Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, let me thank Save the Children (Norway) for arranging this very appropriate and timely symposium to discuss how we jointly can get children on the agenda for conflict prevention, peacemaking, peace-keeping, peace-building and development. I also want to thank Save the Children by general secretary Gro Brækken for challenging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this topic.

Every parent and society has an obligation to put their children first. Societies should do so in times of peace and especially in times of war. Every child has the right to support and protection without distinction.

Conflict has the potential to forever change a child’s aspirations and capabilities by subjecting him and her to horrific physical, psychological, sexual and societal violence. Children have widely differing needs, experiences and challenges during conflict and in post-conflict situations. However, no child emerges unscarred and unaffected from situations where killings, indiscriminate bombings, recruitment, torture, sexual exploitation, forced labor, abduction, sickness and malnutrition are a constant threat, and where educational opportunities rarely exist.

The international community condemns such violations of the rights of the child in pre-conflict, conflict and post-conflict situations. It condemns the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. It also condemns attacks on protected places that usually have a significant presence of children, such as schools, hospitals and homes. Nevertheless, children in armed conflicts continue to suffer.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child and other powerful regional and international instruments have been put in place to protect the rights and welfare of all children, including those who are affected by war. The rights of the child must be respected, protected and promoted everywhere.

We have the necessary knowledge and legal instruments. What is needed now are concerted efforts to breathe life into the principles and obligations enshrined in these instruments. We need widespread ratification, effective implementation and international cooperation. We need political, moral, economic and social leadership.

The depth of our commitment today to immediate action together with and on behalf of war-affected girls and boys will determine their future commitment to peace. Children who grow up in a climate of violent conflict are likely to pass on the cycle of violence to the next generation. We must help break this vicious cycle.

The 1996 Graca Machel report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children highlighted the relevance of children’s rights to the international peace and security agenda. It recommended that the Security Council be kept continuously informed of child-specific concerns in its actions to resolve conflicts, keep or enforce peace and implement peace agreements.

Initiatives designed to help war-affected children must be tailored to address all the needs of the child – mental, physical and spiritual. These initiatives must take into account the widely divergent needs, experiences and challenges faced by

• Girls and boys,
• Adolescents and younger children,
• Refugee and internally displaced children,
• Child soldiers and orphans,
• Children from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, and
• Children with disabilities.

Every war-torn society faces the huge task of rebuilding physical, economic, political, cultural and psychosocial structures and processes. Conflicts destroy more than buildings and bridges. They also rip apart the cultural fabric that binds societies together. War shatters legal and moral norms, making it more difficult for families to offer security to their children.

National rebuilding must therefore look beyond physical structures. It must establish a culture of human rights that provides a safe, nurturing environment for children and promotes social and economic policies that protect them.

The Graca Machel report urged that children be placed at the center of reconstruction and that young people be involved in the rebuilding of family and community life. It recommended that reconstruction and development be integrated into humanitarian assistance, and that education be a priority in all reconstruction. What are the top items listed by children in armed conflicts? Peace. And education.

Putting children at the center of reconstruction means using them as a resource. Young people must not be seen as problems or victims, but as key contributors in planning and implementing long-term solutions. Civil society organizations are vital to ensuring this. While international NGOs play a leading role in providing emergency support for children, national NGOs carry the greatest responsibility in the aftermath of war. Resources must be provided to strengthen their capacity, expand their institutions and broaden their scope.

In order to meet the challenge that Gro Brækken has given us, I would now like to say a few words about what should be included in a tentative agenda for a child-sensitive peace-building process.

Humanitarian assistance must be child-focused. It must include the provision of basic social services, in particular food, health and education. Education is often underfinanced in consolidated appeals. Norway strongly supports the efforts within UNHCR to put more emphasis on the education of children in refugee camps.

The work of laying the groundwork for peaceful societies can begin in schools, where the educational process and curriculum can promote peace, tolerance, social justice, respect for human rights and the acceptance of responsibility. Children can learn the skills of negotiation, non-violent problem solving, critical thinking and communication.

Special attention and increased resources must be made available to monitor, verify and report violations of children’s rights and gender-based violations in conflict situations.

We need child-focused disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in post-conflict situations. Armies invariably try to cover up the presence of child combatants in their ranks. As a result, peace agreements have no provisions for this category of former soldiers despite the debt owed them by society for depriving them of opportunities for normal emotional and intellectual growth. Child combatants need to be reunited with their families if they can be traced, they need to continue their education and they need psychological counseling so they can readjust.

All peacekeeping missions should receive child-sensitive training and include child protection advisers who can safeguard the rights of children.

Women and children must be a major focus in mine clearance, mine awareness and victim assistance.

Repatriation and reintegration programs for refugees and internally displaced persons must be particularly attentive to the special re-entry needs of children, such as psychological counseling, education, family tracing and reunification.

Rehabilitation of infrastructure and reconstruction of the economic system should be assessed in relation to the potential opportunities and consequences for women and children.

It is necessary to apply a dual strategy to end the use of child soldiers. We must work at all levels to outlaw and end the recruitment of children in armed conflict. And we must address the problems that form a basis for recruitment, such as lack of educational opportunities. This problem, lack of education, of knowledge about the world beyond the village, is sometimes a key issue. Ignorance simply can make children and adolescents easy prey, for unscrupolous recruiters. I’ve seen the effects of this in Uganda. Children had been promised a car, a house, becoming Minister or President, if they would join the rebels. Without some knowledge, or references, it was an attratice option to them. Until they met with reality.

States should implement their international obligations to end impunity and hold accountable perpetrators of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Those responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity must be brought to justice. Post-conflict assistance should include truth and reconciliation initiatives and the rebuilding of justice systems, paying special attention to juvenile justice.

The international community must work with families, local communities, governments, civil society, and relevant international organizations to improve the situation of children during conflict and post-conflict. The international community must take a well coordinated, comprehensive, long-term approach.

This child-focused peace-building agenda is relevant to our efforts to help promote reconstruction in Afghanistan.

How do we relate to the peace-building agenda in our daily work?

Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child reads as follows: "The child has the right to express his or her opinion freely and to have that opinion taken into account in any matter or procedure affecting the child."

We have the necessary knowledge and a normative framework. Political and legal awareness and commitments have been enhanced to address the special problems of war-affected children and youth. The UN Security Council has agreed that the impact of armed conflict on children constitutes a threat to long-term peace and stability. But do we take the rights of the child seriously in our day-to-day work? To what extent do we take the opinion of the child into account in matters or procedures affecting the child?

I firmly believe that Norway has most of the necessary financial instruments in place. Our long-term development cooperation can help prevent conflicts. Norway is well known for its extensive involvement in peacemaking and peacekeeping operations. We contribute generously to humanitarian assistance. And we are involved in post-conflict peace-building operations in many parts of the world.

The overriding goal of all our development cooperation is poverty eradication. The selected thematic areas are education and health, HIV/AIDS, economic development and trade, environment and energy, good governance, and regional cooperation. Moreover, we have budget allocations for

• productive sector development,
• humanitarian assistance and human rights,
• peace, reconciliation and democracy, and
• a new allocation that can bridge the gap between short-term humanitarian relief and long term-development assistance.

The GAP allocation will be particularly important for Norwegian involvement in peace-building processes. We must ensure child-focused policy development, program planning and implementation.

The focus on children needs to be mainstreamed in our development efforts, and conflict assessments are essential. Competence building is a must. Inter- and intra-agency cooperation is necessary.

It is also necessary to overcome the institutional, budgetary and functional barriers between short term relief, reconstruction and development cooperation.

Our strategy for assistance to children in Norwegian development co-operation dates back to 1992. The implementation of the strategy was evaluated in 1998. Supplementary guidelines were presented earlier this year. The government intends to present a new strategy for children after the UN Special Session on Children in 2002. Here we will strengthen the focus on children affected by conflict. We intend, of course, to keep in contact with NGOs while preparing the strategy.

I wish you every success in your further deliberations on the important issues on the agenda for this symposium, and I am looking forward to reading your conclusions about developing a comprehensive plan for children as an integral part of peace agreements. This in itself should become an important contribution to our further work on this crucial issue.

Thank you.