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Children and armed conflict: Report of the Secretary-General (S/2000/712-A/55/150) via Reliefweb http://wwww.reliefweb.int/w/Rwb.nsf/s/AB0CD24BB02F306F85256926007A9E5C Dear all Three points from the Secretary-General's report on Children and armed conflict (19 July 2000). 1) There is a section (F) on 'Protecting children from the impact of sanctions' which mentions Iraq (the entire section is reproduced below): 'Hundreds of thousands of children suffer the unintended consequences of blunt sanctions imposed on Governments or armed opposition groups... The suffering of Iraqi children, as reported by UNICEF, and of children in the Balkans are troubling cases in point. ' 2) Please note also the following paragraph: '66. One of the greatest challenges a country faces after war is the "crisis of young people" - the desperate conditions of very young children and adolescents. The prospects for recovery in many places will depend largely on ensuring a role for young people in the rebuilding process, on rehabilitating young people affected by the conflict, and on restoring a renewed sense of hope.' 3) Interestingly, there is also reference to a UN project entitled 'Voices of children', creating radio programmes for and by children in war-ravaged areas. Entire sanctions-related section Children and armed conflict: Report of the Secretary-General (S/2000/712-A/55/150) F. Protecting children from the impact of sanctions 25. Hundreds of thousands of children suffer the unintended consequences of blunt sanctions imposed on Governments or armed opposition groups. The potential long-term benefits of sanctions should be weighed against the immediate and long-term costs to children, including the collapse of health and education infrastructures, reduced economic opportunities, increased child labour in informal sectors and increased infant morbidity and mortality. The suffering of Iraqi children, as reported by UNICEF, and of children in the Balkans are troubling cases in point. My Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and others actively canvassed for the suspension of regional sanctions against Burundi, in view of their disproportionately negative impact on children and families. 26. The Security Council has repeatedly signalled its willingness to consider the humanitarian impact of sanctions on vulnerable groups, including children, in a systematic and consistent manner. A number of studies have been undertaken recently by the United Nations system, Governments and private research centres aimed at designing more targeted, "smarter" sanctions. 27. While important, these studies have not directly focused on the impact of sanctions regimes on children. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recently reconvened the Inter-Agency Standing Committee reference group on humanitarian consequences of sanctions. This group will undertake and/or coordinate field assessments to monitor and evaluate the humanitarian implications of sanctions and to make available timely and comprehensive information on the impact of these coercive measures. I will encourage the active participation of UNICEF and the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict in these assessment missions. This will enable the Secretariat to provide the Security Council with better information on child-relevant aspects of sanctions and with more informed recommendations on humanitarian exemptions. Recommendations 19. When imposing measures under Article 41 of the Charter, the Security Council is urged to develop a coordinated and integrated approach to minimize unintended consequences on civilian populations, especially children, primarily through the establishment of effective humanitarian exemptions. To this end, the Council could consider authorizing assessment missions to the targeted States and neighbouring countries before sanctions are imposed, with the aim of assessing the likely unintended consequences of sanctions and proposing appropriate measures to minimize such consequences and effective monitoring measures. 20. When adopting measures under Article 41 of the Charter, the Security Council is urged to reaffirm the responsibility of targeted States and armed groups to ensure the humanitarian protection of all those under their control, particularly children. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk Full details of CASI's various lists can be found on the CASI website: http://welcome.to/casi