Chad, Central African Republic: UN envoy assesses impact of war on children

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict is visiting Chad and Central African Republic (CAR) to see first-hand the situation of war-impacted children in the two countries.

In her mission from 26-31 May at the invitation of the Governments of the two nations, Radhika Coomaraswamy will look into child recruitment by State and non-State actors.

She also intends to focus on key issues including the cross-border recruitment of children; the safety of humanitarian workers; the security of camps for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs); the increase of rapes and other sexual violence; and the culture of impunity that is widespread in the region.

While in the two countries, Ms. Coomaraswamy plans to meet with Government officials, UN country teams, civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and children affected by conflict.