Canada’s National Statement to the United Nations Security Council - Open VTC on Children and Armed Conflict

New York, 23 June 2020

Mister President,

Thank you to the Permanent Mission of France for convening today’s Open VTC on Children and Armed Conflict. Canada welcomes the focus on Security Council Resolution 1612 as we mark the 15th anniversary of this important milestone for the Children and Armed Conflict agenda.

The mechanisms established by Resolution 1612, namely the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) and the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, are essential for our collective to protect children and hold perpetrators of grave violations to account.

Canada welcomes the efforts of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, particularly during this unprecedented period of social distancing. Systematic implementation and follow-up on Working Group conclusions is essential. Canada will continue forge links between the Working Group and the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict to support this.

Canada emphasizes its strong support for the impartiality and independence of the MRM, and for the need to apply clear, consistent, and evidence-based criteria in the listing and de-listing of parties responsible for grave violations against children in the Secretary-General’s annual reports on Children and Armed Conflict. Anything less undermines the effectiveness of these important tools and threatens the credibility of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate.

Mister President,

The Secretary-General’s annual report paints a grim picture of the plight of children affected by conflict. Canada condemns the unacceptably high number of grave violations committed against children during 2019. The report presents what is a clear and alarming disregard for the life and safety of children across far too many armed conflicts.

This picture is all the more startling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 and related mitigation measure are exacerbating risks already facing children affected by armed conflict. Disruptions to education, life-saving health care, humanitarian assistance and protection services will compound these risks,

Important advances made over the past decades to protect children and promote their fundamental rights are at risk unless there is a concerted effort to put children at the center of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That is why Canada fully supports the Secretary-General’s appeal for a global ceasefire in light of the pandemic. Armed conflict must be put on lock down to ensure children are protected and their humanitarian needs met. The Security Council must overcome the deadlock and fully endorse this appeal.

At the same time, the Security Council, Member States, the United Nations, and regional organizations must prioritize the protection of children in armed conflict, and work together to prevent and end the six grave violations against children.

Mister President,

A major focus of Canada’s efforts is strengthening the child protection mandate in UN peace operations. Canada is supporting the UN Department of Peace Operations in standardizing and delivering training in English and French for UN peacekeepers to ensure they are better prepared and equipped to protect children.

Canada also supports UNICEF and the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative to support African peacekeeping capacity on child protection, including by strengthening training and policies with the African Union, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

The Vancouver Principles, a set of 17 political commitments focused on peacekeeping and the prevention of the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups, also remain a priority for Canada. There are now 96 endorsements of the Vancouver Principles from all regions of the world. Canada congratulates Morocco, Kuwait, and Ecuador for their recent endorsement of the Principles. Canada invites all Member States to endorse the Principles without delay.

The work does not stop with endorsements. That is why Canada launched the Implementation Guidance for the Vancouver Principles, which serve as a practical resource for military, police, and civilian organizations engaged in UN peacekeeping operations.

Canada has been making progress at home. For example, the Canadian Armed Forces has developed child soldier content in pre-deployment, integrated child soldier scenarios in several major exercises, and includes education on children affected by armed conflict in professional military education programs.

Canada will continue to work closely with our partners to implement the Vancouver Principles and end the scourge of the recruitment and use of child soldiers. This is also a testament to Canada’s commitment to the Optional Protocol on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, which was adopted 20 years ago.

Mister President,

Canada has been proud to Chair the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict in New York since 2006, which has grown to 45 members from all regions.

Canada also proudly Chairs or co-Chair a number of the local Groups of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict that have been established, including in Colombia, the Philippines, South Sudan, and Sudan.

In addition to direct advocacy to prevent and end grave violations by these local Groups of Friends, they can also be important platforms for the Country Task Forces on the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism, as well as for the Security Council Working Group in following up on its conclusions.

Canada looks forward to engaging with and through these local Groups of Friends to leverage our collective commitment to prevent and end grave violations against children wherever they occur.

Thank you.