(OSRSG-CAAC) – The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, welcomes the accession of South Sudan to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. South Sudan becomes the 195th State to ratify the CRC, which has almost universal ratification. “I welcome the ratification of the CRC by South Sudan but I also urge the authorities to uphold their responsibilities in protecting children’s rights” said Leila Zerrougui. As described in the Secretary-General’s recent report on children and armed conflict in South Sudan, the current conflict in South Sudan has had a devastating impact on children who have been killed and maimed by hundreds, recruited and used by thousands, raped and abducted. Their schools have been attacked affecting access to education for dozens of thousands of children.
