UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Visits with Politicized NGOs
From April 10-19, 2007, Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, visited
Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The purpose of her visit was to “ascertain first hand the situation of children” and to have “a constructive dialogue with the Governments, members of the
civil society, NGOs and children affected by conflict, in the effort to address grave violations against children.” During her visit, however, the Representative met with the highly politicized NGOs, Defence of Children International/Palestine (DCI/PS), Save the Children Sweden, Save the Children UK, Al Haq, Christian Peacemakers Team, and Badil, who presented a one-sided version of events, blaming Israel for the suffering of Palestinian children. It was unclear if the Representative met with any Israeli NGOs or children’s groups. (This is another example of the absence of transparency in the UN, thereby preventing public analysis and detailed criticism.)
