Statement

by H.E. Ambassador Bui The Giang

Deputy Permanent Representative of Viet Nam

at the Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict

(16 June 2010)

 

Mr. President,

I wish to congratulate Mexico on her assumption of the Security Council Presidency for the month of June and thank her for convening this open debate on an important topic dear to our hearts. I thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his report contained in document S/2010/181 and thank SRSG Coomaraswamy for her briefing before the Council.

Mr. President,

We appreciate the efforts of U.N. entities during the reporting period in protecting children from violations in armed conflict, particularly their efforts in monitoring and reporting on grave violations of children’s rights, incorporating child protection policy in peacekeeping operations, and promoting the implementation of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs. At the national level, we are pleased to note that 131 countries have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, that significant successes have been recorded in integrating child rights and child protection goals into national development plans and strategies, that many States have enacted new pieces of legislation to prevent and prohibit grave violations against children, and that more parties to armed conflict are now engaged in establishing action plans to release children from their ranks, end the recruitment and the use of child solders.

My Delegation, however, remains deeply concerned about persistent violations committed against children by many parties to armed conflict and equally concerned about the high numbers of civilian casualties, including children, during military operations in several parts of the world. We are dismayed at the increasing hostility against humanitarian aid work in more than one war-torn country, driving the civilian populations, children in the first place, into extremely difficult living conditions. We condemn all these acts and call on all parties concerned to comply with international human rights and humanitarian laws. We join the call for the Security Council to ensure that specific provisions for the protection of children continue to be included in all relevant peacekeeping operations, and that child protection concerns be integrated into mission planning instruments and processes, as appropriate. It is our view that child protection concerns should be consistently reflected in peace processes and peace agreements, and their particular needs included in post-conflict peace planning and financing.

Mr. President,

We recognize the work of the monitoring and reporting mechanism which is essential in keeping us all abreast of developments on the ground. We, at the same time, believe that greater caution is needed in selecting specific situations to be mentioned in the Secretary-General’s report, bearing in mind the scope of the report as mandated by Resolutions 1612 and 1882. It is necessary that this mechanism operates with the participation of and in cooperation with national Governments, and that all actions undertaken by U.N. entities within the framework of this mechanism are designed to support and supplement, as appropriate, the role of national Governments. Consultations with Member States should also be further enhanced during preparation for the report to ensure that the information contained therein is updated, non-biased, reliable, and verifiable.

Mr. President,

Let me reiterate Viet Nam’s view that the State bears the primary role and responsibility in protecting their civilians, including children, in armed conflict. The contact between the United Nations and non-State actors, therefore, should be conducted in cooperation with concerned Governments in order to avoid possible prejudgment of giving political and legal status to those non-State actors, including particularly terrorist groups. Furthermore, child protection in situations of armed conflict should always constitute part and parcel of a broader strategy of conflict prevention and response which deals with hunger and poverty as well as socio-economic development. I also wish to underline the indispensable cooperation with the U.N. bodies for successful implementation of such a strategy. In this connection, it is vital to ensure closer and more effective coordination between the Security Council, the General Assembly and ECOSOC, as well as between peacekeeping and political missions, UNICEF, UNDP and other agencies.

I thank you, Mr. President.