“As the African Union is taking a larger role in the continent’s mediation and peacekeeping operations, it had become essential to make our partnership stronger,” said Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

Her office and the Peace and Security Department of the AU Commission signed an agreement on 17 September, in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to step up measures to protect children from armed violence.

“A significant number of children affected by armed conflict live on the African continent. With this agreement, my Office will work even more closely with the African Union and UNICEF to respond to their plight,” Ms. Zerrougui said.

Among the areas of collaboration outlined in the document, the AU, with UN support, agrees to include the protection of children in all its peace and security activities.

The agreement also calls for the development of a joint programme of work to align domestic legislation with regional and international child rights, as well as to develop guidelines on protection of children.

In addition, improved and harmonized training programmes in child protection will be developed for countries contributing troops to AU peace missions.

“We welcome this collaboration to ensure that protecting children is central to the work of the African Union,” said El-Ghassim Wane, Director of the Department of Peace and Security at the AU Commission.

“We know that we cannot succeed in building a prosperous and just future for the continent if we do not do everything in our collective power to protect them from the scourge of violence and war,” Mr. Wane added.

Addressing the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council, which began last week in Geneva, Ms. Zerrougui noted that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed Action Plans to end the recruitment and use of children, as well as sexual violence against children.

The Transitional Government of Somalia signed a similar Action Plan as well as another one to end killing and maiming of children, the first time a Government made such a commitment.

“The clashes have resulted in the alleged displacement of 60,000 persons and have reportedly claimed the lives of at least 100 persons,” the hybrid mission – known by the acronym UNAMID – said in an update.

The fighting erupted on 5 January in the Jebel Amer area near Kabkabiya, in North Darfur state, and resulted in a number of casualties, looting, the burning of nearby villages, and the displacement of thousands of civilians forced to flee towards towns of Kabkabiya, Saraf Omra and Al Sereif.

Following initial reports of the fighting, UNAMID dispatched a verification team to Jebel Amer. The team was informed that most of the displaced persons are currently living in schools, local council buildings and government buildings.

As part of its efforts to facilitate humanitarian assistance, UNAMID is today transporting by road 75 tons of relief items – including plastic sheets, blankets, jerry cans, mattresses and mosquito nets – to El Sereif and Garrah Azawia.

The peacekeeping operation has also provided escorts to UN World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying supplies, which have reached the town of Kutum and are expected to reach the district of Kabkabiya within a few days. In addition, it is actively supporting ongoing mediation and reconciliation efforts.

Established in July 2007, UNAMID has the protection of civilians as its core mandate. In addition, the peacekeeping operation is tasked with facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and assisting with an inclusive peace process in Darfur, where fighting broke out nine years ago, pitting Government forces and allied militiamen against rebel groups.

“I am saddened that the people of Kutum have again had to endure pain and suffering,” UNAMID’s Acting Joint Special Representative, Aichatou Mindaoudou, said in a news release. “UNAMID calls for a cessation in hostilities and for all parties to engage in peaceful dialogue.”

According to the news release, UNAMID peacekeepers at a team site near the town of Kutum, located some 100 kilometres northwest of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, reported that the security situation began deteriorating on Tuesday, 4 September, with a rash of shootings, including an assassination attempt on a local official.

The incidents reportedly resulted in several dead and wounded, and UNAMID evacuated wounded civilians to El-Fasher by helicopter for emergency medical treatment. On 5 September, armed men allegedly fired at local civilians, resulting in additional casualties.

The latest violence comes as the locality recovers from a series of attacks, and subsequent destruction and looting, which took place last month.

That violence began on August 1, with the shooting of a district commissioner and his driver during a car-jacking by three unidentified armed men. The vehicle was recovered later that same day, in the vicinity of the Kassab camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), located near Kutum.

Later that day, armed men surrounded Kassab, looted its market and burnt down the police post located within. Three civilians and one police officer were reported killed, in addition to six people injured.

In the following days, similar events took place – such as fighting between armed elements and Government forces, looting and the displacement of civilians – leading to a deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation at the Kassab and Fataborno IDP camps, as well as around Kutum. The incidents forced more than 25,000 IDPs from Kassab camp to flee and seek refuge in Kutum.

In response, UNAMID began providing a round-the-clock presence with continuous patrols, monitoring movements in and around the camp and facilitating humanitarian assistance.

At the end of August, UN humanitarian agencies and non-governmental partner organizations reported that they were able to resume their activities at Kassab IDP camp, with about 80 percent of its residents having returned following the violence in August.