Vietnam calls for greater efforts to protect children in armed conflicts
Addressing the council’s open debate on the topic in
However, he also expressed his concern about the fact that armed conflicts are escalating in many parts of the world and children are continuing to be killed, maimed and suffer many kinds of violence, including sexual abuse and being recruited as child soldiers. He added that attacks on schools and hospitals have got to be halted.
He reiterated
The Vietnamese diplomat then highlighted the Secretary-General’s recommendation to enhance the child protection mandate for all relevant UN peacekeeping and political missions. He also supported the idea to establish appropriate strategies and mechanisms for exchanging information and cooperation on cross-border child protection concerns.
He argued that the Security Council should pay more attention to all serious crimes against children and address them accordingly.
Later in his address he stressed, “all necessary measures to be taken in this connection should be put within the framework of a broader strategy of conflict prevention and response which deals with inter alia the root causes of armed conflict being hunger and poverty, and covers socio, economic and development issues during and after conflicts.”
Ambassador Giang pointed out that education is an important way of preventing armed conflicts as well as addressing crimes against children in conflict areas.
He said
“We strongly believe that the UN agencies, particularly the UNICEF, and other international organisations can be of great help and assistance in this regard. We also encourage civil organisations to engage in and contribute constructively to these endeavors,” he said.