Statement [made on behalf of the Security Council, at the 5494th meeting, 24 July 2006, in connection with the Council's consideration of the item entitled "Children and armed conflict"]

Welcomes the appointment of a new Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy; welcomes the ongoing implementation of the monitoring and reporting mechanism on children and armed conflict and invites the Secretary-General to accelerate it in accordance with resolution 1612 (2005); welcomes the activities of its Working Group on children and armed conflict, as outlined in the report by its Chair (S/2006/497); calls for a reinvigorated effort by the international community to enhance the protection of children affected by armed conflict; looks forward to the next report of the Secretary General on the implementation of resolution 1612 (2005) and its previous resolutions on children affected by armed conflict.

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