The UN Secretary-General released his 12th annual report on children and armed conflict to the UN Security Council, pursuant to Security Council resolution 2068 (2012), by which the Council requested the Secretary-General to ‘continue to submit annual reports on the implementation of its resolutions and presidential statements on children and armed conflict’. The 12th annual report covers the period from January to December 2012.
The Security Council discussed the report during a debate on children and armed conflict that took take place on 17 June, during the UK Presidency. Unlike all previous debates on this issue, this debate was not an open debate. Participation in the debate was limited to the fifteen Council members, and ‘interested parties’, which includes countries listed, or otherwise mentioned, in the 12th Secretary-General report on children and armed conflict. The friends of the children and armed conflict agenda who are not on the Security Council did not have the opportunity to speak and reinforce key messages in support of the agenda.
Luxemburg, the chair of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, adopted a presidential statement as an outcome document of the debate. The focus of the debate, and the presidential statement, is on the issue of persistent perpetrators.
