14 July 2005 :

while lauding Sudan for including provisions in its new constitution that strengthen the rights of children and women, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called for the elimination of exceptions allowing the death penalty for youngsters under 18. Such exceptions contravene the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulating that capital punishment should not be imposed for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age, UNICEF Representative JoAnna Van Gerpen said. She also urged Sudan to specify 18 as the minimum age for military recruitment or voluntarily joining the armed forces in line with the Optional Protocol to the Convention, to which Sudan is a signatory.