UNifeed: UN / WATCHLIST CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT

UN / WATCHLIST CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT

The Director of ‘Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict' Eva Smets says that Afghanistan hit the 2009 world record of the most attacks on education taking place in one country as documented by the UN. UNTV / FILE

Duration:02:21Date:14 June 2010

Categories:

United Nations Television, United Nations Children's Fund, HUMAN RIGHTS, AFGHANISTAN

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Full Script

STORY: UN / WATCHLIST CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT
TRT: 2.21
SOURCE: UNTV / UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 14 JUNE 2010, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

RECENT 2010, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations

14 JUNE 2010, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Eva Smets, Director, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict:
“When we look at 2009 over a thousand children were killed in Afghanistan by aerial bombings, by night raids, by suicide bombs, by landmines explosions and so on and so forth. Also in 2009, Afghanistan hit the world record of the most attacks on education taking place in one country as documented by the UN. Those attacks involve both school buildings as well as students, mostly girls and teachers.” 
4. Cutaway, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict:
“To put children as the number one priority is I think a way in which to bring all sides together. We were a little bit disappointed in the declaration of the Peace Jirga, we expected that there would be more child protection provisions in that declaration though there is a mention of children protection in it but we feel that perhaps focusing on children, giving them a priority is a way of trying to bring all sides together.”
6. Cutaway, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Fazel Jalil, Save the Children, Country Director, Afghanistan:
“I would like to emphasize on the Afghan government and also on the community donors to make a kind of negotiation talking that they should not use these facilities (schools and health centers) as polling stations, in order we should really make it a safe places, both children should have access to education and also we can say both access to basic health services.”

FILE - UNICEF - JULY 2007, LOWGAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

11. Med shot, students exiting school watched by armed guards
12. Med shot, armed guard outside girls' school
13. Close up, machine gun outside girls' school
14. Close up, young girl covering face
15. Close up, young girl in scarf

FILE - UNICEF - JULY 2007, KANDAHAR, AGHANISTAN

16. Med shot, girl in front of barbed wire
17. Wide shot, children singing

STORYLINE:

Eva Smets, director of the ‘Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict’, a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), urged the government of Afghanistan and its allies to modify its international strategies and increase the protection for children and civil population in that country.

Launching their latest report today at United Nations (UN) headquarters, Smets said that last year over a thousand children had been killed in Afghanistan by aerial bombings, night raids, suicide bombs and landmines.

She added that in 2009 Afghanistan had hit “the world record” of the most attacks on education taking place in one country as documented by the UN.

Smets noted that the attacks involved both school buildings as well as students, mostly girls and teachers.

UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy said that children should be the number one priority and expressed her disappointment that the Jirga Peace Declaration signed earlier this month (2 June) did not carry enough child protection provisions in it.

‘Save the Children’s Country Director, Fazel Jalil expressed his frustration that most schools in the country had been used as polling stations during the latest presidential elections, preventing children from attending their classes. He  urged the Afghan government and the donor community not use schools and health centers as polling stations, in order to keep them as safe places.

The Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict strives to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights.

Watchlist works within the framework of the provisions adopted in UN Security Council Resolutions 1261, 1314, 1379, 1460, 1539, 1612, 1882, the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its protocols and other internationally adopted human rights and humanitarian standards.

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