27 February 2002: CRIN Children and Armed Conflict issue 47, Contents: - ANGOLA / BURUNDI / DRC / SUDAN: Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict [information request] - CHILD SOLDIERS: UN Rep on Child Soldiers to Visit Guatemala [news] - DRC: NGO Reports on Impact of War on Children [news] Your submissions are welcome if you are working in the area of children and conflict. To contribute, email us at info@crin.org. Please note that we are unable to respond to emails addressed to crinmail_armed_conflict@domeus.co.uk --------------------------------------------------- - ANGOLA / BURUNDI / DRC / SUDAN: Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict [information request] As you may know, the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict is an NGO coalition initiative to consistently monitor and report on violations of the rights of children and urge action by appropriate governments, United Nations agencies and the UN Security Council. The goal is to promote the protection and rights of children in situations of armed conflict. Among the NGOs supporting this project are the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, World Vision, the Save the Children Alliance, CARE and Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The Watchlist completed its pilot report on Afghan children in October 2001 and an update to that report in November 2001. These reports can be found on http://www.womenscommission.org; and http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2287&flag=report http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2221&flag=report We have now identified the next four countries that the Watchlist will report on: Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. I am writing to request any information you have about the situation of children and adolescents in these countries. In particular, the report will cover the following topics: Refugees and IDPs; Health and HIV AIDS; Education; Child Soldiers; Gender-based Violence; Trafficking and Exploitation; Landmines; and, Small Arms. Please feel free to share this request for information with your colleagues and networks who might have relevant information and pass along any information you have. Also, if you can suggests individuals with expertise in a particular country and/or child rights who might be interested in serving as an expert advisor for one of these reports by providing analysis and helping edit and prepare the reports, please let us know. All information, suggestions and other comments should be sent to: Julia Freedson, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, 122 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10168, USA. Tel: 00 1 212 551 2743; Fax: 00 1 212 551 3180; Email: juliaf@womenscommission.org Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2220&flag=report --------------------------------------------------- - CHILD SOLDIERS: UN Rep on Child Soldiers to Visit Guatemala [news] The United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Children in Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, made a visit to Guatemala for one week in February 25th, 2002. The United Nations' representative met with, amongst others, the National Commission for the Search of Children - of which Casa Alianza is a member - which is actively searching for children who were lost or stolen from their parents during the 36 years of civil war in that country. The Commission was set up as an obligation under the Peace Accords signed five years ago which signalled the end of Guatemala's brutal civil war - but not the end of the grotesque social inequalities that caused the civil war in which upwards of 200,000 were killed, mostly by the military. Casa Alianza, in co-ordination with the Guatemalan League for Mental Health, is investigating more than 120 cases of children who were removed from their families during a series of military massacres in the highlands of Guatemala. Many of these children, now in their early twenties, ended up in the care of Casa Alianza in the 1980s. After 18 years of not seeing each other, three "lost" children have to date been reunited with their biological families as a result of these efforts. The visit of Otunnu marked the entrance into effect of an important international Protocol. On 25 May 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The Optional Protocol recently came into force on 12 February 2002 and has to date been signed by 94 states and ratified by 14. Guatemala is not amongst them. For further information, contact: Casa Alianza. Tel: 00 506 253 5439; Email: info@casa-alianza.org; Website: www.casa-alianza.org For background information on child soldiers and children in armed conflict, please visit http://www.child-soldiers.org and http://www.crin.org [ Source: Casa Alianza 14 February 2002 ] --------------------------------------------------- - DRC: NGO Reports on Impact of War on Children [news] NAIROBI, 7 Feb 2002 (IRIN) - The impact of the conflict on children is devastating, depriving thousands of vulnerable young people of anything approaching a normal childhood, the Refugees International (RI) non-governmental organisation said on Wednesday in its bulletin entitled "Children in the Eastern Congo: Adrift in a sea of war and poverty". During a just-completed fact-finding trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to examine the social impact of the civil war in the eastern part of that country, RI found a society under tremendous stress from violence and lack of economic opportunity. "The war-affected children of the eastern Congo have no opportunity for education, and eat one meal a day, if they are lucky. Many are homeless, forced to flee because of acute poverty," RI said. It [RI] called on the UN Security Council to immediately examine whether parties to armed conflicts in the DRC were abiding by the terms of Resolution 1314 of 2000, which affirmed the right of children to education during conflict periods, urged all parties to armed conflict to respect international law applicable to children's rights and protection, and if they did not, reaffirmed the Council's readiness to consider appropriate sanctions for such violations. [ Source: IRIN ] The full story can be read at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=20445&SelectRegion=Great_Lakes&S --------------------------------------------------- The CRINMAIL is an electronic mailing list of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN). CRIN does not accredit, validate or substantiate any information posted by members to the CRINMAIL. The validity and accuracy of any information is the responsibility of the originator.
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