China Calls for Specific Actions to Protect Children in Armed Conflicts

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 21, 2001

China Calls for Specific Actions to Protect Children in Armed Conflicts

Only with the early solution of conflicts and prompt settlement to crisis can the international community fully address the problem of the protection of children in armed conflicts, said Shen Guofang, the deputy Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations on Tuesday during his speech at an open U.N. Security Council meeting on the issue of children and armed conflicts.

Legal norms should be observed

"We believe that the most urgent task is for the various parties to abide by the legal norms which are universally accepted by the international community, and implement the relevant resolutions of the Security Council in earnest so as to translate the consensus on the protection of children in armed conflicts into action," Shen Guofang said.

Effective measures to be taken to prevent, stop and end armed conflicts

The Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the world, he said. "In order to truly prevent children and civilians from being hurt by armed conflicts, the priority should be given to taking effective measures to prevent, stop and end armed conflicts."

"Only when the conflicts are resolved at an early date, and crisis addressed promptly can the protection of children be fully addressed," he said.

Afghan children facing risk of death

Regrettably, in such conflict-torn areas as Palestine and Afghanistan, there is still a lack of guarantee of the rights of children, who are among the vulnerable in the society, he said.

The figures showed that 100,000 Afghan children and teenagers are facing the risk of death in this winter, he said.

Relief assistance needed

"We are seriously concerned over the problem, and we call for more relief assistance to the Afghan refugees and the efforts to seek a political solution to the Afghan problem at an early date," he said.

China Signs UN Optional Protocol on Children

China signed a United Nations document on the protection of children's rights in armed conflicts on March 15, 2001.

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts was adopted by the UN General Assembly on May 25 last year and then became open for signature by UN member states. It prohibits the compulsory recruitment of children under 18 and their participation in combat.

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