UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Board: Sudan
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"Teenage fighters in the back of a vehicle at an undisclosed location in Sudan's Western Darfur region." (Reuters, April 18, 2008) |
Mission of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF): "UNICEF is mandated by the UN General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a "first call for children" and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families. UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children - victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation and those with disabilities. UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority." (
UN Children's Fund web-site, "UNICEF's Mission Statement")
Term of office: 2009-2011 Sudan's Record on Children: "[T]here were numerous serious abuses, including...child abuse, including sexual violence and recruitment of child soldiers, particularly in Darfur...In Southern Sudan, serious human rights abuses were reported during the year, including...use of child soldiers; abduction of women and children; and child labor...In Darfur government-aligned militias killed and injured civilians, including during attacks on villages; raped women and children...and used child soldiers...The use of child soldiers in Darfur was a problem...[R]ecruitment of child soldiers continued to be widespread...There were continued reports that janjaweed, rebels, and government security forces raped women and children...[T]here were reports that janjaweed raped children during the February 8 SAF attacks in West Darfur. In March, in Nyala, government soldiers raped two 14-year-old girls. On August 19, an IDP spokesman reported that janjaweed raped two girls and one woman after they left the camp to gather firewood. UNAMID reported that armed men in uniform raped two girls, age 11 and 12, in November in North Darfur...Many children were abused, abducted, or used as slaves. Child labor remained a problem...The law establishes the legal age of marriage as 10 for girls and 15 or puberty for boys...[C]hild marriage was a problem...Child prostitution, trafficking of children, and sexual abuse of children remained problems, particularly in the south. Children engaged in prostitution for survival, usually without third-party involvement...Abduction, forced labor, and sexual slavery of women and children continued...The use of child soldiers, child trafficking, and child prostitution were problems." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2008, Sudan)