UN Special Representative Concludes Her Visit to Egypt

Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, concluded a three-day visit to Egypt, where she met a number of senior Arab States League officials.

Gamba’s visit provided opportunities for her Office and the League of Arab States to solidify and enhance their pledge to end and prevent grave violations against children in armed conflict in the Arab world (Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, State of Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) and discuss the way forward.

The two organizations jointly stressed the importance to protect the rights of children before, during, and after conflict and their longstanding engagement in collaborating in delivering this promise.

On the sidelines of her visit, the Special Representative welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. Sameh Hassan Shoukry, to discuss closer collaboration on child protection in the Arab world and how can Egypt exert more efforts to protect children during armed conflicts.

During the meeting, the two officials agreed to increase cooperation between Egypt and the UN special representative to protect children’s rights during armed conflicts.

As part of her engagement with the League of Arab States, she further exchanged with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, H.E. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Social Affairs of the League of Arab States, Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh.

Also in this regard, she met with the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the League of Arab States, H.E. Ambassador Salem Mubarak Al Shafi, the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the League of Arab States, H.E. Ambassador Abdulrahman bin Saeed Al-Jumah, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Egypt and Libya, H.E. Hilde Klemetsdal, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ms. Elena Panova, and members of the United Nations Country Team.

During her meeting with senior Arab officials, she noted that regional organizations have an instrumental role to play in the prevention of grave violations against children as highlighted recently by the Security Council in Resolution 2427 (2018), which emphasized the critical contribution of regional and subregional organizations in protecting children from hostilities as well as in supporting national authorities to do so.

“The protection of children before, during, and after conflict, requires us to take stronger prevention steps, including in our mediation and peace negotiation efforts, to ensure that all children can access a peaceful future, per the promises of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”

"We have a common responsibility not only to protect children from the ravages of wars but also to support them in their recovery and equip them with the tools that are required to build peaceful and wealthy societies throughout the Arab world,” she pointed out.

The Special Representative stressed: “Children and youth represent a dynamic, powerful, and resilient strength for the Arab region. The past decade has had its share of challenges for them, with an increasing number of social, political, and security changes in the region; and in that context, the protection of all children and of their rights must remain a priority."

According to UN, new and emerging crises, as well as protracted armed conflict in countries of the region, have forced millions of children to flee their homes, making them more vulnerable to being recruited or used by armed groups, killed or maimed, or victims of other crimes such as sexual violence, including trafficking for sexual purposes.

In recent months, the Arab States have witnessed a certain progress in the sphere of the protection of children in armed conflict through concrete and practical measures, and the United Nations supports such efforts.

It's worth noting that Children and youth account for a majority of the population in the Arab world, including in conflict-affected countries, making the collaboration around the Children and Armed Conflict mandate of paramount importance for the partnership between the UN and the LAS.