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Collateral Victims: Allan Rock's Mission on Child Soldiering in Sri Lanka

Allan Rock, special advisor to the UN Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, visited Sri Lanka recently to ascertain the ground situation in the conflict zones, especially compliance with the Action Plan for Children Affected by War by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. His observations after the visit are worth analyzing.

During his 10-day mission, Rock found the LTTE was yet to comply with the Action Plan for releasing all child soldiers before 1 January 2007. According to UNICEF figures, there are nearly 1598 pending cases for release of children by the LTTE (of these 649 are under 18 and the others might have crossed that age limit by now). Instead, the UN official observed that the LTTE continued to recruit children and failed to show any signs of implementing their undertaking to UNICEF in 2003. The only positive move by the Tigers was to enact the Tamileelam Child Protection Act 2006 (Act No. 03 of 2006) with effect from 15 October 2006. Comprising 83 sections the Act makes "education compulsory upto grade 11, mandates registration of all child births, outlaws enlisting of children under 17 years in Armed Forces, makes participation of under 18-year olds in armed combat illegal, and proscribes all forms of child labour." Allan Rock failed to find any impact of this legislation on the ground in LTTE controlled areas.

The most startling finding of the Special Advisor was the complicity of some elements of Sri Lankan security forces with the breakaway LTTE faction led by Karuna in child conscription, especially in the eastern parts of the Island. Backed by "eyewitness and anecdotal evidence", Rock asserted that "Sri Lankan security forces rounded up children to be recruited by Karuna group." Complicity also came in the failure of the security forces to prosecute or investigate those responsible for conscription of children in the age range from 13 to 14. Pleas from parents to spare their children were generally ignored. To him, this was common knowledge. According to UNICEF, until 31 October, the Karuna group forcibly recruited 164 children. Allan Rock, however, claimed that this figure could be three times higher and there was "evidence that this trend is accelerating".

The Sri Lankan Army, in a statement, said that Allan's claims were "regretted and completely misleading". Disputing the Mission's conclusions based on "eye-witness evidence" Army claimed that they "deserve a deep sense of revulsion and explanation in view of their serious nature and repercussions." The statement also alleged that, "it is no secret that the Mission by innuendo has gone the extra mile to blame the troops of the Sri Lankan Security Forces who are deployed in government controlled areas of eastern Batticaloa to contain LTTE violence and defend human rights in the region." It, "while dissociating itself from those allegations vehemently", denied having "any involvement whatsoever with the LTTE breakaway group". The Karuna group also denied the allegations, claiming that it merely offered protection to children fleeing the LTTE.

Despite claims and counter-claims, the undisputable fact is the risk of children becoming the 'collateral victims' of on-going war in the Island. Ironically, this trend is deteriorating. Orphaned, displaced and unguided children are ready victims for cadre hungry armed groups. The most shocking dimension is the duplicity of state forces on child soldiering. After calling child conscription the "most abominable crime of the day" at the UN recently, the government of Sri Lanka should come clean on the Allan Mission's findings. Being a member of the UN Human Rights Council Sri Lanka should investigate his allegations and take corrective measures. Similarly, the LTTE should not limit itself to promises. The January 1, 2007 deadline should be met by releasing all children. The Tigers should implement the Tamileelam Child Protection Act 2006 in both letter and spirit. The main issue is making armed groups working in connivance with the security forces accountable. There is an urgent need for an independent monitoring mechanism in Sri Lanka to ensure that children affected by the conflict are protected. Hopefully, Allan Rock's report to the Security Council in January next year would ensue in creating such a body. Direct and constant vigilance by the world might help in reversing the trend.