Virginia Gamba, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, addresses a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan, March 1, 2018. Virginia Gamba on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the commitment by Sudanese government to implement the UN plan to protect children in conflict zones. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)
KHARTOUM, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations (UN) official on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the commitment by Sudanese government to implement the UN plan to protect children in conflict zones.
Virginia Gamba, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, addressed a press conference here, saying that Sudan has implemented the UN plan and released around 2,500 children during the past three years.
"I witnessed how the Action Plan between the Sudanese government and my office has been put in place and the great success happened in the implementation," said Gamba.
Meanwhile, the UN official acknowledged that there are violations against children including recruitment, killing and sexual abuse by armed groups in conflict areas in Sudan.
"There is continued recruitment of children by armed groups, particularly in the region of Darfur," she noted.
Gamba arrived in Sudan four days ago and visited some conflict areas in Sudan, including South Kordofan and Darfur region.
In March 2016, Sudan and the UN signed an Action Plan to end and prevent the recruitment of children in armed conflicts.
The Sudanese government has been fighting the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector in South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas since 2011.
The Sudanese government has also been fighting armed groups in the Darfur region since 2003.
