3 Apr 2012

UN / CHILD SOLDIERS

Launching a new report by Watchlist for Children and Armed Conflict entitled: "No One to Trust: Children and Armed Conflict in Colombia", Yvonne Kemper, author of the report says that, "risks for children in Colombia's warzone are increasing." UNTV

Posted at: April 3, 2012 4:44 pm

Duration: 02:37

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: UN / CHILD SOLDIERS
TRT: 2.37
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 3 APRIL 2012, NEW YORK

SHOTLIST:

FILE - 2011, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

3 APRIL 2012, NEW YORK

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Cutaway, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Yvonne Kemper, Reports Officer and Author of the Watchlist Report:
"Risks for children in Colombia's warzone are increasing. Watchlist Report is the first to describe the gaps in the Colombian Government strategies to protect children. While the Government has taken important legal and policy steps at the national level, these initiatives are inadequate to safeguard these children from recruitment, sexual violence and attacks against schools."
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Yvonne Kemper, Reports Officer and Author of the Watchlist Report:
"In terms of child recruitment, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC –the country's main guerrilla group- has stepped up recruitment campaign after loosing thousands of troops in the Government's insurgency attacks. The FARC is renowned for its use of child soldiers and it's become sophisticated in the way it attracts new recruits and terrorizes those who try to escape. The FARC now uses children to convince peers to become soldiers. The FARC also conducts surveys among families in villages to identify how many children in a family and how old they are."
7. Cutaway, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Yvonne Kemper, Reports Officer and Author of the Watchlist Report:
"The Colombian army does not appear to recruit children as combatants but has used them as informants or spies to gather intelligence information about guerrilla groups."
9. Cutaway, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Christian Salazar, Deputy Director, Programme Division, UNICEF:
"It is particularly shocking to learn that the average age of children recruited by FARC is going down, in other words the children who are recruited are getting younger and younger with an average age now of 11.8 years. We reiterate the call on illegal arm groups in Colombia to immediately stop the recruitment of children and to release all children under their control."
11. Cutaway, journalists
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Christian Salazar, Deputy Director, Programme Division, UNICEF:
"The information coming randomly on the situation of schools in city shanty towns is a big concern. Some schools in these areas are really centres of recruitment where the teachers themselves are basically threatened."
Cutaway, journalists
13. Cutaway, journalists
14. Wide shot, press conference

STORYLINE:

The 'Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict' non governmental organization  launched a report today (3 April) at the United Nations in New York highlighting the severe risks children are facing in Colombia's armed conflict, despite the Government's efforts to protect them.
 
The report details human rights violations against children, including child recruitment, rape and sexual violence, and attacks against schools.

Presenting the report, Yvonne Kemper who is also the author said that risks for children in Colombia's warzone were increasing.

The Watchlist report is the first to describe the gaps in the Colombian Government strategies to protect children.

Kemper said that while the Government had taken important legal and policy steps at the national level, those initiatives were "inadequate to safeguard these children from recruitment, sexual violence and attacks against schools."

In terms of the recruitment, Kemper said that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC –the country's main guerrilla group- had stepped up its recruitment campaign after loosing thousands of troops during the Government's offensive against the insurgency.

She also said that while the Colombian Government did not recruit children they had "used them as informants or spies to gather intelligence information about guerrilla groups".

Also briefing journalists Christian Salazar, Deputy Director of the  Programme Division at UNICEF said that it is "particularly shocking" to learn that the average age of children recruited by FARC was going down, "in other words the children who are recruited are getting younger and younger with an average age now of 11.8 years".

Salazar called on all illegal arm groups in Colombia to immediately stop the recruitment of children and to release all children under their control.

He also said that the information coming in on the situation of schools in urban shanty towns was a big concern because of some schools in those areas operating as centres for recruitment.

Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, established in 2001, is an international network of non-governmental organizations striving to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights. As a global network, Watchlist builds partnerships among local, national and international NGOs, enhancing mutual capacities and strengths.