It is heartening to hear Radhika Coomaraswamy has been appointed the new UN Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict. She is no stranger to the UN – she is former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. Nor does she need any introduction. Her appointment is of crucial importance to Sri Lanka for two reasons: Sri Lanka is itself affected by the scourge of child conscriptions and a Sri Lankan, Jayantha Dhanapala is aspiring to the topmost UN post. She will be holding the rank of Under Secretary General, the third highest ranking position in the UN. She has done Sri Lanka proud.

Radhika has lent her shoulder to a gargantuan task. The challenge before her is daunting. According to UNICEF, 90 per cent of casualties in armed conflicts in the world are civilians and about a half of them are children. Nearly 20 million children are displaced and two million children have perished in conflicts, during the last decade. About six million children have become disabled or seriously injured. Over one million children have been orphaned or separated from their families. About 8,000 to 10,000 children are killed or maimed in landmine blasts every year. Above all, there are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers involved in more than 30 conflicts the world over. And Radhika's mission will be to be a voice unto them and campaign vigorously to liberate them.

Her predecessor proper, Olara Otunu is one of the few true champions of the cause of the voiceless children sans childhood. He fought against tremendous odds in the face of various pressures and was instrumental in making the world body adopt unprecedented measures in dealing with the beasts that conscript children. His noble efforts were crowned with results; the UN issued the List of Shame naming the outfits worldwide recruiting children as combatants, porters and prostitutes. However, the UN, true to form, skirted the stringent measures suggested against the culprits, among them the LTTE, such as travel bans. But the List has had a salutary impact. Its influence is said to have contributed to the issuance of the International Criminal Court warrants on the leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda.

Radhika has been an indefatigable campaigner of human rights besides her literary pursuits. Her appointment and the international clout that comes with it will enable her to pull down the barriers that hitherto have remained insurmountable and venture into an area which all rights workers have steered clear of in this country – the rights of LTTE child soldiers. In Colombo, we are treated to various marches, seminars, awareness campaigns and the like aimed at improving the lot of children. But such campaigns are conspicuous by their absence in the areas where they are needed most – the North and the East, where exists a human rights vacuum.

Campaigning for human rights without taking up cudgels for the rights of child soldiers is an exercise in futility. It is the failure of the rights groups and the world community to take up their cause that has emboldened the LTTE to abduct more and more children, in some cases, while international aid workers look on. The world leaders such as the US and the EU, crusading for democracy have made a mockery of their campaign by soft pedalling the issue of LTTE child combatants. Mere words or halfhearted attempts are of no use in liberating those unfortunate children. Coercion is called for.

Charity, they say, begins at home. The cause of Sri Lankan children in armed conflict should figure high on Radhika's agenda. She will, it is hoped, be different from the other Sri Lankans who have done little for their country, despite their reputation and service abroad – loketa parakase, gederata maragaathe, as the popular local saying goes. They like salmon return to their place of birth when they are about to cross the great divide.

The fate that has befallen those who had the courage to stand up to the LTTE may be too frightening for others to follow suit. But, a UN Special Representative is no ordinary person. With the world standing firmly behind her, Radhika need not fear the outfit.

Let the unfortunate children suffering in silence under the jackboot of barbaric warlords walk into freedom and regain their lost childhood.