The children were released to their families in the presence of senior Government officials as well as representatives from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Myanmar.

By the terms of an action plan signed with the UN last year, the Myanmar Government has agreed to locate all children recruited by the Tatmadaw with a view to ensuring their unconditional release, and committed to discharging and facilitating their quick reintegration back into their families and their communities.

“We expect the Tatmadaw will now be in a position to speed up the release of all children,” said UN Resident Coordinator Ashok Nigam. “We are very happy for the 42 children and their families today but we must accelerate efforts so that many more children benefit from release.”

The action plan also includes commitments to allow UN monitoring teams to access military facilities and to training military personnel on how to better protect, respect and promote the rights of Myanmar’s children.

“All parties recognize this is about the future of Myanmar. No child should have to endure the hardship of being taken away from their families, friends, schools and communities,” said Mr. Nigam.

“Nothing justifies the recruitment of children in armed forces. An army is not a place for a child to grow up. We will continue working with the Myanmar Government and the Tatmadaw towards expanding access for UN monitoring teams, addressing identified systemic procedural weaknesses, and mobilizing the Myanmar public in support of ending this practice for the sake of their children and the whole country,” he added.

The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and UNICEF are the co-chairs of the UN Country Task Force charged with facilitating Myanmar’s implementation of Security Council resolution 1612 in the country together with representatives from other members of the Task Force.

Adopted in 2005, resolution 1612 asked the Secretary-General to establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism to provide timely and reliable information on six grave children’s rights violations, including the recruitment and use of children in armed forces and armed groups.

The six grave violations monitored and reported are: killing or maiming of children; recruitment and use of children in armed forces and groups; attacks against schools or hospitals; rape or other grave sexual violence; abduction of children; and denial of humanitarian access for children.

In his recent report to the Council on children and armed conflict in Myanmar, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the fact that, while children are still being recruited into the Tatmadaw following the signing of the action plan, the number of new recruits have decreased.

“Through today’s discharge and by moving away from recruiting new children, the Myanmar Government and its armed forces continue to demonstrate their desire to end this deeply saddening practice,” said UNICEF Representative Bertrand Bainvel.

“The action plan continues to be a unique opportunity to once and for all ensure that the Tatmadaw is a child-free armed force and is removed from the annex of the Secretary-General’s report, which lists parties to the conflict that recruit and use children,” Mr. Bainvel added.

The Tatmadaw (together with its integrated border guard forces) is listed in Annex 1 of the Secretary-General’s report, alongside seven other non-State armed groups that are persistent perpetrators in Myanmar.

“We are budgeting more than $64 million for winter preparations throughout the region, including for displaced Syrians in their own country,” the chief spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Melissa Fleming, told reporters in Geneva.

During the news briefing, Fleming outlined the measures the agency is taking in each of the countries which, altogether, are hosting the more than 340,000 refugees that are currently registered or awaiting registration with UNHCR.

In Jordan, where average temperatures drop to two degrees Celsius between mid-November and mid-March, UNHCR will focus on refugees living in camps as well as those living in local communities. There are more than 105,000 Syrians currently registered as refugees or awaiting registration in Jordan.

Refugees living in camps will receive a winter package that includes stoves and fuel, warm clothing, thermal blankets, plastic sheeting, hot water bottles and other items. The kit is in addition to the regular provision to refugees of blankets, sleeping mats, mattresses, jerry cans, kitchen sets, buckets, solar lamps and hygiene kits. Tent modifications are also planned for better insulation, Fleming said, adding that donors are providing more than 2,500 prefabricated family shelters, some 300 of which have already been set up in the camp.

Some 50,000 ‘urban refugees,’ who have been using their own resources or depending on help from Jordanian families, will receive cash assistance with an extra amount devoted for winter preparations in November and December. In addition, UNCHR will provide emergency grants to cover urgent needs such as clothing, fuel for heating and rental payments.

“We will also issue ‘basic needs vouchers’ which can be used in designated shops across Jordan to purchase winter clothing and a variety of non-food items for use during the winter,” Fleming said.

In Lebanon, where some 94,213 Syrians are scattered across the country, UNHCR is working to ensure the growing population has accommodation that provides sufficient protection from the cold, and that they have enough fuel and warm clothing.

In addition, cash rental assistance will be available for some 3,000 families as many are paying high accommodation prices. Fleming added that host families will also receive assistance to renovate their housing.

“Lebanese communities have generously welcomed their Syrian neighbours, but this generosity must be supported to meet the growing needs as the refugee population expands and the winter months approach,” the spokeswoman said.

In Turkey, UNHCR is working closely with the Government to provide support in the camps, which are currently hosting 96,000 refugees in seven provinces. Pre-fabricated homes, winter tents, and weather-proof facilities are all measures underway.

“UNHCR is prepared to offer its support and expertise in a number of areas, including procurement, technical specifications for various types of equipment, compilation of non-food aid packages, supply and logistics,” Fleming said. “Discussions are also underway to ensure preparedness for the needs of any urban refugees who may ultimately seek shelter in the camps during the winter months.”

In Iraq, assistance will be given to some 20,000 refugees in the three camps in the country. Some 12,000 vulnerable urban refugees and host families will receive cash grants to purchase kerosene for three months, and classrooms in camps will also be replaced with heated, pre-fabricated classrooms and aid packages will be distributed to all new arriving families.

In Syria itself, the agency has a Keeping Families Warm programme that will target 500,000 Syrians to provide for the rehabilitation of communal shelters, the distribution of non-food aid, and the provision of one-time cash assistance to the vulnerable.

“We are $12 million short of being able to fund this,” Fleming said. “The money is urgently required if we are to complete all of our winterization activities on time, prior to the onset of cold weather.”

More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in Syria since the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began last year. A further 2.5 million Syrians urgently need humanitarian aid, according to UN estimates.

“I woke at 5:30am, packed carefully, pulled on my rubber boots, and headed to the airport with our team. Minister Joseph Lual Acuil, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and former WFP Programme Officer, all seven feet of him, was waiting for us on the red gravel of the airport runway. Minister Betty Achan Ogwaro, the dynamic Minister of Agriculture joined us as our small sleepy group climbed on board our United Nations Humanitarian Air Service Dash 8.

We headed northwest to the county of Aweil, 120 km from the border with Sudan. We landed and headed to War Adhot Farm, 30 minutes from the airport. I was struck by the greenery on either side of the red dirt road. Yet, when you look closely, you see that the grass and trees are often submerged in water. The rivers overflow their banks flooding the place. I am also surprised by the poor condition of the roads. Apart from the road directly to the airport, there was no tarmac. The red dirt tracks are riddled with deep holes that our cars try in vain to avoid.

We arrive, and I am grateful for my boots as my feet sink into the mud. I am led towards the sound of singing. The villagers emerge to greet us. As they surround me they tie a colourful South Sudanese patterned blue and white cloth, or lawa, around my left shoulder, and place a matching necklace around my neck . My Regional Director Stanlake Samkange was also presented with a red and black lawa, and a striking silver necklace.

We walk to the farm and here I meet Elizabeth, the only female head of the community based organisation Aweil Charity Community for Development (ACCD). Proudly, she explains how their small programme has 500 farmers, including 280 women and 220 men, working to cultivate sorghum, sesame, groundnuts and maize. WFP gives them some food, not a complete ration, but enough of an incentive to encourage them to work on their land. Sometimes it takes almost a year before you see a harvest. Elizabeth’s farm is expected to benefit 3,500 people.

Will you grow enough to sell? I ask her. Yes she firmly replies.

What will you do with the extra money?

We will do the same, and grow more.

She goes on to tell me, There are no hospitals, or roads, and no transport.

Elizabeth started with just 30 people in 2010 when the Ministry of Agriculture gave her seeds, and today there are 500 people working the land.

WFP acts as a catalyst, working in support of the Government to help these communities stand on their own feet. Yes, it will take time in this young nation. But with the will of the people, and a comprehensive approach of partners, it will not take long.

As we get ready to leave she thanks me saying, You are the Executive Director, and I can be your Deputy here in Aweil!

Indeed, she would make a fine Deputy Executive Director!

We then travel 45 minutes to Nyoc Thok to see the work of Help Restore Youth South Sudan, another young, community-based organization that we started to support only in May.

When I arrive I find the men of the village struggling to hold down a bull. It is their tradition to have a visiting dignitary jump over the bull, after which it is slaughtered and shared with the villagers. I steel myself and go for it! My grandson will be impressed when I show him the footage!

We walk through the fields and I notice that the ground is dry. The sorghum grows tall around us and finally a three foot dyke blocks our path. We have reached a part of the 4 kilometer long dyke, constructed in just two months by the community to preserve the crops from flooding. It’s clearly working, as I see fields of sorghum stretch before me as far as the eye can see. Fifty households receive support from WFP for working on the dyke, and 80 households receive support for growing the crops. The question is: Will this help people to eventually feed themselves?

WFP provides 87mt to the farmers, and the farm is expected to produce 120 mt. Produce will be shared by farmers and the surplus will be sold, a small increase, but still an increase. They have managed this increase after only four months.

As the men and women gather around us the Minister of Agriculture says to them: I see you have a 15 percent increase – but you should be at 50 percent next year! We have signed with a cooperative bank and you will benefit from it. You have to transform this group into a cooperative society and we will help you. WFP has started you off, but you must be sustainable by yourselves! They cheer loudly, and, as they quieten, I raise my voice,

We helped you feed your children during the war and now we are with you as you begin to take charge of your own lives and feed your own children. I have to go now but when I come back I want to see crops that are taller than the minister! We want to show the world that the people of South Sudan don’t just feed their own children, they can feed the world!

As I leave Aweil, the state of South Sudan that has the worst food security ratings in the country, I am confident that when I return I will see a completely different place. A place where new roads of tarmac enable women farmers to move their surplus vegetables to the nearest market. A place where the extra money earned from the market allows their children to go to school. A place where cooperatives thrive, banks function efficiently and medical care is close at hand. A place where mothers and fathers grow enough food to nourish their children and meet their financial needs.”

On 23 August, armed fighters believed to be loyal to a renegade leader named David Yau Yau attacked South Sudanese troops stationed in the Nanaam area of Pibor County in Jonglei.

According to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), 24 soldiers were killed in the fighting while numerous others are still reported missing or injured.

“I strongly condemn this attack and reiterate UNMISS’ call on all communities, institutions and actors engaged in the Jonglei peace process and related security operations to stay the course in making further progress and in consolidating the gains made to date,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for South Sudan and head of UNMISS, Hilde F. Johnson, said in a news release.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the UN peacekeeping mission provided support to the South Sudanese armed forces, assisting in the evacuation of the wounded and providing aerial transportation to local government officials travelling to visit communities in the area.

Jonglei state, South Sudan’s biggest, has seen recurrent bouts of violence since the country obtained independence last year.

Large-scale cattle raids between the Murle and Lou Nuer communities, for instance, have posed an ongoing threat to the area’s peace and security with violence causing numerous casualties, including many dead, wounded, abducted and displaced. It is estimated that clashes between the two groups have affected some 120,000 people in Jonglei since December 2011.

In its press release, UNMISS noted that the recent attack may have been deliberately planned to undermine progress made in improving the regional security environment, as well as in establishing inter-ethnic reconciliation.

The peacekeeping operation added that it would continue to work with the Government of South Sudan and other national and local authorities towards the achievement of “durable peace, security and stability in Jonglei.”