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	UN Security Council: Recommendations issued on situation of children in Somalia and Uganda

Ms. Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, welcomed the recommendations, saying they sent "a strong message to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda for unconditional release of the children in their ranks. The LRA has ignored the repeated calls from the international community for too long and we hope that they will now immediately undertake actions for the sake of these children.”

The recommendations urged all parties to the conflict in Somalia to stop recruiting and using children, and to take all the necessary measures to demobilise them without delay. The Security Council Working Group called on the government to ensure better protection of children.

In the Secretary-General's report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he recognises the significant progress made by the Congolese Government to address grave violations against children but expresses concern about the impunity for crimes against them, in particular in Ituri Province and the Kivus.

Ms. Coomaraswamy added: “Children continue to be recruited and subjected to sexual violence. Those who commit grave violations against the civilian population in open defiance of the national and international authorities must be held accountable. Rebel Commander Laurent Nkunda, Commander Kyungu Matanga and Capitain Biyoyo should be brought to justice.”

The Secretary-General’s report on the situation in Chad highlights the grave violations against children in the unfolding humanitarian crisis. Children are recruited from refugee camps by all factions, they are killed and maimed by landmines and unexploded ordnances (UXOs) and are also subjected to sexual violence. Ms. Coomaraswamy stated that the security vacuum and the general climate of violence pose considerable challenges and dangers to humanitarian actors. In his report, the Secretary General appeals to the international community to intervene effectively to protect the civilian population.

The Working Group was established pursuant to Resolution 1612 (2005) in order to promote the protection of children in armed conflict through a monitoring and reporting mechanism, as well as to make appropriate recommendations to the UN system including to the Security Council.

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