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Child protection authority updates UNICEF on the release of underage youths

• the accelerated release of underage youths from the LTTE by 1 January 2007 and the mechanisms to be put in place for the UNICEF to speedily verify the releases;

• response from the UNICEF to the CPA request to raise awareness about the damaging effects to children when bombers fly over at school time; and

• the status of the UNICEF database about violations against children listed in the security council resolution 1612.

CPA has already handed to the UNICEF names of 104 underage youths who were released from the LTTE during the months of October, November and December. In this list are names of 30 children who were released to the ESDC and 64 children who were handed over to their families. It was agreed that, as much as possible, future releases will be coordinated with the UNICEF. Status of the children released to the ESDC was also discussed and a joined effort towards assessing the needs of these children is to be evolved. In the meantime CPA requested a special status to be accorded to the children released to the ESDC in the UNICEF database as a temporary measure.

UNICEF made the point that underage refers to anyone under the age of 18. CPA brought to the attention of UNICEF that Tamil Eelam is already a de-facto state and its law permits recruitment of those above the age of 17. The de-facto state of Tamil Eelam is facing extreme threat from an aggressor and as a de-state facing such severe threats, it has the right to recruit those above the age of 17 which a state is permitted to do under the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child in Article 38, clause 3. It is should be noted that this clause and the age it specifies for the state are not removed even in the optional protocol which confirms the point that when a state has to defend itself from an aggressor it has the right to recruit those above the age of 15. However LTTE will only recruit those above the age of 17.

The second topic discussed is the mental trauma of children at school during aerial attacks. This was raised by the CPA in previous meetings and was again raised at today’s meeting. CPA requested UNICEF to run a campaign with the long term view to ban aerial attacks during school time and over civilian areas.

CPA also emphasized the need to keep the child rights violation database accurate and make every effort to collect all the child rights violation even in areas that may not be readily accessible to UNICEF.

Andy Brooks (Chief Child Protection Officer), William Kollie (Child Protection Officer), Kit Dyer (UNICEF Kilinochchi), and Insaf Nizaam (Assistant Project Officer) from UNICEF attended the meeting. N Malathy (CPA), S Puleedevan (Secretary General of LTTE Peace Secretariat) and R Ilanthirayan (CPA) attended the meeting from CPA.

15 December 2006

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