UN clears Sri Lanka of child soldiers

The United Nations (UN) has cleared Sri Lanka of having child soldiers, pointing out that the threat has been successfully eradicated since the end of the war in 2009, a statement from the External Affairs Ministry said here on Friday. The UN Working Group has adopted the "Draft Conclusions on the situation of children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka" on Dec. 19, 2012, thereby closing the dossier on Sri Lanka in the Security Council, a statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York said. Prior to adopting the Draft Conclusions, the Working Group has considered the report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka, and its recommendations in accordance with Security Council resolutions 1612 (2005) and 1882 (2009). According to the statement Sri Lanka's rehabilitation and reintegration of former child combatants contributed to this positive outcome. In his opening remarks, Chair of the Working Group, Peter Wittig, the permanent representative of Germany to the United Nations, has said that this would be the last time Sri Lanka will appear before the Security Council on the issue of children and armed conflict and congratulated Sri Lanka on its success. The UN in June this year delisted Sri Lanka from the United Nations Secretary-General's "List of Shame" that lists countries where children are involved in armed conflict saying that the island nation "successfully completed Security Council-mandated programs to end the recruitment and use of children."