UN General Assembly
1999

Since 1997 there has been considerable progress on the question of child soldiers. The issue is now on centre stage. Regional conferences have been held, and a world conference is to be held next year. The office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict is operational. A growing number of countries refer to this issue in the General Assembly and at other forums. Most recently the Foreign Ministers of the Nordic Countries roundly condemned the practice and pledged their support for its eradication. The Security Council has unanimously adopted its first-ever resolution on the plight of children. The first decade of the next millennium has been designated the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World. And the President stated that he would make it his business to add his “voice and devotion to” the “laudable efforts to make the twenty-first century one of love and security for every child in the world.” (ibid) In Sri Lanka we have decided to set up a rehabilitation