What is the working group on children in armed conflict?
Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict [NEW YORK, 20 November 2006] – Government forces, rebel groups, armed militia and mercenaries operating in conflicts in at least 12 countries recruit children to serve as soldiers or are responsible for murdering, torturing and committing sexual crimes against them, according to a new report from Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The report on children and armed conflict calls on the Security Council to maintain its pressure on those parties recruiting and using child soldiers to draw up time-bound action plans to end such behaviour. Mr. Annan recommends that all countries which are party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child take specific measures to strengthen their protection of children, starting by signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict. He also recommends enacting laws expressly prohibiting the recruitment of children under the age of 15 into a
