Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Prasad Kariyawasam addressing the Security Council debate on Children in armed conflict said that because non-State actors were not bound by internationally enforceable legal instruments, they should be subjected to stricter scrutiny and more rigorous and internationally enforceable punitive measures.

“Despite the established task forces and mechanisms, the recruitment of child combatants continued unabated. To end child recruitment, it was important that the Council and the Working Group remain focused on that most urgent task rather than seeking to broaden the canvas to include other issues that were not of immediate practical benefit. ,” he added.

He called upon the Council to address how armed actors resorted to new tactics of recruitment, as in northern Sri Lanka , where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam subjected schoolchildren to compulsory weapons and combat training.

He also said: “The Council and the Working Group must agree on how to deal with persistent and recalcitrant violators. Sri Lanka supported effective, targeted measures. The reintegration of child combatants was the most important of all measures underpinning effective implementation of resolution 1612 (2005). Successful reintegration required resources as well as expertise. The international community's concern should therefore move beyond words of sympathy to sustained engagement and the flow of necessary resources.”