Mrs. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, is in Rome this week (see my story in the Huffington Post).
It’s no vacation for her. Radhika is there to present at the “Symposium on Children and Young People Affected by War." The symposium’s sub-heading is an important call to action: "Learn, Understand, Act."
This conference has its root back here in New York last fall.
For the 19th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) -- as well as the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Radhika’s Office along with UNICEF sponsored a celebration at U.N. Headquarters.
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Thousands of children were kidnapped by the Tamil Tigers.
Under the auspices of The Italian Mission, a network of former child soldiers and young people affected by war was launched during the celebration. The webcast of their press conference may be seen
here.
The Under-Secretary-General and the Italian Ambassador to the U.N. warmly welcomed the creation of this new global network of children formerly affected by war.
Founding members of this network include Ismhael Beah, Grace Akallo, Kon Kelei, Emmanuel Jal, China Keitetsi, and author Zlata Filipovich.
They pointed out that from Bosnia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, from Darfur to Sri Lanka - the issue of child solders is a deeply disturbing and tragic tale of obscenity and violation.
I was fortunate to interview the Italian Ambassador to the U.N. for the Daily Kos. His name is Giulio Terzi and he is Central Casting’s idea of the perfect ambassador: young, dashing - a good guy to rescue children.
His official title is longer: H.E. Ambassador Giulio Terzi, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations. His press conferences, such as last falls, are on video.
"For Italy, both last fall’s celebration and this week’s symposium in Rome are aimed at a very simple objective: to say no to children being used and hit by wars, everywhere," Giulio told me.
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In Iraq, there is a fine line between play and reality.
"We decided -- in both New York and in Rome -- to give voice to those young lives who have been direct witnesses and victims of this unacceptable tragedy. The tragedy of child soldiers.
"Our U.N. Security Council heard their voices and is now more and more involved in protecting children in every conflict area where peacekeeping forces are operating.
"We must let the world also hear these children’s voices, their stories. We must also take effective protective, legal, and political actions - to ensure that as many children as possible are spared the brutalities of war," Giulio said.
During armed conflict, Giulio explained, children often find refuge in schools. For this reason, schools and hospitals are considered safe zones and must be protected during fighting.
Attacks on schools are particularly disturbing. It is important to keep schools as zones of peace and to make education key to children’s survival during war.
Emergency planning, especially of IDP sites such is being done in Sri Lanka today, must include education. Staff and resources need to be mobilized to this effect.
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Child soldiers training with Hezbollah's paramilitary.
More than 250,000 children are unlawfully recruited to participate in armed conflicts around the world as soldiers, messengers, spies, porters, cooks – and/or to provide sexual services.
Many kids are pressed into combat where they may be forced to the front lines or sent into minefields ahead of older troops. Some children are also used as suicide bombers, as was seen with the Tamil Tigers.
"Much, much work needs to be done," Giulio said.
"We must direct our efforts not only toward ongoing conflicts, but especially to post-conflict situations, where the success of child reintegration and rehabilitation programs are required for stabilization," the Ambassador emphasized.
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Winner of the Australian Human Right’s campaign, Sarah Hollick.
"As proud as we are of how far we have come, we also feel the responsibility to push so much further.
"As I expressed to the Security Council recently, our nation -- Italy -- is ready to share its expertise and skills to help train U.N. peacekeepers to protect children.
"Specifically, our U.N. Staff College in Turin will provide the necessary facilities."
"When you talk about children," Ambassador Giulio Terzi told me, "you must think about the future."
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Amnesty International: Child soldiers have a global presence.
With a commitment as deep as it is strong from the Italian government, the issue of child soldiers is not impossible to address -- and begin to make strong moves to eradicate -- in this decade.
I am proud to say I know Giulio Terzi. The children have found a true defender in this elegant but very real diplomat.