On Friday 7 May at 2.00 PM EST, an informal virtual meeting „Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on violations against children in situations of armed conflict” is organised by UN Security Council members Estonia, France, Ireland, Kenya, Niger, Norway, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam, together with additional co-sponsors Belgium, Canada, Germany and Sweden.
The objective of the meeting is to assess, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on grave violations against children affected by armed conflict: both the trends in violations that can be attributed to the pandemic, its impact on the capacity for monitoring these violations, as well as on the engagement with parties to conflict to end and prevent grave violations against children. It will also analyse the lessons learned and good practices for the future to ensure better protection of children.
The meeting will launch the study prepared by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict on the “Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on violations against children in situations of armed conflict”.
The debate will be opened and chaired by the Permanent Representative of Estonia Ambassador Sven Jürgenson.
The meeting will take place on Friday 7 May 2021 via video conference at 2.00 PM (NYC time).There will be statements by briefers and the UN Security Council members as well as by other UN member states.
The meeting will be streamed live and is open to the public via UN WebTV, YouTube, Facebook and the homepage of the Permanent Mission of Estonia to the UN
The meeting will be held in English and no simultaneous interpretation is offered.
GUEST SPEAKERS:
- Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict
- Khassim Diagne, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Protection and Operations, MONUSCO
- Fiona Frazer, Chief of Human Rights Service, UNAMA
- Manuel Fontaine, Director of Emergency Operations Division, UNICEF
- Philippe Adapoe, Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Save the Children
(Estimated time at 02:40 PM (EDT, New York time))
CO-SPONSORS:
- Norway, Permanent Representative, Ms. Mona Juul
- Niger, Permanent Representative, Mr. Abdou Abarry
- Viet Nam, Permanent Representative, Mr. Dinh Quy Dang
- Tunisia, Permanent Representative, Mr. Tarek Ladeb
- Kenya, Permanent Representative, Mr. Martin Kimani
- United States, Deputy Councelor for Political Affairs, Ms. Trina Saha
- Ireland, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. Brian Patrick Flynn
- France, Permanent Representative, Mr. Nicolas de Rivière
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Second Deputy Permanent Representative, Ms. Halimah DeShong
- United Kingdom, Political Coordinator, Ms. Sonia Farrey
- Canada, Deputy Permanent Representative, H.E. Mr. Richard Arbeiter (On behalf of the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict and its 48 members)
- Belgium, Permanent Representative, Mr. Philippe Kridelka
- Sweden, Permanent Representative, Ms. Anna Karin Eneström
- Germany, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. Günter Sautter
(Estimated time at 3:30 PM (EDT, New York time))
SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS:
- India, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur
- Mexico, Deputy Permanent Representative, Ms. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu
- Russian Federation, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. Gennady Kuzmin
- China, Alternative Political Coordinator, Mr. Jisheng Xing
(Estimated time at 3:45 PM (EDT, New York time))
UN MEMBER STATES and OBSERVERS:
- Ecuador, Permanent Representative, Mr. Cristian Espinosa
- Spain, Permanent Representative, Mr. Agustin Santos Maraver
- Qatar, Permanent Representative, Ms. Alya Ahmed Bin Saif Al-Thani
- Bulgaria, Permanent Representative, Ms. Lachezara Stoeva
- Malta, Permanent Representative, Ms. Vanessa Frazier
- South Africa, Permanent Representative, Ms. Mathu JoyiniUkraine, Permanent Representative, Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya
- Ukraine, Permanent Representative, Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya
- Liechtenstein, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. Georg Sparber
- Morocco, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. Omar Kadiri
- Italy, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. Stefano Stefanile
- Algeria, Permanent Representative, Mr. Sofiane Mimouni
- Turkey, Deputy Permanent Representative, Ms. Bilge Kocyigit Grba
- Poland, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mr. Mariusz Lewicki
- Japan, Minister, Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues, Mr. Kaoru Magosaki
(Estimated time at 4:30 PM (EDT, New York time))
CLOSING REMARKS FROM GUEST SPEAKERS:
- Virginia Gamba, SpecialRepresentative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict
- Manuel Fontaine, Director of Emergency Programmes, UNICEF
- Philippe Adapoe, Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Save the Children
CLOSING REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR SVEN JÜRGENSON
(Estimated time at 5:00 PM (EDT, New York time))
STATEMENTS SENT BY UN MEMBER STATES and OBSERVERS IN WRITING:
- Delegation of the European Union on behalf of the EU and its Member States
- Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations
- Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations
- Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the United Nations
- Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations
- Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations
- Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations
- Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations
More infomation
- The Concept Paper for the Arria-formula meeting on Children and Armed Conflict
- New Study on Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children Affected by Conflict Shows Importance of Supporting United Nations and Partners on the Ground
- Security Council Report on Arria-formula Meeting on Children and Armed Conflict
- Press Release “Estonia raises the impact of COVID-19 on children in armed conflict at the UN Security Council”