Posts Categorized: Child soldiers

Why are the hands red?

“Why are the hands red?” The children’s summer program from the First Chinese Presbyterian Church of New York City had come to the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations to learn about child soldiers and to participate in the Red Hand Campaign. Due to the size of the group – 74 children and 12 counselors,… Read more »

UN Secretary-General issues 11th annual report on children in armed conflict

From Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict a network of international nongovernmental organizations that strives to protect children in war zones:

The 11th Annual Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict, issued on Monday 11 June, 2012, provides an overview of the situation of children affected by armed conflict and the measures taken to protect them. It covers the period between January and December 2011, and contains specific recommendations for follow-up UN action. The body of the report contains information on grave violations committed against children, in particular the recruitment and use of children, sexual violence against children, the killing and maiming of children, the abduction of children, attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian access to children by parties to conflict.

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Covenant Presbyterian Church holds seminar on child soldiers

By Sophie Beal Today the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations was pleased to host Covenant Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, California for a seminar that covered the current global situation concerning the use of child soldiers in armed conflict and efforts made by the United Nations and others to stop this practice. To begin… Read more »

Summer volunteers work on Red Hands

  Sophie Beal and Elodie de Bethmann are summer volunteer interns at the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.  This is their first week with us, their first blog with us, and their first time getting involved with Red Hands.  Below is the blog from Sophie and Elodie. More photos are available on our Facebook… Read more »

Red Hands continue their work

We just learned that in the past two months, Cote d’Ivoire, Malaysia, and Niger have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in armed conflict. The international consensus that children are children and not soldiers continues to grow. Thanks be to all who have… Read more »

Kony 2012 and children in armed conflict

by Jessica Hawkinson Millions of viewers have tuned in to the KONY2012 video and campaign, recently released by the organization Invisible Children. The campaign encourages public support for the arrest of Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), who is wanted for trial by the International Criminal Court. Kony is charged for,… Read more »

Toward a More Humane Future – Article 4

Toward a More Humane Future is a devotional study on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for use by individuals or groups. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 4No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Scripture For freedom Christ has set… Read more »

How to make Red Hands

The Red Hand Campaign asks nation states to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and make clear their commitment to ending the use of child soldiers.  The goal is for every country in the world to ratify the optional protocol by… Read more »