October 2017 – This Special Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update provides recommendations to Member States ahead of the October 31 Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, to be held under the Presidency of France. At the Debate, the Secretary-General (SG) will present his annual report on CAC pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2225 (2015), covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 2016. France will take the opportunity of the Debate to encourage more endorsements and follow up to the Paris Principles and Paris Commitments, and plans to introduce a Presidential Statement for adoption.
With nearly 50 million children uprooted, 28 million of whom were driven from their homes by conflict, according to UNICEF, our joint efforts are needed to effectively protect children’s security and rights. This year’s Open Debate presents another opportunity for Member States to reaffirm their support for the Security Council’s CAC mandate, which works to address grave violations of children’s rights on the ground in order to prevent future crimes against children and hold to account parties responsible. Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict recommends the UN Security Council and Member States to:
- Call for an accurate and credible listing of perpetrators of the six grave violations, based on impartial evidence-based reporting;
- Call for more effective monitoring, reporting, and response to child rights violations on the ground;
- Call for effective implementation and signing of more UN action plans with armed forces and groups listed in the annexes of the SG’s annual reports on CAC;
- Call for better accountability for all perpetrators of child rights violations.
Read Watchlist’s Special Update for the October 2017 Open Debate.
