Statement by H.E. Ambassador Mr. Yoshifumi Okamura
Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations
At the Open Debate of the Security Council
on Children and Armed Conflict
8 September 2014
Madame President,
I would like to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation for your leadership in convening today's open debate. Let me also thank Ms. Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Johanna Brandt, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Mr. Herve Ladsous, the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and Mr. Forest Whitaker, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation for their briefings.
Madame President,
Today, I would like to focus on the issues of child abduction and matters related to it. On April 14th, the extremist Islamic group, Boko Haram, abducted 276 girls from their school in Chibok, Nigeria. Two-hundred twenty three of them are still missing.
Prime Minister Abe stated here at the U.N. last September, that Japan would do everything possible to prevent sexual violence against women during armed conflict and to support both materially and psychologically those people who unfortunately become victims of such acts. It is absolutely necessary to prevent similar outrageous crimes from taking place again, and we should also spare no efforts in supporting the victims.
In this regard, on June 13th, the Government of Japan contributed $855,000 towards psychosocial support and healthcare for the victims and their community in Nigeria.
Madame President,
This horrid incident symbolizes the vulnerable condition of children in armed conflict. It is not the first time children have been abducted, nor does it happen only in Nigeria. According to the Secretary-General's current report, 147 students were abducted in the Republic of the Congo and 250 were abducted in South Sudan last year. Also, the number of child abduction cases by ISIL in Syria is increasing.
The Security Council should consider the best ways to prevent and eliminate child abductions in armed conflict.
Madame President,
One of the purposes of child abduction is the recruitment of child soldiers. In this regard, the success of the "Children, Not Soldiers" campaign is of considerable significance.
We welcome the progress made, such as the successful use of the age verification scheme that Chad has already used in approximately 3,800 of its military units in cooperation with U.N. agencies.
Over the last six months since the last open debate, the Government of Japan provided over 1 million US dollars to the Central African Republic (CAR), the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and South Sudan for children in need of protection, including psychosocial support.
In order to achieve the goal of this Campaign by 2016, its agenda has to be reinforced. The age verification procedure must be established universally and those who violate it must be sanctioned. While the Campaign is only applicable to Government's Military Forces, the Security Council should begin to consider how the fruits of this Campaign could be diverted to Non-Governmental Military Groups, given that they are the majority among perpetrators.
Madame President,
Lastly, a main objective of U.N. Peacekeeping Operations is to protect civilians in conflict and post-conflict. Children are the most vulnerable among them. And yet, we still hear cases of U.N. peacekeepers who violated the rights of children.
U.N. Peacekeeping Operations should be a model in safeguarding our children. We, the troop contributing countries, should recognize our responsibility to train our personnel at home so that they will not abuse children in the course of their duties, but protect them.
Madame President,
In conclusion, we should be reminded that abduction is one of the six most grave violations against children. And yet, it has not attracted adequate attention in the Security Council. It is not recognized as a trigger in the Annex of the Secretary-General's report and is not subject to the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM). It is high time to think anew on this matter.
I thank you.
