Italy has always been deeply involved in important UN [2] peacekeeping initiatives, it is the first Western contributor of peacekeepers for UN peace operations and since January 28th it is in charge of one of the most important peacekeeping operation, the UNIFIL in Lebanon.

The 6th of June, the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations [3] in New York. Ambassador Cesare Maria Ragaglini [4] promoted a meeting to deal with the progresses of a training course for UN peacekeepers in matter of protection of children in armed conflicts areas.

This initiative started in the Fall of 2011 thanks to the Italian mission’s contribution of more than 100.000 $, and was later financed by other nations such as Austria, Canada and Germany.

Italy is the center of the UN action against the dramatic conditions of children in war areas. At the event promoted by the Permanent Mission of Italy took part the Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Herve' Ladsous [5], and Radhika Coomaraswamy [6], the Special Representative of the Secretary General for children in armed conflict.

This initiative draws the attention to the dramatic report of Ban Ki-Moon [7] on the atrocious activities of General Kony, pending an arrest warrant on him from the International Criminal Court, and his Lord's Revolutionary Army in Africa, for kidnapping tens of thousands of children to fill the ranks of the Lord's Resistance Army and serve as sex slaves as he moves through the bush. Thousands have been killed by his brutal army.

The Permanent Mission of Italy is working hard in avoiding child abuses and ensure the respect of their rights, and that’s why the Mission is very active in promoting these peacekeeping operations to protect children.

“The Italian initiative is based on two priority actions: peace operations and respect of human rights. It is a moral duty, not just an operational requirement, to train Blue Berets to deal with the children involvement in armed conflict areas, in order to protect them,” Ragaglini said.

Ragaglini added that “ Peacekeepers are more and more often engaged in conflicts where children are concerned, and today's move aims to make the point update on the various training programs for peacekeepers to have a flexible tool that guarantees a better protection.”