CHILD Protection & Rights > Operational Mechanisms

Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflicts.

The mandate of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict is to promote the protection, rights and welfare of children at every phase of conflict: preventively before conflict erupts, in the midst of conflict, and in post-conflict situations. The Special representative works to build greater awareness of the problem, to mobilise the international community for action and also to promote the application of both international norms and traditional local values that provide for the protection of children in times of conflict.

By 1990, the United Nations has increasingly sought to draw international attention to the issue of children affected by armed conflict. In 1993, following a recommendation by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the General Assembly adopted resolution 48/157 of 20 December 1993, recommending that the Secretary-General appoint an independent expert to study the impact of armed conflict on children.

Ms. Graça Machel, former Minister of Education of Mozambique, was appointed the expert of the Secretary-General, charged with the task of undertaking the study with the special support of the UNICEF, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Centre for Human Rights. In 1996, following two years of research, consultations and field visits, Ms. Machel submitted her report, entitled Impact of Armed Conflict on Children to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session.

Read more on the machel report:
http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/machel-reports.html

Link to the report:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N96/219/55/PDF/N9621955.pdf? OpenElement

In response to this report, the General Assembly adopted resolution 51/77, in which it recommended that the Secretary-General appoint for a period of three years a Special Representative on the impact of armed conflict on children. The Assembly also called upon States and institutions concerned to provide voluntary contributions in support of the work of the Special Representative.

The Secretary-General appointed Mr. Olara A. Otunnu as his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict in September 1997. In announcing the appointment, the Secretary-General underscored “the urgent need for a public advocate and moral voice on behalf of children whose rights and wellbeing have been and are being violated in the context of armed conflict.”

Read More about Mr Olara A Otunnu:
From 1998 to 2005, Mr. Otunnu served as the UN Under-Secretary General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.
Born in Uganda, Mr Otunnu attended Makerere University in Kampala, Oxford University and Harvard Law School. A lawyer by training, he was an Associate with the law firm of Chadbourne and Parke in New York, prior to becoming Assistant Professor of Law at Albany Law School.
He returned to Uganda to serve as a member of the post-Amin transition administration as foreign minister from 1985 to 1986, before returning to the world of academics.
He then went back to New York as Uganda's permanent representative to the United Nations. From 1980 to 1985, he played a very active role, providing leadership in key roles, including President of the Security Council (1981), when he broke the deadlock over the election of the Secretary-General; Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights (1983-1984); Vice-President of the General Assembly (1982-1983); Chairman of the General Assembly Credentials Committee (1983-1984), when he broke the deadlock over the Grenada crisis; Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Ministerial Meeting of Non-Aligned Countries (1983); Chairman of the African Group (1981); and Facilitator of Global Negotiations (1982-1983).
Mr. Otunnu was President of the International Peace Academy (IPA) from 1990 to 1998. He has also been member of several eminent commissions and very active in many civic organizations.
Additional Information on Mr Olara A Otunnu:
http://www.lblfoundation.org/english/olaraaotunnupres3.html ]

Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy assumed the position of Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict in April 2006.

Read more about Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy:
Radhika Coomaraswamy, a graduate of the United Nations International School in New York, received her B.A. from Yale University, her J.D. from Columbia University, an LLM from Harvard University and an honorary PHD from Amherst College.

Ms. Coomaraswamy, a lawyer by training and formerly the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, is an internationally known human rights advocate who has done outstanding work as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (1994-2003). She is the current Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

Ms Coomaraswamy is also the Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies in Colombo. She is a member of the Global Faculty of the New York University School of Law and taught a summer course on the International Human Rights of Women from 1996-2006. She has published widely, including two books on constitutional law and numerous articles on ethnic studies and the status of women. She has also been appointed to many Boards and Committees and has won many awards.

Additional Information on Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy:
http://www.icescolombo.org/unvaw/radhika.htm

The 2006 report accordingly outlines the key priorities of the Office of the Special Representative in the new phase of the mandate, including the strategies that will be employed to ensure the institution of an “era of application” of international child protection standards and norms. It also highlights some significant areas of progress in the efforts of the international community to deliver tangible protection for children affected by armed conflicts.

• Last released reports:
- Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflicts including the Machel Review, 13 August 2007, A/62/228:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N07/457/60/PDF/N0745760.pdf?
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- Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflicts, 17 August 2006, A/61/275:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/474/38/PDF/N0647438.pdf?
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- Protection of children affected by armed conflict Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflicts, 7 Sep 2005, A/60/335:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/483/03/PDF/N0548303.pdf?
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- Protection of children affected by armed conflict Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflicts, 8 Oct 2004, A/59/426:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N04/544/82/PDF/N0454482.pdf?
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To access to annual reports published by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflicts: http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/reports89.html

Read more on the Specials Rapporteur:
http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/mandate.html

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