Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict
Encyclopedia
One of the results of the Millennium Summit in 2005 was denouncing the use of children in armed conflicts. Yet, to this date, children in many parts of the world are still being forced to bear arms and wage war side by side with adults. To end this heinous practice, the Security Council decided to establish a working group to address this matter.
The United Nations Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict was established by the United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1612 of 2005 to address issues related to children in armed conflict situations. Representatives of the 15 member countries of the Council regularly meet and discuss countries or situations with a view to providing written recommendations that would have to be followed up by the concerned countries or situations. In discharging its work, the Working Group is assisted by the Office of Special Representative of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict, which provides substantive inputs to the work of the Working Group and follows up on the agreed outcome of the Working Group. The Working Group produces conclusions and recommendations that have been developed among the fifteen members. Since its inception, there are progresses in this field of particular importance to the international community
.
Negotiation in the context of the United Nations Security Council tends to be intensive and time-consuming and may be trying for those who have little patience. Negotiations normally occur inside one of the UN conference rooms, but in some cases there will be informal negotiations among members to find an agreed outcome. This interplay of formal and informal negotiation contributes to the fluidity and active dynamics of the process itself. A certain outcome can be agreed after a few meetings but other can consume considerable amount of time that span to months of negotiation. This is due to the complexity and sensitivity of the issue at hand that one single word would need long hour of negotiation as it can be interpreted in various ways depending on the national interest
s of the concerned countries and other factors.
Take for example negotiation on a resolution on one particular issue, one of the operative paragraphs can generate heated debate whether the Security Council should "take note" the report from the Secretary General, or should the Security Council just "acknowledge with appreciation the report" or "welcome the report." In most cases, the Security Council should welcome or at minimum acknowledge with appreciation the report since in most cases reports by the Secretary General is in compliance with the explicit request of the Security Council. This issue can generate such a long debate because the report might contain elements that are directly or indirectly affecting the national interests of one of the members. On one side, "to acknowledge with appreciation" might be construed as challenging or undermining the said country. On the other side, "to acknowledge with appreciation" can be used as a negotiating tool to put pressures on the said country that viewed it as a threat or challenging its national interests. It is worth to note as well that reports of the Secretary-General can be highly political and sensitive. Here, we generally use the term Secretary-General to refer to the UN Secretariat that is mandated to render services to the Member-States of the United Nations that are currently composed of countries (including, annual and thematic reports)
It is worth to note that negotiation in the UN setting is typically a multi-party negotiation where there are more than two countries that are involved in the negotiation. Since there are more than two countries, there are multiple interests that have to be considered and accommodated.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
The United Nations Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict was established by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Security Council Resolution 1612 of 2005 to address issues related to children in armed conflict situations. Representatives of the 15 member countries of the Council regularly meet and discuss countries or situations with a view to providing written recommendations that would have to be followed up by the concerned countries or situations. In discharging its work, the Working Group is assisted by the Office of Special Representative of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict, which provides substantive inputs to the work of the Working Group and follows up on the agreed outcome of the Working Group. The Working Group produces conclusions and recommendations that have been developed among the fifteen members. Since its inception, there are progresses in this field of particular importance to the international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
.
Negotiation in the context of the United Nations Security Council tends to be intensive and time-consuming and may be trying for those who have little patience. Negotiations normally occur inside one of the UN conference rooms, but in some cases there will be informal negotiations among members to find an agreed outcome. This interplay of formal and informal negotiation contributes to the fluidity and active dynamics of the process itself. A certain outcome can be agreed after a few meetings but other can consume considerable amount of time that span to months of negotiation. This is due to the complexity and sensitivity of the issue at hand that one single word would need long hour of negotiation as it can be interpreted in various ways depending on the national interest
National interest
The national interest, often referred to by the French expression raison d'État , is a country's goals and ambitions whether economic, military, or cultural. The concept is an important one in international relations where pursuit of the national interest is the foundation of the realist...
s of the concerned countries and other factors.
Take for example negotiation on a resolution on one particular issue, one of the operative paragraphs can generate heated debate whether the Security Council should "take note" the report from the Secretary General, or should the Security Council just "acknowledge with appreciation the report" or "welcome the report." In most cases, the Security Council should welcome or at minimum acknowledge with appreciation the report since in most cases reports by the Secretary General is in compliance with the explicit request of the Security Council. This issue can generate such a long debate because the report might contain elements that are directly or indirectly affecting the national interests of one of the members. On one side, "to acknowledge with appreciation" might be construed as challenging or undermining the said country. On the other side, "to acknowledge with appreciation" can be used as a negotiating tool to put pressures on the said country that viewed it as a threat or challenging its national interests. It is worth to note as well that reports of the Secretary-General can be highly political and sensitive. Here, we generally use the term Secretary-General to refer to the UN Secretariat that is mandated to render services to the Member-States of the United Nations that are currently composed of countries (including, annual and thematic reports)
It is worth to note that negotiation in the UN setting is typically a multi-party negotiation where there are more than two countries that are involved in the negotiation. Since there are more than two countries, there are multiple interests that have to be considered and accommodated.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict is a member of the United Nations Development Group.