High-level event to commemorate the 25^th Anniversary of the Children and Armed Conflict Mandate

(18 January 2022; 1500 hrs)

INDIA STATEMENT

By

Mr. Ashish Sharma

Counsellor

We thank all the sponsors for organizing this commemorative high-level event to mark the 25th anniversary of the mandate of the SRSG CAAC.

Since the creation of the CAAC mandate, significant progress has been achieved to protect children in situations of armed conflict, particularly the fact that more than 170,000 children have been released from parties to conflict. However, as conflicts continue to flare up in various parts of the world, children continue to suffer.

National governments have the primary responsibility for protecting the rights of the children as mandated by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We encourage Member States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

Member States should adopt robust legal frameworks for protection and promotion of child rights and provide the children with holistic development opportunities, including free and compulsory primary education.

Close cooperation between the UN and its Member States concerned is critical for developing an effective and sustainable policy for repatriation and reintegration of children affected by armed conflict. Assistance to national governments for capacity building and strengthening legal and operational tools for child protection is vital.

We are witnessing a dangerous and worrying trend in global terrorism and that is an increase in the number of children that are being recruited and involved in terrorism-related activities. Terror groups take advantage of the fact that children are the most susceptible to manipulation for radicalization and indoctrination in violent extremist ideologies.

We reiterate our call for ending impunity of all actors responsible for inciting and perpetrating grave violations and abuses against children. There must be greater accountability and sincere efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice by governments from whose territory such entities operate.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further magnified the risks children face and has increased the need for their protection. It has made them susceptible to grave violations, particularly through recruitment and abduction. It is, therefore, important that Member States keep child protection concerns at the core of their pandemic response measures and recovery plans.

Let me conclude by reiterating India’s firm commitment and steadfast support to UN endeavours to protect children in armed conflicts.