United Nation, 04 October, (IPS): Human rights organizations are urging the international community to follow the lead set by the European Union (EU), which has imposed a travel ban on leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lankan rebel group notorious for recruiting child soldiers.

"The EU should continue to refuse LTTE delegations until political killings and child recruitment stop," Jo Becker, children's rights advocacy director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, told IPS. She also urged "other U.N. member states to consider similar action".

"We welcome the recent EU agreement that LTTE delegations will no longer be received in (the 25) EU member states", Casey Kelso, international director of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, told IPS.

He said the recruitment of any child under the age of 18 for military purposes -- whether enforced or voluntary -- is contrary to international human rights norms, which are based on recognition of children's special needs and vulnerabilities.

"The recruitment of children under the age of 15 is defined as a war crime by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. These obligations exist independently of any peace process," Kelso added.

Established in May 1998, the London-based Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers comprises some of the world's leading international human rights and humanitarian organisations.

The coalition's international steering committee members include: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation Terre des Hommes, International Save the Children Alliance, Jesuit Refugee Service, the Quaker United Nations Office-Geneva, and World Vision International.

In a statement released Monday, the coalition called on the LTTE to halt all recruitment of under-18s and to demobilize all children in its ranks.

The EU decision, it pointed out, was made in the wake of EU condemnation of the recent killing of Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, along with many other targeted killings in recent weeks -- virtually all of them by the LTTE, according to the Sri Lankan government.

The EU statement emphasized its concern at the continuing recruitment and retention of children by the LTTE, a practice it described as "abhorrent".

In a report to the Security Council last February, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for tough new measures to penalize those guilty of recruiting child soldiers. Annan's recommendations included travel restrictions on rebel leaders and their exclusion from any governance structures and amnesty provisions; the imposition of arms embargoes; a ban on military assistance; and restriction on the flow of financial resources to warring parties.

But after dragging its collective feet for nearly five months, the 15-member Security Council agreed to establish "a comprehensive monitoring and reporting mechanism" -- a far cry from the measures proposed by Annan.

The speculation in the corridors of the United Nations was that two countries, China and Britain, both veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, were opposed to any drastic measures against rebel groups.

China was said to be protective of some of the rebel groups in Burma (Myanmar) and Britain protective of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

In his report, Annan also said he expects key U.N. and international bodies such as the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, and regional organizations and governments to take action against child abuse.

The report listed two categories of child soldiers. The first list consists of national armies and/or armed groups that recruit or use children in situations of armed conflict, and are on the agenda of the Security Council. These include Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Sudan.

A second list includes national armies and/or armed groups that recruit or use children, and are not on the agenda of the Security Council. These include Colombia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Uganda.

Kelso said the demobilization process needs to be transparent and independently verifiable. "If bodies such as (the U.N. children's agency) UNICEF and other independent organizations are involved, this would send a clear message that children's rights are respected by the LTTE and serve as a confidence-building measure in the broader context of the peace process," he added.

For more than 20 years, the LTTE has been fighting a separatist war in Sri Lanka's northern and eastern provinces.

Becker of Human Rights Watch said the EU travel ban is "a welcome signal to the LTTE that their continued use of political killings and child recruitment cannot be tolerated".

Following the 2002 ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, more than 200 individuals, mostly Tamils, have been killed for apparently political reasons.

During the same period, the LTTE has recruited thousands of children, many by force, she said. Rates of child recruitment have escalated in recent months. More children were reported recruited in July of this year than in any single month in nearly two years, Becker added.

"Because the LTTE has actively sought international support, the EU's refusal to receive LTTE delegations is significant," she added.

Kelso said that following the EU statement, the LTTE political head S.P. Tamilselvan reiterated the organization’s position that it does not recruit under-18s.

"LTTE denials are belied by consistent evidence of abductions of children for military training. Child recruitment has increased since June 2005 and is ongoing," said Kelso.

He said that a lull in recruitment following the December 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka was noted by the Coalition as an encouraging development.

"This trend reversed as detailed information on numerous cases of recruitment during temple festivals was received by the Coalition in June," he added.

Kelso also said that UNICEF reported a sharp increase in the numbers of children recruited in July. Recent information suggests that children are often being abducted while on the way to school in government-controlled areas, he added.

The LTTE has formally released more than 1,400 child soldiers to UNICEF since signing an agreement with the Sri Lankan government in 2003, according to Kelso.

Other child recruits have been released directly to parents or to the LTTE's North Eastern Secretariat on Human Rights. However, as of Aug. 31, UNICEF had 1,277 outstanding cases of child recruitment.

While some of the children may have returned home, Kelso said, many others are thought to remain in military camps run by the LTTE.

Post your comments

- Inter Press Service -