Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Boston (Agenzia Fides) – The systematic use and abuse of children in conflicts across the world has continued, unabated, over the past 20 years, Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu said yesterday. Grave violations which persist against girls and boys include murder, rape, assault, sexual slavery and forced recruitment. The Archbishop was speaking at the launch of the UNICEF-Harvard University publication, “Children and Transitional Justice: Truth-Telling, Accountability and Reconciliation,” authored by experts in international law and human rights. “The death and suffering of children in times of conflict and instability make it clear that the world has failed to prioritize the rights and well-being of children,” said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who also highlighted that “the seemingly endless cycle of violence and conflict, turning children into instruments of war, must be stopped.” The publication analyses practical experiences to determine how the range of international courts, truth commissions and traditional processes can be applied, both to improve accountability for crimes perpetrated against children and to protect the rights of children involved. It includes legal analysis and case studies of children’s involvement in the truth commissions of South Africa, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and of efforts to use judicial prosecutions and judicial processes to achieve accountability for crimes committed by the LRA in Uganda, as well as a review of new techniques employing genetic tracing for accountability and family reunification of disappeared children in Argentina and El Salvador, making it clear that children must be taken seriously in post conflict transition. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 10/03/2010)
