Why are the UNHCR and other Human Rights Organizations not raising their voices?
Karen Parker: In my view, the relative quiet of the international community is in part due to very, very strong pressure from the parties that have an interest in the disposition of Tamil Eelam, most notably the US. As you know, UNICEF, an organization that should be especially vocal due to the situation of Tamil children, has traditionally been headed by an American. Given how discussions about various aspects of the crisis have unfolded, I think it’s fair to at least raise the possibility of undue pressure from the US government on UNICEF. If so, it would be rather unconscionable in the face of near starvation. UNICEF is certainly on full notice about the crisis. A second problem is that the Special Representatives for Children and Armed Conflict sent a delegate who focused almost exclusively on the child soldier issue and did not adequately address the other five items under the mandate. At the same time, the Security Council’s Working Group on children and armed conflict also, in m
