Statement by India under Agenda Item: 3 Interactive dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict during the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council (28 February – 1 April 2022), delivered by Ms. Seema Pujani, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India
 [Geneva, 16^th March, 2022]

Mr. President,

We thank the Special Representative of the Secretary General for her report on children and armed conflict.  As conflicts continue to flare up in various parts of the world, children continue to suffer.

We believe that national governments have the primary responsibility for protecting the rights of the children as mandated by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We encourage Member States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

Member States should adopt robust legal frameworks for protection and promotion of child rights and provide the children with holistic development opportunities, including free and compulsory primary education.

Close cooperation between the UN and its Member States is critical for developing an effective and sustainable policy for repatriation and reintegration of children affected by armed conflict. Assistance to national governments through capacity building and strengthening legal and operational tools for child protection is vital.

Mr. President,

We are witnessing a dangerous and worrying trend of increase in the number of children that are being recruited for terrorism-related activities. Terror groups take advantage of the fact that children are the most susceptible to manipulation for radicalization and indoctrination in violent extremist ideologies and recruit them.

We reiterate our call for ending impunity of all actors responsible for inciting and perpetrating grave violations and abuses against children. There must be greater accountability and sincere efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice by governments from whose territory such entities operate.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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