(New York) - The chairman of the UN Security Council’s working group on children and armed conflict today issued two statements regarding the recruitment and use of child soldiers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Karuna group in Sri Lanka. The statements strongly condemn the continued abduction, recruitment and use of child soldiers, and urge both armed groups to immediately release all children from their forces.
The statement directed to the LTTE further states that if the LTTE does not abide by its commitments to end the use of child soldiers, “further steps may be taken.” Such steps may involve Security Council sanctions against the LTTE, which has been named in several reports to the Security Council for recruiting and using child soldiers in violation of international law.
“Human Rights Watch welcomes the UN Security Council’s strong condemnation of the recruitment and use of child soldiers by both the Tamil Tigers and the Karuna group,” said Jo Becker, child rights’ advocate for Human Rights Watch. “Both groups have now been put on notice to immediately implement the Security Council’s call to stop all child recruitment, and release the children in their forces. The Security Council will want to see results.”
The statements were issued by Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sablière, the French permanent representative to the United Nations, on behalf of the working group, based on a December report from the UN secretary-general regarding grave abuses against children in Sri Lanka’s armed conflict.
The full texts of the statements can be found on the French mission’s website.
