Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 June 2013
13. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason two of Irish Aid's key partner countries, Ethiopia and Zambia, have so far failed to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; and if the Ethiopian and Zambian governments have outlined a timetable in which they will work towards ratifying the OPAC. [30765/13]
View answerThe Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2000, focuses on the involvement of children in armed conflict in an effort to strengthen implementation of the Convention and increase the protection of children during armed conflicts. The Protocol became legally binding on 12 February 2002 and, to date, more than 100 countries, including Ireland, have ratified it. The Protocol requires States which ratify the Convention to “take all feasible measures” to ensure that any members of their armed forces under the age of 18 do not take a direct part in hostilities.
The two countries to which the Deputy refers, Zambia and Ethiopia, have already signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They have also signed the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. However, neither country has yet ratified the Protocol, or established a specific timeframe for such ratification.
In both countries, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has raised the issue of ratification with the relevant authorities, and will continue to do so, with the support of our Embassies in Addis Ababa and Lusaka. Ethiopia and Zambia are both key partner countries for Ireland’s development assistance programme, where we have a commitment to long term strategic assistance. In keeping with our partnership approach, I have asked our Ambassadors to raise the issue of the Optional Protocol with the authorities in both countries and to encourage them to ratify it.
Ireland continues to engage on the protection of children's rights including through the core work of the Irish Aid programme. The central priority of our aid programme is the elimination of extreme poverty and the fight to end hunger and under-nutrition. We are also implementing major programmes to improve child and maternal health and increase access to and quality of education, including in Ethiopia and Zambia. More generally, Ireland is a strong contributor to the work of UNICEF.
In Ireland’s new policy for international development, “One World, One Future,” we have pledged to increase our engagement on the issue of children in armed conflict, and we are actively examining options for strengthened action in this area.
