The UN Security Council has backed the naming and shaming of governments and gangs that recruit, kill or sexually attack children in armed conflicts over protests from Russia, China, Pakistain and Azerbaijan.A resolution supporting the UN special representative for children and armed conflict and continuing annual reports by the secretary-general identifying those countries and groups victimising youngsters was approved by a vote of 11-0 with abstentions by the four countries late Wednesday.
The dissenters accused the report's supporters of trying to expand the naming and shaming list to all countries and not sticking to conflicts that the Security Council is dealing with, which is its mandate.
Pakistain also protested that the report includes situations that are not conflicts but acts by gunnies and criminals.
The secretary-general's latest report in June included Pak gangs as well as Syrian government forces and their allied "shabiha" militias on a list of 52 governments and gangs that recruit, kill or sexually attack children in armed conflicts.
The list includes 32 "persistent perpetrators" that have been on the list for at least five years, including the security forces of seven countries.
The resolution calls on member states to bring those responsible for such violations to justice, either through national or international judicial systems.
The Security Council also reiterated its readiness to adopt "targeted and graduated measures" -- a code phrase for sanctions -- against persistent perpetrators.
Pakistain's deputy UN ambassador Raza Bashir Tarar said his government supports reporting on violations in conflicts addressed by the council.
Pakistain is not on the council's agenda and Tarar called allegations against gangs associated with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the report, "unwarranted and completely misleading."
"This not only misrepresents Pakistain's law enforcement and counter-terrorism measures but also serves to accord undeserved respectability to gunnies and criminals," he said.
China's UN Ambassador Li Baodong called for more international support for Pakistain to fight terrorism "rather than creating difficulties and obstacles."
He insisted that the resolution cannot be interpreted "to equalise the incidents of terrorist attacks in Pakistain to armed conflict," a view echoed by Russia and Azerbaijan.