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120,000 Children Engaged in Armed Conflict in Africa

African Church Information Service
NEWS
December 23, 2002
Posted to the web December 19, 2002
Nairobi
(AANA) December 23 - The African Union AU has been called upon to intervene in
the Great Lakes region to stop the sale and manufacture of small arms weapons
used by children in armed conflict.
The appeal is contained in the final report on the child soldiers in Great
Lakes region strategy workshop held here last month. It was released by the
coalition to stop the use of child soldiers in co-operation with the African
Network for the Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect ANPPCAN.
According to the report, researchers estimate that more than 300,000 children
are being engaged in hostilities world wide. Out of this, more than 120,000
children currently participating in armed conflict are from Africa and are
between 7 and 18 years old.
The recruitment of the children as soldiers in the Great Lakes region is
widespread and the participants blamed the rise of child soldier to African
government not ratifying the African Charter on children rights thereby leading
to escalation of child soldiers.
The 40 representatives of local, regional and international organisations from
Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and hosts
Kenya including United States discussed ways of curbing the child soldiers in
the region.
The overall objective of the workshop, the report says, was to develop
strategies for national child soldiers coalitions and sub-regional co-
ordination mechanisms to meet its principle goal of mobilising and networking
to bring to an end the engagement of child soldiers.
Urging light arms manufacturers to stop selling arms to countries that recruit
child soldiers and stop the involvement of children in armed conflicts, the
participants intended to provide an overview of major outcomes and challenges
identified in the region.
The participants were challenged to lobby their governments for ratification
and implementation of regional legal standards for child protection including
for the African Charter on the rights and welfare of the child.
The report cited the most affected countries on child soldiers as Angola,
Burundi, Congo- Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo Ethiopia,
Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
Burundi and Rwanda, the report notes, are known to have the lowest recruitment
ages in the whole of Africa. Latest reports indicate that close to 20,000
people are currently fleeing their homes in Burundi, as fighting between
government forces and rebels rages on despite the on going peace talks.
The participants implored the African Union for being slow in the ratification
of African Charter on the rights and welfare of the child. Out of 53 member
states only 27 have ratified the Charter.
Africa indicates need to wake up to the realities and consequences of child
soldiers as it complicates future peace in continent, the report says, adding
that governments should be encouraged to a level where ideas are shared to
bring to an end to child soldiers.
According to the report, the overall priority to end the use of child soldiers
in the Great Lakes region is to prevent the recruitment and use of child
soldiers by domestic and foreign forces.
Other priorities would be to restrain Burundi and the DRC who are the epicentre
of conflict in the region thus promoting the child soldiering especially now
where there is a spiral of conflicts in that region.
The report further emphasises that capacity building of actors and organisation
working on child soldiers issues should centralise information on the existing
expertise, experience and training where gaps exist to develop mechanism for
proper information.
Reported By Herman Kasili

   

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