UN Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee speaks to students on demobilization of child soldiers

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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an important agreement by countries who have promised to protect children’s rights. The Convention explains who children are, all their rights, and the responsibilities of governments. All the rights are connected, they are all equally important and they cannot be taken away from children. 

Yet, in many parts of the world, children are still recruited by armed forces or armed groups. Thousands of boys and girls are used as soldiers, cooks, spies and more in armed conflicts around the world, in violation of their human rights and the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Siddharth Chatterjee, the UN Resident Coordinator in China, talks with students from the Western Academy of Beijing to share his past experiences in demobilizing child soldiers while working for UNICEF in South Sudan. He also discusses the importance of their involvement and participation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.