*90 percent of children in conflicts without parents, says FG
To witness first-hand efforts by the Nigerian government in alleviating the violation of children caught up in armed conflicts, especially in the Northeast and to raise their international profile the United Nations Security Council has sent a delegation of its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, (SCWG-CAAC), to interface with strategic government ministries and agencies.
Receiving the delegation yesterday in Abuja, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Dr Nasir Gwarzo, said that armed conflicts have affected a good number of children of the government has stepped in to provide for them.
He pointed out that over 90 percent of those in crisis have no parents and therefore are being sheltered and provided for by the government.
The permanent secretary said “This is the time for us to come together, we need your support and share experiences because more than 90 percent of these children are without any parent.
“Yes we have done a lot, we have ratified a lot of globally accepted policies, and we are implementing them but a lot needs to be done better and there are even aspects of it they may not have known about the younger children caught up in these conflicts situations and there safe return back to society.
“There are some of them that are increasingly getting endangered as they return back to their societies due to landmines everywhere.
“Nigeria is certainly involved in a lot of conflict situations of different kinds in various parts of the country. The one that is very well known to you is that of the Northeast
“We have conflicts almost everywhere and all of them, one of the end products is the look large number of children that are caught up in armed conflicts situations and so we have a large pool of such children that need support.”
According to him, the meeting is very timely because the nation is in a transition phase hence, strategies and conclusions reached will enable the incoming government hit the ground running having a firm understanding of current issues.
Dr. Gwarzo said ” This is the time to consolidate what has been done in the past and pass unto the new regime what needs to be done better
Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Maltese ambassador to the UN, Vanessa Frazier, said concerns about children in armed conflict is a priority to the United Nations and the visit will help tailor interventions in that regard to diminishing ongoing violations.
“The aim of our visit here in Nigeria is to witness firsthand the efforts which is being done by the government of Nigeria hand in hand with the local representatives of the United Nations here and at the organisation on alleviating grave violations against children.
“As you are aware, annually the Secretary General of the United Nations, (António Guterres), issues a report on children and armed conflicts where a number of country situations are mentioned then the working group which I chair, deliberate and discusses the report of the secretary-general.
“To be sincere, Nigeria has done a lot in the field, has implemented legislation and most significantly has adhered to important declarations at the federal level.” She urged that these
Frazier notes that “Being on the ground helps inform our decisions and helps inform our work when we are in New York as a committee.”
The visit is expected to raise the international profile of children in armed conflict in Nigeria most especially in northeast Nigeria, to obtain first-hand experience of the Nigerian context and undertake advocacy and afford both parties tan exchange on the invaluable work on protecting children in armed conflict as well as the endorsement of the handover protocol for the transfer of children encountered during military operations signed between FGN and UN System in Nigeria including UNICEF.
