watchlist on children and armed conflict
end violations against children

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Global Study on the Implementation of the UN-led Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM), January 2008
Full report: [PDF], in French [PDF]. Country-specific reports: Colombia [PDF] in Spanish [PDF], DR Congo [PDF], in French [PDF], Sri Lanka [PDF] and Uganda [PDF].

Sudan’s Children at a Crossroads: An Urgent Need for Protection, April 2007
Summary [PDF] [HTML], in Arabic [PDF]. Full report [PDF] [HTML], in Arabic [PDF].

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The Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict strives to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights. As a global network, the Watchlist builds partnerships among local, national and international non-governmental organizations, enhancing mutual capacities and strengths. Working together, we strategically collect and disseminate information on violations against children in conflicts in order to influence key decision-makers to create and implement programs and policies that effectively protect children.

Watchlist launches new report on children and armed conflict in Sri Lankglobal reporta

April 14, 2008

The Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict is pleased to present its latest report, No Safety No Escape: Children and the Escalating Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka (April 2008).

Launched today at the UN headquarters in New York, No Safety No Escape is being released against the backdrop of an escalating military build up and fear of deepening warfare in Sri Lanka. Many children in Sri Lanka live in a state of constant fear and insecurity. Every day the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), the Government armed forces, and paramilitary groups, such as the military wing of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), commit heinous crimes against children. Thousands of children are missing out on school, denied basic health care and facing daily threats to their lives, such as suicide bombings, landmine explosions, abductions, arbitrary arrests, recruitment and use as soldiers and forced displacement.

Both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE obstruct humanitarian access to thousands of children in war-torn areas, denying them urgently needed assistance and concealing the grave crisis they face. Additionally, restrictions on the movement of civilians exacerbate this crisis by preventing civilians from seeking assistance or escaping to safety.

The report illustrates the precarious situation of children in Sri Lanka and provides practical recommendations for urgent actions that are needed to protect them. Recommendations are targeted for the Government of Sri Lanka, the LTTE, the TMVP, the UN Security Council, the humanitarian community, donors, and others.

  • The full report is available here: [PDF] [HTML]
  • The 4-page summary is available in English here [PDF], and also available in Tamil [PDF] and Sinhala [PDF]
  • Please click here for the press release in English [PDF] Tamil [PDF] and Sinhala [PDF]

If you are not able to access these documents, please contact us at: watchlist@womenscommission.org
A webcast of the press conference is available at: http://www.un.org/webcast/2008.html
c/o Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, 122 East 42nd Street, 11th Floor; New York, NY 10168-1289
tel (212) 551-2941  fax (212) 551-3180 watchlist@womenscommission.org
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