One
hundred countries have now signed up to an international accord vowing to stop
children from being forced to fight in armies, according to officials.
With hundreds of thousands of children said to
be involved in armies and militia groups around the world, the five extra
signatories for the Paris Commitments over the past week have been hailed as a
landmark for the declaration.
Angola, Armenia, Bosnia, Costa Rica and San
Marino signed up during the UN general Assembly, diplomats at a meeting on the
accord Monday said.
The new endorsements and support for action on
child soldiers "show that the international community is mobilised to stop
this unbearable phenomenon," said Francois Zimeray, France's ambassador
for Human Rights.
"The time for warnings has come to an
end. We have to take into account what is working and what is not. It's high
time to make justice happen" said the Ambassador.
The Paris Principles were adopted at a meeting
in France in 2007 set out guidelines to prevent the recruitment of child
soldiers, protect children affected by conflict, and help reintegrate those who
have been forced to fight.
During 2010, Unicef and other agencies helped
with the release and reintegration of approximately 10,000 children associated
with armies or armed groups.
Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African
Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Myanmar, Nepal,
the Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda are all on a UN child
soldier blacklist for past or present offenses.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN special
representative for children and armed conflict, together with Zimeray and other
activists are still looking for new countries to sign the commitments.
China, Russia and Pakistan are among countries
who have so far refused to sign on.
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