Holy See Calls Attention to Children in Armed Conflict

(October 16, 2010) Speaking at the United Nations on the 14^th of October in defence of children in the world and admitting the imperfection of all international legal instruments, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations called for “all States that have not yet done so to join in promoting the legal protection of children and young adolescents by ratifying or acceding to the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and for a correct application of these legal instruments which entails respect for the inherent right to life of all children”. The Optional Protocols, adopted in 2000, concern the involvement of children in armed conflict as well as the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Focusing first on children and young people in situations of conflict, the Permanent Observer mentioned the estimated 250,000 children throughout the world who have been forced into being soldiers. Archbishop Chullikatt insisted that “States need to facilitate necessary dialogue between appropriate parties so that these shocking crimes will cease forever”. The Archbishop praised the good work of the Sant’Egidio Community as well as Caritas Internationalis, two of many Catholic charitable organizations working to protect and rescue children from armed conflict, as well as that of Secretary General’s Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy. The Archbishop called for an integrated approach by Governments in which laws, policies and services guarantee the protection of child victims and children at risk.