Parties to armed conflict engaging in patterns of "killing and maiming of children and/or rape and other sexual violence against children" must also be listed in the Secretary-General's reports on children in armed conflict, according to resolution 1882 (2009), adopted unanimously by the Security Council.[1]
The Council action was the culmination of a day-long debate on 29 April during which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the 15-nation body to "strike a blow against... impunity" by, at a minimum, expanding its criteria to include on the “list of shame", parties committing rape and other serious sexual violence against children during armed conflict.[2]
Before the vote, only state and non-state parties that had recruited child soldiers or used children in situations of armed conflict were explicitly named, the so-called list of shame, in annexes to the Secretary-General's annual report on the implementation of resolution 1612 (2005), which established a Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism and set up a working group on Children and Armed Conflict.[3]
The reports cover compliance and progress in ending six grave violations: the recruitment and use of children; killing and maiming of children; rape and other grave sexual violence; abductions; attacks on schools and hospitals; and denial of humanitarian access to children. Document S/2009/158 lists 56 such parties, including 19 persistent violators who have been listed for more than four years.[4]
