More countries want an end to child soldiers

Children are raped, gang-raped or used as sexual slaves by armed groups.

Eight more countries have endorsed a UN declaration as part of moves to prevent the criminal use and abuse of children recruited into armed groups around the world.

This is aimed at ending the scourge and bringing to justice those who violate children in armed conflict.

UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, noted that “2009 has been a terrible year for children,” during the event where individual countries formally endorsed the Paris Commitments, which require nations to do all they can to help end the recruitment of children in armed conflicts.

According to Ms Coomaraswamy, children continue to be forcibly recruited, abducted, maimed or killed in conflicts around the globe, and conflicts in Gaza, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan have led to high numbers of casualties and large-scale displacements.

A press statement from the UN information centre in Accra reveals that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), children have been caught in the middle of conflict between Government forces and rebel militia, and in Nepal some 3,000 child soldiers have been detained for two years in detention camps.

“Sexual violence, both against girls and boys, remains a grave concern,” Ms Coomaraswamy told the ministerial forum endorsing the Paris Commitments at UN Headquarters in New York.

“Children are raped, gang-raped or used as sexual slaves by armed groups”, she added.

Ms Coomaraswamy, however, stressed that without holding individuals accountable for “such grave violations against children,” peace is unobtainable. “Nor can there be any comfort when children are not given the support to deal with the psychological consequences of such crimes.”

According to the statement, a group of eight States approved the Paris Commitments at the event, bringing the total number of nations supporting the declaration from 76 to 84.

The latest countries to endorse the document were Albania, Guinea, the Central African Republic (CAR), Eritrea, Jamaica, Liechtenstein, Panama and Senegal.

“The Paris Commitments send a powerful political message,” said Ms. Coomaraswamy. “The stronger the message, the more children will be saved.”

By: Dorcas Efe Mensah/myjoyonline.com/Ghana