UN urges sanctions on terror groups
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Security Council in a
re****t issued yesterday to impose sanctions on armies and groups that
make use of child soldiers in at least a dozen countries.
Recruitment of children in armed conflicts was happening mainly in
African and Asian countries, ranging from Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic
of Congo and Uganda to Myanmar he said in the re****t.
Those responsible were rebel groups but included government forces in
countries like Chad, Somalia and Sudan, Ban said. Some were guilty of
killing and ***ually abusing children.
The Security Council should consider penalising those responsible by
banning arms and military aid and slapping travel and financial
restrictions on leaders, Ban said.
Violations against children in conflict should be referred to the
International Criminal Court, or ICC, based in The Hague.
The U.N. children's fund UNICEF estimated last year there were some
250,000 child soldiers worldwide. Other experts say information is so
hazy that the numbers are impossible to determine.
Ban's re****t said several precedents had been set over the past year for
ending impunity for crimes against children.
These included ICC charges against Congolese factional leader Thomas
Lubanga Dyilo for conscription of children.
The court also issued arrest warrants for five senior members of
Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army on charges including using children in
combat.
But governments "must also promptly commence appropriate national
prosecutions for grave crimes against children," Ban said.
He also urged the Security Council to tackle the controversial issue of
cluster bombs, calling for a "binding instrument that prohibits the use,
development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions
that cause unacceptable harm to civilians."
Cluster munitions contain bomblets that can saturate vast areas of land.
Used in conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq, they have been blamed for
killing and maiming thousands of civilians.
Norway has led an effort to craft a treaty banning the weapons.
Campaigning groups say nearly 100 countries sup****t a ban, but
munitions-producing nations the United States, China and Russia - all
with vetoes in the Security Council - are resisting.
Courtesy : Daily News
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For genuine Situation Re****t visit:
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk
http://www.defence.lk/
http://www.army.lk/index1.php
http://www.nmatnet.com/
http://www.sinhalaya.info/index-EN.php
Worth to look following to see how brutal Tamil Tiger Terrorists are
Child Soldiers of LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists in Sri Lanka
http://www.spur.asn.au/childwar.htm
Ethnic Cleansing in Sri Lanka
http://www.spur.asn.au/ethnic_cleansing_in_sri_lanka.htm
LTTE TAMIL TIGER ATROCITIES
http://www.spur.asn.au/ltteatrp.htm
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