes the Secretary-General,s annual 
report on Children and Armed Conflict.  It includes 
invaluable monitoring and reporting information that 
highlights progress in addressing this issue as well as 
tragedies that continue to occur as we meet here today.   The 
report also outlines thoughtful recommendations for enhancing 
future action on this topic, but I,d like to comment first 
on a few country-specific situations. 
-- There is some good news in Uganda where the government has 
taken positive steps to address children and armed conflict 
issues.  The report notes that there has been no evidence of 
child soldier recruitment by the Uganda People,s Defense 
Forces (UPDF) since August 2007 and that strictly enforced 
laws and regulations are now in place to prevent recruitment 
and use of child soldiers.  We commend the Government of 
Uganda for its efforts and for signing an action plan in 
December 2008. 
-- In the DRC, however, the situation remains dire.  The UN 
Mission (MONUC) documented 554 new child recruits by armed 
groups during the reporting period, 26 of whom were girls. 
We are also concerned about what the Secretary-General,s 
report calls &widespread sexual violence8 by armed groups. 
Two foreign armed groups operating in the DRC ) the 
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the 
Lord,s Resistance Army (LRA) ) abduct children to serve as 
soldiers, porters and sex slaves, and some are murdered in 
cold blood. 
-- The current conflict in Sri Lanka has exacted a tragic 
toll on children.  The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE) has reportedly increased its forcible recruitment of 
children in the Northern conflict zone and threatens families 
seeking to disclose information about their children to the 
UN.  The LTTE is using civilians as &human shields8 and 
there are increasingly frequent reports that the LTTE has 
shot at groups of civilians, including children.  Children 
have also suffered directly as a consequence of government 
shelling of the safe zone.  Both sides of the conflict should 
commit to a sustained humanitarian pause.  Additionally, the 
government should enforce international standards in IDP 
camps and facilitate access by international aid groups and 
media. 
-- In Sudan, since February 2008 close to 500 children, some 
as young as 12, have been recruited by a variety of armed 
groups, including government forces.  Attacks and 
restrictions on humanitarian workers have created an 
impediment to the delivery of humanitarian aid to children. 
The recent government expulsion of NGOs is having a 
significant negative impact.  We are also extremely concerned 
that there have been 53 verified cases of child rape by armed 
government elements in Darfur.  This is utterly unacceptable. 
 
-- While the Working Group is a useful tool that contributes 
to resolution of these situations, other critical work is 
done on the ground.  DPKO child protection advisors and 
missions, UNICEF, UNHCR, and UN technical agencies, for 
example, play a vital role in efforts to report, rescue and 
protect children.  A child protection advisor in Burundi was 
instrumental in developing an action plan to halt recruitment 
that will soon be signed by the government. UNICEF,s 
programming responds to needs of children and helps them 
build better lives.  UNHCR/OCHAs commitment to reporting 
helps highlight this important issue.  The advocacy of NGOs 
like Save the Children and Human Rights Watch helps to inform 
policy makers. 
 
-- The international community is engaging to protect 
children, but we can and must do more.  Expanding the list of 
triggers for the monitoring and reporting mechanism 
authorized by the Security Council in Resolution 1612 to 
include rape and sexual violence against children is a good 
start.  The current Secretary-General,s report illustrates 
numerous threats to children in armed conflict, including the 
alarming increased rates of rape and sexual violence.  The 
United States fully supports expanding the trigger to include 
rape and sexual violence and applauds the Security Council 
for its endorsement of today,s Presidential Statement to 
this effect. 
-- Beyond the Working Group, the United States is also 
working hard to address children and armed conflict issues. 
Through our support for international organizations such as 
UNHCR and the ICRC, we are addressing the needs of refugees 
and conflict victims, including children in armed conflict. 
We are also supporting programs through NGO partners that 
address the specific needs of children and adolescents 
including primary, secondary, and vocational education. 
These programs give children hope for a better future. 
-- Here at home, in 2008 the United States Congress passed 
the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act and the Child Soldiers 
Accountability Act, and we are promoting these pieces of 
legislation as examples for countries around the world to use 
as a basis for drafting similar domestic legislation 
themselves.  The Child Soldiers Prevention Act, among other 
things, restricts the provision of certain types of foreign 
assistance to countries whose armed forces or government- 
supported armed groups unlawfully recruit or use child 
soldiers and include requirements for our missions overseas 
to investigate and report on the unlawful use of child 
soldiers. 
-- Madame Secretary, Mr. President, the Security Council and 
the international community have made progress in addressing 
the issue of children and armed conflict, but we should not 
stop now.  We have moral responsibilities to increase 
protections for all children and to provide them a future 
based on opportunity, not on terror and abuse.  In pursuing 
the fulfillment of these responsibilities, we should strive 
to ensure that the kind of success achieved by heroes like 
Grace Akallo, Ismael Beah and Emmanuel Jal become the rule 
for children in armed conflict and not the exception.  Their 
achievement is our inspiration. 
CLINTON