Archives

Please consider the children

The news that the international community, epitomised by the UN, is finally gearing itself for a possible crackdown on child rights abusers the world over is heartening news.

Among those organisations which have earned UN strictures on this score is the LTTE which is cited by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in the report titled 'Children and Armed Conflict' as having recruited more than 4,700 children, some as young as 11 since 2001.

Some of the punitive measures recommended to the UN Security Council, by the Secretary General, for imposition on these rights violators are: travel limits, arms embargoes,military aid cut offs, restriction on finances and also their exclusion from governing structures.

Considering the extremely evil nature of the crime of child abuse and child rights violations, we hope these punitive sanctions would soon come into effect against all those who are guilty of committing such grave offences.

The LTTE, as is well known, has gone back on all the assurances given by it to the UN, on ending crimes against children, including their recruitment to LTTE combat units, and we hope concrete, punitive measures would be taken against the organisation to ensure its strict adherence to international child protection regimes, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its attendant protocols.

All this we say with no intention of prejudicing any efforts at resuming the urgently - needed Government-LTTE negotiatory process in this country. Peace - a just peace - is the number one priority in Sri Lanka.

There is no denying this but an ethos which is conducive to a resumption of the Government-LTTE dialogue needs to be built in the country and the Tigers cannot contribute towards the fostering of such a spirit by engaging in the violation of child rights; particularly by abducting North-East children and making them helpless cogs in their war machine.

Such inhuman conduct on the part of the LTTE was alleged even at the height of the recent devastation. Helpless children, including orphans, were reportedly seized for recruitment by LTTE cadres from camps for the displaced in the North-East.

Such scant disregard for humanitarian law and principles is not suggestive of a pro-peace mindset. It is up to the LTTE, now, to prove the world wrong on this issue, which has been hanging fire for quite some time.

If it is indeed preparing for peace, the LTTE is duty-bound to scrupulously defend and protect the rights of the North-East populace, including those of its youngest members - the children. The days ahead would prove whether the LTTE could match up to this acid test in peace-making.

Meanwhile, we warmly welcome moves by the UN to finally get started on strengthening an important dimension in international humanitarian law.

Let's hope that the world's biggest powers would be in one mind on this question of sparing our children the denaturing and dehumanising consequences of war. Please consider the children, is our plea.

www.ceylincoproperties.com

www.Pathmaconstruction.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries

Produced by Lake House
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager