A/HRC/43/38
94.
In September 2019, the Special Representative was a guest speaker at the event
entitled “How are we going to stop the war on children?”, organized by Save the Children
in New York during the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly. At the same
occasion, and as part of her efforts to support the reintegration of former child soldiers, she
took part in the event entitled “A goal within reach: ending the institutionalization of
children to ensure no one is left behind”, organized by the Lumos Foundation.
95.
At the event entitled “Responding to sexual violence in the context of detention”,
organized in October 2019 by the All Survivors Project, the Special Representative shed
light on the issue of sexual violence against boys in conflict.
96.
Discussions on children and armed conflict with universities, academics and think
tanks continued throughout 2019. During her missions to Brussels in April 2019 and to
Berlin in June 2019, she met with the European Institute of Peace and with the Center for
International Peace Operations, respectively, and discussed avenues for cooperation. In
November 2019, she was invited as a keynote speaker to the First Congress of the
International Mukwege Chair on violence against women and girls in conflict, organized at
the University of Liège with the Queen of Belgium and Dr. Mukwege.
97.
The Special Representative also provided video messages in support of partners, for
instance for an event organized for Red Hand Day on 12 February 2019 by Terre des
hommes Germany.
98.
Representatives from the Office of the Special Representative also participated in
events, attending for instance in Geneva in October 2019 the annual meeting of the Alliance
for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action. The same month, her Office took part in a
side event in Amsterdam with conflict-affected youth, organized by War Child Holland in
the margins of the International Conference on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.
VI. Conclusions and recommendations
99.
The Special Representative remains deeply concerned about the scale and
severity of grave violations committed against children and calls upon the Human
Rights Council and States Members of the United Nations to take all available
measures to prevent violations from occurring. The Special Representative especially
expresses concern with regard to the dehumanization of civilian populations,
including children, and urges all parties to turn obligations contained in historic
conventions and declarations into a reality. She calls upon parties to conflict to
remove all impediments to humanitarian access to children and to enable unimpeded
access to education for conflict-affected children by better protecting schools, school
children and teachers, and implementing concrete measures to deter the military use
of schools.
100. The Special Representative calls anew upon Member States to treat children
allegedly associated with armed groups, including Security Council designated
terrorist groups, primarily as victims, prioritize their rehabilitation and reintegration,
and address the especially detrimental impact of stigma on their reintegration. She
further reminds Member States that, if a child is accused of a crime during his or her
association, juvenile justice standards and standards of fair trial must be applied. The
Special Representative calls upon the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and the
relevant special procedure mandate holders to focus closely on the impact of violent
extremism on children, including the issue of children of or recruited as foreign
fighters.
101. The Special Representative welcomes national and international efforts to
achieve accountability for perpetrators of grave violations against children. Member
States and the donor community are encouraged to strengthen their support to
national justice systems in conflict and post-conflict situations by providing sufficient
resources and technical capacity for investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of
grave violations against children.
17
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