According to UN reports, in 2006 there were more than 250.000 children involved in armed conflicts, both with government forces and paramilitary and armed opposition groups. Although forced recruitment and use of child soldiers in armed conflicts is more extended in Africa, children are also used in several Asian countries and some areas of Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.
These numbers are real children, boys and girls with a name, a face and a story of violation of their childhood rights. The atrocities to which they are forced end their childhood. With their recruitment all their rights start to disappear.
When living with armed groups the harassment both physically and psychologically inflicted by their superiors prevent them from growing physically, mentally and socially healthy. They are constantly drugged to loose fear in combat. On the other hand, girls are sexually abused which not only means humiliation for them, but also the risk of AIDS and high risk pregnancy because of their young age.
Life in armed groups is not easy because there is no adequate food, housing or health care. In addition, child soldiers are in charge of providing food, wood and water to the rest of the soldiers with long and hard days of labour exploitation. These hardships in addition to the combats in which they fight, make education non existent, not to mention free education, an education for solidarity, friendship and justice as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Of course their right to enjoyment and play is also denied.
Given that the only solution would be to abandon, the punishment for doing so is so hard for those who try, that fear prevents them from doing so. However, those who do make it, also face a very hard situation. When they manage to return home, they find in many cases that their families have been exterminated or have run away leaving no trace. In other cases, their families reject them considering them strangers or criminals who do not deserve to return home, which can provoke their return to the guerrillas. All this can close the door to their last rights, the understanding and love of the families, the right to a special attention, to have a name, a nationality and a dignity.
Hope in Fizi: A case of Entreculturas´ work
Fizi is a territory isolated from the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo where many boys and girls operate in armed groups. The work of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reinsertion carried out by National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reinsertion has not reached this region since June 2004. This is why the JRS in its philosophy to reach out to wherever the other organizations cannot arrive, has decided together with Entreculturas to establish a Transit and Orientation Centre for the reinsertion of minors in Baraka, the most important port of Lake Tnaganyka in the Fizi territory.
The JRS has the experience of its work in Uvira where approximately, since 2006, one hundred child soldiers have already been reinserted in their families and communities. This project detected that many of the children came from remote areas of Fizi, in the province of South Kivi. These children were hard to reinsert given the difficulty of the follow up work once they returned to their communities. The Fizi centre will initially assist 210 children out of a total of 3.000 identified. As in Uvira, the following phases will be carried out:
- Identification and demobilization. This is when work begins with the war lords, so that they will free the child soldiers. They are asked to respect the laws and their rights.
- Admission and accompaniment at the Transit and Orientation Centre (TOC). The TOC accompanies the children. They analyze their experience in the armed group and they are oriented to life in society, family and community.
- Follow up and reinsertion. The child is accompanied in the process of returning home. There is always a significant risk of being recruited back because of the poverty conditions of the families.
In parallel to these phases, this project tries to raise awareness on one hand among the armed groups so that they will free the children and on the other, the families and communities to achieve long term reinsertions.
The complex reality of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has a population of almost 60 million people, of which 27, 5 million are under 18 years old. Since 1966, there are 3 million dead because of armed conflicts and 3 million people are still refugees in other countries or displaced from their homes. In spite of the December 2002 agreement between the different parties at conflict and the formation of the Union Government in July 2003, the country is still divided under the control of captains who have not accepted the unifying process of the armed forces, especially in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, at the East of the country.
This is why, as from September 2003, the UN Mission for DRC engaged in enforcing security. In spite of this, the region is still not under control. With the intensification of the conflicts, the armed groups have increased the use of child soldiers, or children associated to the Forces and Armed Groups, which is not acceptable since it violates the fundamental rights of these children.
In addition to supporting these projects, Entreculturas is a member of the Coalition to end the use of Child Soldiers, where we carry out advocacy work.
