Lesson Plans for Teaching about Child Soldiers

Child Soldier Relief website has many lesson plans for teachers interested in talking about child soldiers with their students. Here is the link.

Charles Taylor Trial - Child Soldier Cross-Examined

Cross examination of a former child soldier at the trial of Charles Taylor, read here.

232 Children Released

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) praised on Friday the release of 232 child soldiers last week, following eight months of negotiations between the government, civil society, UN agencies and other players with the dissident faction of the Palipehutu-FNL.

Of course, this is just a drop in the bucket when you take into account all of the child soldiers currently employed. 250,000. Possibly more. Still, it's a start.

Another Child Soldier Recruiter Charged!

The International Criminal Court published an arrest warrant Tuesday for Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for the alleged forced conscription of child soldiers.

The trial of Charles Taylor still continues and I believe it's outcome will tell us alot about future arrests of military leaders with charges for recruiting child soldiers.

Read more here.

When the Liberian civil war ended in 2003, these kids were gaunt, hardened, physically and mentally wounded children. Now in their late teens and early twenties, they are radiant, generous, responsible young people. They have resumed their schooling, extricated themselves from the drug-and-alcohol culture of their war buddies, and are working hard to earn the respect of a suspicious community.

This article tells us what factors helped these former child soldiers.

The group that these children belong to, Future Guardians of Peace, has a website here.

Nepal's Children Trade Guns for Tools

This is a great story giving us some hope about former child soldiers. Teaching them a trade and helping to reintegrate them into communities.

Read the article here.

The Story of One Child Soldier

UNICEF tells the story of Sarah, a former child soldier.

Sarah, who is now 17, was one such child soldier. She was abducted by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army when she was just 7 years old, and was forced into sexual slavery. Her abductor let her go when she became pregnant. Now Sarah cares for her small boy and ekes out a living as a tailor. With the help of UNICEF and partner organizations, she was able to be reunited with her family. Her brother, who was also abducted, sadly most likely died while being held captive.

Read more about her life here.

Understanding Child Soldiers

"Imagine not being able to dream. Imagine that you grew up expecting to die, grew up expecting not to live past 20 or 21." Imagining this situation is necessary in order to begin to understand the life of a child soldier, journalist Jimmie Briggs told a packed auditorium in Independence Hall yesterday.

Briggs, a distinguished journalist, advocate and author, spoke about his own experiences reporting on children in warfare and the parallels he sees between war-effected youth around the world and children in America affected by violence.

Briggs has traveled extensively in war-torn areas of the world as a reporter for publications such as Life, The Washington Post and The New York Times Magazine. His travels eventually led him to the theme of his 2005 book "Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War."

During the lecture, Briggs described children as young as 8 years old going into battle under the influence of drugs, forced to walk before their comrades to detonate mines and even made to kill family members.

Briggs said women and children are the first to suffer and the most severely-affected in war. Children suffer on both sides of the conflict as victims and as perpetrators of violence, he said, and women and young girls face gender-based violence and sexual crimes.

"Unfortunately, we live in a time in history when rape in war is commonplace, it's almost inceptive or tolerated," he said.

Briggs showed a 10-minute clip of his first documentary, which is still a work in progress. The film segment contained images of children in Africa and Sri Lanka marching in formation, carrying guns and performing military exercises. One picture showed a smiling young child smoking a cigarette, posing with other young soldiers in the background and barbed wire in the foreground. Others showed young children and teens firing automatic weapons or lying dead in the streets.

"It's appropriate that you see these stories, that you see these images because this is what is happening around the world … to millions of young people who are much younger than you all are," Briggs said in introducing the material.

Read the entire article here.

Child Soldier Art

Image used without permissions.

Fred Mutebi, an artist from Uganda, has an art therapy program called "Let Art Talk" that helps survivors of war etc, including child soldiers.

For original article go here.
For "Let's Talk Art" program homepage go here.

Online Talk Show about Child Soldier Fight

Online talk show hosts Sam Childers, the man who rescues Child Soldiers. For more info on listing go here. Articles quoted below.

Pastor and freedom fighter Sam Childers, the son of a Pennsylvania iron worker,who rescues children soldiers in Uganda and Sudan will be the guest on News Talk Online on Tuesday March 25.

Childers is a former biker who rode with the Hell's Angels and now fights to rescue children during military-style rescue missions.


"I always liked to fight. Still do. I'm a preacher but I still like to fight," Childer says.



Since 1987, the border of Sudan and Uganda has been ravaged by rebels called the Lord's Resistance Army, which is headed by Joseph Kony . The rebellion is one of Africa's longest-running conflicts. When Jan Egeland, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief met Kony in 2006, he told Dateline NBC that Kony's terror is "terror like no other."

"I've been in a hundred countries," Egeland said. "I've been working with human rights, peace, and humanitarian problems for 25 years. I was shocked to my bones, seeing what happened in Uganda. For me, this is one of the biggest scandals of our time and generation."

Kony says he is a spokesperson of God and a spirit medium. He commands the LRA to murder, rape, maim and destroy villages. He has captured over 20,000 children and has turned them into killing-machines or sex slaves. Over 2 million villagers have been displaced and 10s of thousands have been killed. But Childers and his militia are fighting back, rescuing child soldiers and setting them free.

Children's Village Angels of East Africa is a Children's Village for orphans located in south Sudan and founded by Childers. It rescues, shelters and restores the lives of children caught in the crossfire of the rebel atrocities. The organization has been operating for a decade, saving the lives of hundreds of children and renewing hope in a region where it had all but vanished.

Burma the Newest Hot Spot for Child Soldiers

Till last September, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) office in military-ruled Burma had received few complaints about children being forced to join the army. But that is no longer the case.

’We understand there are some people who operate as brokers. They use force or trickery to take children to recruiting officers,’’ he added. ‘’We have lodged complaints with the government and it has responded quickly, discharging the recruit and disciplining the recruiting officer.’’

A November 2007 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirms the failure of the junta’s special committee to save children from the Tatmadaw. ‘’Children as young as 10 are being targeted by Burmese military recruiters and threatened with arrest or beaten if they refuse to join,’’ revealed the report by the New York-based global rights lobby.

The dismal tone of this report echoed a similar tone of a 2002 report by HRW dealing with the growing number of child soldiers in Burma. That report, ‘My gun was as tall as me’, estimated that ‘’70,000 or more of the Burma army’s estimated 350,000 soldiers may be children.’’

Child Soldiers and Art

Image used without permission.

Justice and the Arts" DTS (discipleship training school.) Post on "Life as it Comes" blog.
Some artists discussed various issues, including child soldiers, and here is what they came up with.

One More Child Dies

A Burmese child soldier was shot dead and two were injured in an ambush yesterday morning in Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) township area, said Htat Nay the captain of Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) brigade No. 6.

The child soldier, Myint Kyaw (20) was killed when four KNLA soldiers from battalion No. 16 ambushed troops of the Burmese Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 534 near Myain Thar Yar village (TPP) Township, said captain Htat Nay.

The Human Rights Watch stated in 2007, that the Burmese military junta is forcibly recruiting many children, some as young as 10 years of age, into its armed forces.

"In the ambush four soldiers of the KNLA took on the IB No. 534 with over 60 soldiers," said the captain.

During this year about seven fire fights have occurred between KNLA and the Burmese Army, he said. "The Burmese Army has been launching offensives and we usually ambush them as the regime has much more soldiers," he added.

KNLA is the military wing of the Karen National Union (KNU) one of the stronger ethnic armed groups which has been fighting the Burmese junta for over half a century for independence of Karen state in Burma.

Last month four Burmese soldiers defected to KNU together with their guns and in uniforms to fight the Burmese military.

Thomas Lubanga - Another ICC for March

The International Criminal Court on Thursday delayed its first trial by three months, setting a date at the end of June for a Congolese warlord to face charges of conscripting and using child soldiers.

The trial of Thomas Lubanga had been set to start March 31, but was held up as prosecutors delayed turning over evidence to defense attorneys to better ensure the security of their witnesses.

Along with Charles Taylor, this will hopefully make a statement to the world. Or at least to all the political and military leaders.

Full Story Here

Kenya Children At Risk

I don't think it comes as much of a surprise that exposure to violence and witnessing acts of violence is leading children in Kenya to think of revenge. This makes them easy targets for groups needing soldiers. The following article highlights this issue:


Since the eruption of post-election violence in Kenya following the announcement of the December 27 presidential results, Wanjiru has been visiting various camps for internally displaced persons across the country to conduct counselling sessions to children.

Most children in the camps, she says, having witnessed death, destruction of property and fighting, are not only traumatised but also harbour bitter feelings towards the perpetrators of the acts.

The children use the word adui to refer to members of the community or communities believed to have visited terror on their families and friends.

Counsellors and conflict resolution experts now warn that unless the pent-up anger is urgently dealt with, such children may grow up to seek revenge. This, they say, could make them easy targets for recruitment by outlawed militias in the country.

Indeed, says Wanjiru children below 18 years are becoming loyal to militia leaders — such as those of the proscribed Mungiki and Taliban — which are flourishing under the guise of vigilantes

He said that many many countries where children have joined armed conflicts, it all began by them taking part in ethnic fighting. “Reconciliation efforts aimed at ensuring peaceful co-existence among the different communities in Kenya will not yield much if children are allowed to grow up with the bitterness and hatred resulting from the conflict,” said Mr Cuttat.

Full Article Here

Lord of War Captured

Last week, acting together with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Thai authorities stormed into a downtown hotel in Bangkok and arrested Viktor Bout, the inspiration for the title character in the 2005 thriller Lord of War.

Arms deals, blood diamonds, intelligence agencies, child soldiers -- Bout is alleged to be in the middle of all of it, with his name, his presence or his business interests repeatedly popping up at the wrong place at the wrong time, across borders, continents and decades of war.

Read article here

Interview with U.N. Under-Secretary-General Show Importance of Religious NGOs

In an interview with IPS correspondent Nergui Manalsuren, U.N. Under-Secretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy said that religious organisations have played a very important role in the rehabilitation and education of the more than 50,000 children who have been demobilised from military service.

NM: How far has the U.N. succeeded in rehabilitating and re-integrating child soldiers? Are there any specific programmes for this? And does the U.N. have enough funding?

RC: Well, this is a big issue because re-integration programs are things that are under-funded. Basically UNICEF [The U.N. Children’s Fund] and other organisations who deal with these programmes have realised that just demobilising a child, and sending him home, or keeping him in an orphanage if there are no parents is not an answer. Actually, you have to take them home, and you have to develop the community to receive them. This is a more complex process.

In the funding world - there is emergency assistance and development assistance - the two are in different categories. But in the case of child soldiers, demobilisation is an emergency issue, but reintegration must be seen as a development issue.

So often there is money to demobilise but the development agencies do not get involved fast enough for reintegrating child soldiers successfully. On issues like this we should think more holistically and what is best for the child.

NM: Can we say that it is poorly funded?

RC: Yes, it’s poorly funded. The long time re-integration is poorly funded, but actual demobilisation is all right.

NM: The Tokyo based Global Network of Religions for Children will be focusing on children under siege, including child soldiers, at an international conference in Hiroshima in May highlighting the role of education, ethics and religion in the rehabilitation of children. What are your thoughts on this? Would inter-faith dialogue help?

RC: Well, religious organisations play a very important role because whatever said and done in the end UNICEF funds local groups to do the rehabilitation. UNICEF itself doesn’t do the rehabilitation. So, the local groups involved in these programmes - many of them are religious - some of them are very dedicated workers.

So, religious NGOs are very important, but I think that it is also true that the education is important. We are trying to make safety zones so that even in the war zones children can continue to study and play. So, I think that all faiths are against child soldiers.

She also comments on the UN version of the black list:

I don’t think that naming and shaming would work because they don’t accept the U.N. as a shaming mechanism. They come from another worldview. So, I think we have to keep working at the grass-roots level. We have to try to get communities to put pressure on them and to stop them. So at the moment, we have to work through local communities.

Read entire article here

They Fight Like Warriors, But Die Like Children

Retired Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire addressed a crowd of about 570 youth workers Friday, urging them to continue to fight for the welfare of children.

Dallaire served as commander of the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda between 1993 and 1994.

More than 800,000 people were slaughtered and more than two million were displaced over a 100-day period when the nation was caught up in a vortex of war and genocide.

After leaving military service, Dallaire was appointed to the Senate.

He is also a member of the United Nations secretary general's advisory committee on genocide prevention.

By having various groups joining forces for a common goal such as the welfare of children, he said, there is a greater opportunity for success.

"We don't need to just co-operate and co-ordinate and collaborate, but we also need to integrate."

That sentiment has served Dallaire well in his efforts to eradicate the use of child soldiers.

Full article here.

Human Rights Watch Tells UN to Wake Up

"The LTTE and the Karuna group continue to use children to fight their battles in clear violation of international law and Security Council resolutions," said Jo Becker, children's rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. "The Security Council should punish their brazen violations with concrete action."

Human Rights Watch also called upon the UN Security Council to publicly condemn the Sri Lankan government for failing to investigate cases of child abduction and recruitment in government-controlled territory, and the complicity of its security forces in abductions by the Karuna group.

Human Rights Watch urged the Security Council to give both the LTTE and the Karuna group 30 days to release all children in their ranks and end all new recruitment. If they fail to do so, the Security Council should impose arms embargoes, and travel bans and asset freezes on the leadership.

Although some children had been released, LTTE is not holding up their agreement that all the children in their ranks be released by Dec 31, 2007. A small "show" is just not good enough. We're not looking for the appearance of change, but change itself. It's not enough for the LTTE to act like their complying, they must fully surrender all children involved in their war.

"For over a year, the Sri Lankan government has been promising to investigate the well-documented complicity between its own forces and the abduction of children by the Karuna group," said Becker. "Its failure to conduct a credible investigation in a timely way is simply unacceptable."

Full article here

A Helping Hand for Child Soldiers

Profile on Martha Lucía Ramírez.

In 2002, she was appointed by then President Uribe to serve as Colombia's minister of defense. Ramírez was the second woman in Latin America -- and the first in Colombia -- to ever hold this position. In the wake of decades of civil conflict, she expanded the Defense Department's role to include economic security, infrastructure development, and educational support. Within a few years, her support programs -- safe housing, education, jobs, and counseling -- helped thousands of child soldiers leave guerilla and paramilitary groups and return to their families. Currently a member of the Colombian Senate, her holistic approach to security continues to reduce the nation's violence. One of her current legislative initiatives is to lift restrictions against women being promoted to the rank of general in the military.

Taken from "Women Waging Peace"

Nkunda Denies the Obvious

The renegade general Laurent Nkunda, who commands a band of rebel Congolese Tutsis in the eastern Congo, denied that he has recruited child soldiers – an accusation made by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUC, and various international aid groups working in the North Kivu province. Although this is an obvious no-brainer statement, made by pretty much anyone accused of using children in battle, Nkunda has released many children into the care of Caritas [the Catholic church’s humanitarian agency].
He says, “Some organisations do not want to present anything positive on my side,” Oswald Musoni, director of Caritas in Goma, acknowledged that Nkunda had turned over many child soldiers. “From the 2,226 children we demobilised from 2004 to 2006, 2,003 came from Nkunda’s armed forces, as he was controlling almost the entire region,” said Musoni.

Nkunda told investigators, "I have no children in the army under my control. You can go around if you want, and you will not find any."

Nkunda claimed, however, that he had inherited child soldiers from the Rally for Congolese Democracy, RCD, a former rebel faction reportedly backed by Rwanda and which operated in eastern Congo from 1998 to 2003. Nkunda was a senior officer in the RDC, which was one of the major rebel groups fighting there.

However, the UN reports that last December hundreds of child soldiers were used in the front lines of clashes between Nkunda’s forces and the Congolese army. Also that Nkunda’s Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple, CNDP, and the FDLR were the two main groups who routinely grabbed children from schools and internal refugee camps. They estimated that 8,500 former child soldiers who have been rescued since 2004 have since been re-recruited.

Full article here

Gbona Testifies in Taylor Trial

Quick update in the Charles Taylor trial. Witness Aruna Gbona testified this week. Gbona was born in 1952 in Talia in the Kailahun District in Sierra Leone. Before the war he was a rice farmer.

Gbona testified that RUF rebels were as young as 8, 9 and 10 years old, children carrying guns. All the commanders (Issa Sesay, Mosquito, Augustine Gbao) had these young soldiers with them.

Sri Lanka to Report

The Government is planning to present a comprehensive report on its recent findings on the recruitment of child soldiers at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday, in line with its Zero-Tolerance policy on using underaged children in armed conflict.

According to Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister, the Sri Lankan delegation would apprise the UN on the progress made so far by a committee appointed by him to inquire into abductions and recruitment of children for armed conflict.

The Minister appointed a high level Committee headed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Law Reform, Suhada Gamlath to look into the matter in August 2007, following a commitment made to the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.

According to the Minister the Committee, mandated to initiate and monitor the investigations of allegations into abductions and recruitment, was also given authority to monitor and make recommendations, and to assure that the released children have access to adequate facilities for rehabilitation and reintegration.

He stressed that in addition to charges levelled against the LTTE all other allegations of misconduct by other armed groups too were closely monitored.

Recently the UN in a report singled out the LTTE as being among the top six blatant human rights violators in the world. In the same meeting the UN adopted a text which was endorsed by all to end impunity for such violations and abuses.

While strongly condemning the practice the Council had also called for the full implementation of the monitoring and reporting mechanism on children in armed conflict called for in the 2005 resolution.
The Sri Lankan delegation which also includes Attorney General C.R.De Silva and Deputy Solicitor General (AG's Department) Yasantha Kodagoda in addition to Gamlath would make a thorough presentation on the progress to date.

Article here.

What Happens Now?

Until now, organisations in Uganda have focused on housing former child soldiers in reception centres where they undergo two to three months of psycho-social care and learn how to live in regular society again before being resettled with families in the camps.

"In the Ugandan context, these children are coming out of the bush and after a short stay at the reception centres are being put in the internally displaced camps," said Daisy Muculezi, programme officer in charge of child protection with the UK-based Save the Children in Uganda.

"This has the a lot to do with how they cope; many of them resort to sex work, or brew alcohol to make ends meet - common means of earning a living in the camps - others abuse alcohol."

Muculezi noted that the follow-up of these resettled children had not been as regular as it could have been, and many had returned to the streets within weeks of being placed, unable to cope with life in the camps.

"We are now in the recovery phase in northern Uganda, and the government's peace, development and recovery plan for the region has a social welfare component that we are looking at to fill the gaps in our handling of former abductees."

One of the ways to better serve the children, according to UNICEF's Ismail, is to let the children have a say in choosing their future. "We do not want to force the children into vocations they do not want, so we let them decide whether they wand to be tailors, bakers, carpenters, or would rather continue with formal schooling."

Plan International has school programmes for former child soldiers in Angola, Mozambique and Sierra Leone that incorporate peace-building training and counselling for girls who had children as a result of rape during the conflict, as well as lessons in HIV prevention.

Article first found on PlusNews here.

Former Child Soldiers Now Deal With HIV

The best way to get a child to kill for a warlord is to have them shot so full of drugs that they have no resistance and don't care anymore if it's their own mother they aiming at. With the rehabilitation of former child soldiers, we see that a growing number now have to battle with HIV, due to unsafe needle practices. As if they didn't have enough to deal with.

See article here.

Me to We - Why We Advertise

You may have noticed the "Me to We" advertisements on the side bar. No, we're not selling out or profiting. What we are doing, however, is supporting a great organization. Me to We was created by Free the Children, the Canadian based charity that is run by youth worldwide.

Half of every sale on Me to We goes to helping children. Not only that, but all their products are organic and made without the use of child labour. They look really comfortable and personally I've ordered a number of items.

Read about Me to We

Found New Website

Young Blood : Children of War
lots of info and ideas.

See their website here.

UN Gives Ear to Child Soldier's Plight

Representatives of nearly 60 countries addressed the U.N. Security Council Tuesday on the subject of children in armed conflict. They urged the world body to sanction parties that recruit children as soldiers or use sexual violence against them.

A total of 58 entities - including the Taliban in Afghanistan, remnants of the former Union of Islamic Courts in Somalia and parties in southern Sudan and Darfur, were singled out in the report for abuses committed against children in conflict zones.

60 countries verses 58 groups recruiting children, almost good odds. However, only if the UN takes real action will anything change. Sanctions are a good idea, but unfortuantly have little effect against rebel forces or unrecognized governments. They also hurt the rest of the country's population, which in developing countries is often poverty stricken already.

Article here.

Red Hand Day

Today is official Red Hand Day. The goal of Red Hand Day is to raise global awareness of the plight of child soldiers through public protests, demonstrations and other activities. The Red Hand symbol, has been used all over the world by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and many civil society organizations to say no to the recruitment and use of child soldiers. We encourage activities involving Red Hands to attract media attention, as well as the attention of decision makers and opinion leaders.

To read more go to the official Red Hand Day site.

Red Hand Day - Miami Students Lend a Hand to Child Soldiers

Invisible Children, a club started by students last semester, is participating in Red Hand Day on Tuesday to raise global awareness of the struggle of child soldiers in countries such as The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.

Red Hand Day, which began on Feb. 12, 2002, was created by the United Nations to commemorate The Optional Protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child Treaty, which guarantees all children's right to be protected from armed conflict. Since 2002, more than 97 countries have participated in events to show their support.

Invisible Children club members will be distributing red hand patches in the UC breezeway on Tuesday to promote awareness. The patches will have a picture of Africa and a Red Hand-the universal symbol for the movement.

"The main goal of our club is to raise awareness and funds for the children," said Chelsea Werner, a member of Invisible Children. "We're trying to bring awareness to child soldiers around the world."

"I think it's important for college students everywhere to get involved," said Melissa McBride, another club member. "This is a young movement and I think that young people have the power to make a change. It's important to be a part of it."

As author of this blog, I urge all my readers to take their own action, even if it's just to pass on the word. Children Soldiers isn't a hobby, or a joke, or a 'cause'. It's a reality that needs to be faced.

Plan - Child Soldiers Equals Time Bomb

Plan International (homepage here) have released a report stating that former child soldiers are a ticking time bomb.

“Failure to act will create a ticking time bomb of angry, alienated and traumatised youth whose only skills they have to rely on are those they learned at war.”

For full article go here, it also includes a link to video of former child soldiers telling their stories.

Refugee Camps put Children at Risk

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict, states that she is very concerned for the children in refugee camps as they present prime targets for kidnapping. She says there is a direct correlation between security at IDP camps and the recruitment of child soldiers.

Dr. Simon F. Reich, Director of the Ford Institute, co-authored the study comparing the numbers of child soldiers used in 17 African conflicts to regional rates of poverty, orphanhood and attacks by military forces on IDP and refugee camps. Camp security was the only factor with direct bearing on child soldier rates.“Not all protective forces are created equally,” Reich said. “The government forces that are supposedly there to protect the refugees or the IDPs quite often can end up becoming the perpetrators.” Reichs calls for greater security forces in refugee camps.

Reichs states, “Quite often people flee a conflict, they go to a camp where they have a reasonable expectation that they’re going to be secure and they’re going to be safe, and neither happens.”

The solution for stopping child soldier recruitment is debated. The Secretary-General’s report contains a “naming and shaming” list of political and military groups that recruit or use children. While such lists may have an impact on national governments that rely heavily on foreign aid or fear international trade sanctions, their effect on rebel forces is debated.

Aggressive prosecution of those who use child soldiers, by the International Criminal Court and other authorities, has been held up by many advocates as the way to dissuade warlords from recruiting children. As to the deterrent effect, “I think that the jury’s still out on that,” Becker said. “How many commanders out in the field really change their child recruitment behavior because they are personally concerned that they might end up in the Hague?”

Failure In Chad for Child Soldiers

The Chadian military is reportedly recruiting young men by force, possibly including children, to help stem losses from recent fighting with rebels on several fronts in the east of the country.

Human Rights Without Borders (DHSF), a Chadian human rights group, says it has received reports of army units raiding private homes and taking children. Larger raids have also been reported in places where youths gather, according to several sources, including an eyewitness who spoke to IRIN.

As a result of this, UNICEF has stopped its child soldiers demobilization program.

Recent fighting between the government and rebel groups has been bloody and both sides need foot soldiers to replace the dead. Ironically, a peace agreement between the Chad government and one rebel group (Front Uni pour le Changement - FUC - United Front for Change) has increased the mobilization of child soldiers. According to Human Rights Watch, as part of the peace agreement, FUC agreed to provide many more soldiers than it actually had, so, it had to recruit. Such shortage of soldiers has led government army commanders to keep their child soldiers out of the demobilization efforts.

IRIN article here.
Other article here.
Human Rights Watch article here.

Ian Stewart - Ambushed

Journalist Ian Stewart has been shot on three continents and imprisoned on two. In 1999 he was shot by a child soldier in the back of the head. He now studies the effects of trauma on former child soldiers and their families at the University of Michigan.

Read more about this amazing journalist here.

Global Gateway - International Reporting

Stumbled upon Global Gateway.

Their mission as stated on their site:
The Global Gateway for Students is a place where students can interact directly with Pulitzer Center-funded reporters -- and with each other -- to discuss and debate critical international issues and the challenges and promises of international reporting.

Different schools have set up boards where the students can respond to questions or start discussions themselves. This is a fantastic idea! I applaud them.

They also have an open call for articles based on the question
What responsibility does the world bear for rehabilitating child soldiers from the horror of serving in armed conflict?

Winners will be chosen after March 12th . See the site for more details.

UN Scheduled to Help Child Soldiers

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to take up the Sri Lankan child soldiers’ issue during the latter part of this month for extensive discussions.

The issue comes up at a juncture when both the LTTE and the Karuna/Pillaiyan faction, allegedly linked to the government, have been recruiting child soldiers unabated for their war efforts in the north and east.

It is learnt that it is incumbent upon the Sri Lankan Government to state its position clearly on this issue. A high-powered delegation is due to leave for New York shortly to present the government’s position on the matter. The delegation will be headed by Attorney General C. R. De Silva, Deputy Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda and Justice Secretary Suhada Gamlath.

Meanwhile, a committee headed by Gamlath will visit the Eastern Province on a fact-finding mission this week. A public hearing on child recruitment will also be held as a prelude to the report the high-powered delegation is supposed to present to the UN Security Council later this month.

Article

I'm going to post some more info and news regarding the UN schedule very soon.

Tamil Tigers at it Again

The Media Centre for National Security (MNCS) (Ministry of Defence) (www.defence.lk)says that 72 people belonging to 26 families arrived at Redithanna in Batticaloa from LTTE(Tamil Tigers) dominated areas this morning. The refugees told the officials that a group of LTTE terrorists stormed the villages of Akran and Minimuthiweli in Vakarai area in the early hours of today (Monday the 27th of November), looking for a 14 year old child soldier who had deserted the outfit. The mother of the Child soldier who is also among the refugees, revealed that she had asked her son to seek refuge at the Army detachment Redeethanna, as he arrived home yesterday. The child soldier surrendered to the security forces personnel last evening. He is now safe at the hands of the relevant authorities.

The mother further revealed that the terrorists shot the childs uncle to death as he refused to tell the whereabouts of him. Earlier, the childs father was also assassinated by the LTTE cadres. Following the shooting incident that took place around 8.30 this morning the terror stricken villagers decided to flee in to the government controlled areas to avoid further harassment. The escapees included twenty three males, twenty one females, eleven boys and eighteen girls. They further said that there are some more civilians in the abandoned villages and those too would be vacating after attending the funeral rites of the murdered villager.

Full article and video here

Canada Urges Security Council to Do Something

Because of the new UN report of children in armed conflict, Plan Canada is asking the UN to do something at their next meeting on Feb 12th. This meeting, however, is all about implementing a new worldwide tax that will be used for foreign aid. I doubt very much that any action regarding child soldiers will be brought up. I also doubt that any course of action regarding this tax will be decided upon, and somehow I don't see all nations (may I bring up the USA?) agreeing on a new global tax.

The idea, however, is a perfect solution to worldwide poverty and hunger, not to mention lack of education. All we need is to convince everyone that helping others isn't so bad, even if it costs us a couple bucks. And of course, make sure the money gets where it's supposed to go and does what it's supposed to do.

Plan Canada article.

Charles Taylor Trial Continues

The trial continues, Suwandi Camara testifies about seeing child soldiers in Taylor's Small Boy Units. Some excerpts below:

Cobra Base was used to train soldiers about guns. Most of the soldiers were ex-fighters from the bush who were brought to the Base to have advanced commando training. The recruits came from different battalions like the EMG, SSS, Small Boy Unit (”SBU”), Strike Force Marine and Army Division. The SBU was made up of “small soldiers” i.e. young people not older than 16 years.

Camara testified that during his time at Cobra Base he saw many 13 year olds being trained. He explained that in an average SBU Company there would be 230 - 240 soldiers and many of these companies were trained at the Base. Camara was aware of the Commander of the SBU who was called Supoom who he thought worked at Charles Taylor’s mansion and reported to Charles Taylor. Camara first saw Supoom when Camara arrived in Liberia in 1991. Camara thought that Supoom was about 15 at that time.

Camara explained that soldiers in the SBU could sometimes be as you as 9 or 10. Sometimes they were so small than when they handled guns like AK-47’s, the guns would touch the ground. They were trained like the other soldiers with the exception sometimes of the obstacle training which some of the children could not complete. Some members of the Women’s Army Company (”WAC”) were also excused from obstacle training. Camara explained that this company was made up of “matured girls”.

Camara confirmed that the majority of the SBU recruits were Liberians but that there were also a few children from Sierra Leone. Camara explained that the recruits were organised by company, platoons and sections and that every company was made up of 4 platoons with 4 sections in a platoon. Normally one battalion was trained at a time. Before the recruits finished their training and “passed out”, General Yetim [sic] would be informed who then inform Taylor. Taylor would then sometimes come to the base to visit the recruits and would often bring cows and food and rice for the recruits. Taylor would attend the “passing out” parade and talk to the recruits and Camara saw Taylor many times at the Base. He also used to bring badges for the children to put on their uniforms. Camara explained that they used to dance and sing during the “passing out” ceremonies and that sometimes Taylor would join in.

Once the training was completed, the recruits were sent back to their units all over Liberia or Sierra Leone depending on where they had come from.

Al-Qaeda Turns to Children

Ochuk's Blog, "20 Times Around the Block" recently posted a you-tube video showing children in the middle east being trained as soldiers. This clip is from the propaganda videos circulating, as reported by the Washington Post. These children are reportedly as young as 10, being trained to kill and kidnap US and Iraqi officials. The authenticity of the videos could not be independently verified, and it was not clear where or when the videos were made.

A US Military spokesman, Gregory Smith, said, "As we watched the videos and watched the reaction with adults in the neighborhood," Smith said, "it appears that it is a tribal series of families in which the adults are involved in training and it is their children."

Read the Washington Post Article here.

Ezra - A Film of Truth

This article on the film "Ezra", talks about the film making process and how the entire outlook of the writers changed once they visited Sierra Leone themselves and talked to child soldiers. I haven't seen this film yet, but I will post my own review once I do. For now, here are a couple of excerpts from this article and other info on the film.

What shocked me was not just the violence, but the psychological aspect of the children we confronted, the way that their lives had been destroyed and they had become swept up in something they did not even understand."

"These wars — people stop talking about them," he said. "The media stops covering them. But what made me mad was realizing that these conflicts continue, and the people caught up in them carry something with them long after we've stopped looking."

After devastating audiences at last year's Sundance Film Festival, it screened as part of the 46th International Critics' Week sidebar at Cannes and went on to win the Golden Stallion at Fespaco, the top award at Africa's top festival. It opens in New York at Film Forum on Wednesday.

Read the full article here.

Charles Taylor Trial - Koker Testimony

Dennis Koker testified in court, regarding the "Operation No Living Thing". Below are excerpts from the daily report seen here.

Koker also testified about the treatment of children who were separated from their families and forced to fight with guns for the RUF. These children were 12 and 14 years old and Koker would inquire about their age in secret because they were too young to participate. These children were part of the SBU — Small Boys Unit. Koker stated that they were taken from their families and given guns, despite the fact that they were not fit for military work.

Rehabilitation Video

Clip of a video about rehabilitation for child soldiers.

Girl Child Soldiers Scrutinized

The African Union (AU) is going to be launching a new study to explore the relationship between male child soldiers and their female counterparts.

Girl child soldiers are often 'married' to the boys, living as their wives.

Read full article here.

Counselling for Former Child Soldiers

Lucinda Woodward, Assistant Professor of Psychological Science at Ball State University, spend six months in Africa working with child soldiers and those who would be continuing to help rehabilitate them. She worked with a group called, WACRO, War Affected Children Rehabilitation Organization. Lucinda also started her own group, Association for Counselor Training and Trauma Services, or ACTTS. This group will train counselors to help former child soldiers.

Read the full story here.

Burma Puts on a Good Show

BBC News has reported that Burma leaders have taken action against 43 officials who recruited children as soldiers. The government says that the recruitment of child soldiers is minimal, and only in a 'few cases'. Human Rights Watch, on the other hand, estimates the number to be more along the lines of 70,000. (Same as the population of Portland, Maine)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has the right idea, suggesting sanctions, travel bans and financial penalties. Hit them where it hurts.

Read the full article here.

Sign Up Against Child Soldiers

World vision has an online declaration against child soldiers that you can sign.
Right here, right now.

SRI LANKA: End of ceasefire could further hamper aid delivery

Humanitarian agencies in Sri Lanka are increasingly concerned that the government’s withdrawal from a ceasefire with Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels, which takes effect on 16 January, will unleash fresh violence that could not only impact civilians but also impede aid delivery and jeopardise the safety of humanitarian workers.

Full article here:

Defense Picks At Witness Story

The defense seems to have taken the position of picking away at a witnesses story through insignificant details in order to confuse everyone. Here is the website for the trial, as well as a few excerpts below.

Lead defense counsel Courtenay Griffiths continues his cross-examination of prosecution witness Varmuyan Sherif:

Def: Would you agree that from what I’ve just read to you, the first time you claim to have seen Bockarie was in Beudu, not Kailahun.

Wit: I said I saw him in Kailahun, I first sat with him in Beudu.

Def: That’s not the account you gave in this in inverview?

Wit: It that’s what they wrote, they made a mistake.

Def: I am going to suggest to you that you have wickedly lied about Taylor sending you to get Bockarie.

Wit: Not true.

Def: These discrepencies in your account come about because you’re lying.

Wit: I’m telling the truth.

Def: In order to lie, you need a good memory, which is why there are differences in your accounts.

Wit: I’m telling the truth.

Def: (referring to interview) Passage regards trip to Voinjama and Bockarie’s haircut. Question: Who cut the hair? Answer: I have a hair cutter there. Passage describes Bockarie taking off a military uniform - a Sierra Leonean uniform of colonel’s rank. After spending the night in Voinjama - Bockarie constantly communicated by radio in Mende and Krio, sometimes yelling. Then Taylor sent a helicopter… Witness, what is missing in this account?

Wit: It was not written correctly. When we got to Voinjama, I sent for headquarters to cut Bockarie’s hair. He had a uniform from Sierra Leone - a camoflouge jacket. He took a bath. Robert Biah came and saw him. We left Voinjama that same day. We did not sleep.

Def: What is missing in this account from this interview?

Wit: It says we slept in Voinjama, we did not sleep there.

Def: There’s no mention of a mayonaise jar of diamonds out of his pocket, is there?

Wit: That is also not there. I have had more than ten interviews with these people. I explain some things on one day. I’ve never explained everything in one sitting.

Def: How could you forgot about the diamonds?

Wit: I did not say I forgot. When I got tired, I stopped explaining.

Def: You deliberately didn’t give them the information?

Wit: I gave them all the information, but not all to one person at one time.

Uganda

Found this great article on Uganda that gives the history of the war, the LRA, and some experiences of child soldiers.

Chimes Website

"Heart of Fire" at Berlin Film Festival

A new film "Heart of Fire," Luigi Florni's adaptation the biography of African child soldier Senait Mehari. The film follows the cross-over success of his "The Story of the Weeping Camel" (2003), which Florni co-directed with Mongolian filmmaker Byambasuren Davaa.

This film is an adaptation of the book, "Heart of Fire". A general review below:

Born in 1974 to an Ethiopian mother and an Eritrean father, Senait Mehari was abandoned by her parents as a baby and spent her early years in a state orphanage. After four years she returned to her father, but as the onset of the War of Liberation threatened the family he made the shocking decision to give Senait and two of her stepsisters to the rebel troups of the Eritrean Liberation Front.

Six-year-old Senait spent three harrowing years in a training camp for child soldiers. She witnessed first-hand the brutalities of war, learned how to use a rifle and endured hunger, sickness and beatings. She was rescued in 1983 when her uncle arranged a daring escape to Sudan and the sisters lived in Khartoum for four years, until they were summoned to Germany by their father.

Life in Germany was difficult. At fourteen, Senait left home to live on the streets, bought herself a cheap keyboard and began composing music.

Now, Senait feels compelled to speak. She has not let the horrors of her childhood defeat her and today she has a successful music career. Heart of Fire is the moving and inspirational testimony of a woman determined to succeed in life.

Buy the book here.

Defense for Charles Taylor Says Events Didn't Involve Him

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Child soldiers serving with rebels in Sierra Leone dismembered a screaming child before tossing him in a toilet pit, a pastor testified during the trial of Charles Taylor on Tuesday.

The former Liberian president, once one of Africa's most feared warlords, is on trial for orchestrating rape, murder, mutilation and recruitment of child soldiers during the 1991-2002 civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

In harrowing testimony, Alex Tamba Teh, 47, told the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone how he saw a rebel commander from Liberia he called "Rocky" shoot 101 people. Rocky spared his life only because he was a pastor.

"After he killed the civilians... he gave the instruction that they should be decapitated. Rocky gave the order to the small boy units," Tamba Teh told the court, referring to the gangs of child soldiers used by rebels during the war.

On the second day of prosecution evidence, Tamba Teh -- from the eastern diamond district of Kono -- recounted how rebels voted on whether to spare his life and how they carved the initials RUF into the bodies of abductees.

Child soldiers rounded on one child and chopped off his hand, then his arm, then both his feet, before tossing him into a toilet pit, Tamba Teh said, speaking in an African Creole.

Showing the court his mouth, Tamba Teh explained how a rebel knocked out his teeth with a pistol.

Prosecutors say Taylor sought to plunder Sierra Leone's diamond wealth and destabilise its government by supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels.

Taylor, 59, the first former African head of state to face an international court, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He appeared in court wearing a dark suit and a gold tie.

His defence lawyers do not contest that atrocities took place in Sierra Leone but dispute Taylor's involvement. They say bringing victims to the Hague is a tactic by prosecutors to boost emotional impact.

Earlier, the court heard from blood diamond expert Ian Smillie, who said the RUF used brutality to frighten people away from diamond fields that earned them up to $125 million a year.

Smillie met Taylor in 2000 while investigating diamond smuggling as part of a U.N. probe. He said diamonds were the primary source of RUF funding and most left through Liberia, possible only with the complicity of the Liberian government.

More than a quarter of a million people died in intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Prosecutors want the trial to end decades of impunity for ousted African strongmen, who have often fled overseas to live out their days unpunished.

Taylor found exile in Nigeria after being overthrown in 2003 and was handed to the court after international pressure. His trial was moved to The Hague because of fears it could spur instability if held in Sierra Leone.

Prosecutors expect a judgment by the end of 2009, though an appeal would be likely to stretch the case into 2010.

reuters africa

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia

The commission began work in 2006 by touring the western African nation to gather evidence of rights violations committed between 1979 and 2003.

Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf yesterday appealed for honesty as her war-wracked west African country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) began its public hearings.

“I call upon all Liberians to respond to the TRC when they are invited. This process is not only for healing and reconciliation, it is also for justice,” Sirleaf said at the start of proceedings in an opening ceremony in Monrovia.

Over two years, the aim is to shed light on massacres, summary executions, sexual violence and economic crimes perpetrated during Liberia’s conflicts, with a longer-term goal of national reconciliation.

“I call all Liberians to be honest and truthful during this process. All those suffered during the crisis will have to share their pains,” Sirleaf told a gathering of about 200 people including TRC members, government ministers and foreign diplomats.

“The TRC is the key to the reconciliation and achievement of genuine peace in Liberia,” stated the commission’s president, Jerome Verdier, who led a tour of six northern and eastern provinces where TRC members were able to go and explain their work.

Gulf News
---

I think this is an amazing work, and hope it gets the results, recognition, and serious attention it deserves.

Testimony Against Charles Taylor

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- A clergyman recounted the horror of a massacre of 101 men and the mutilation of a child soldier by rebels in Sierra Leone when he testified Tuesday in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

Taylor, 59, the first former African head of state to be tried by an international court, is accused of orchestrating rape, murder and mutilation in Sierra Leone from his presidential palace in Liberia's capital, Monrovia. He has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges.

Speaking calmly and often gesturing with his hands, clergyman Alex Tamba Teh, 47, said Tuesday that he was among some 250 civilians captured by rebel forces known as the Junta in April 1998 in the diamond mining district of Kono.

He said the men were separated from the women and children and eventually were taken from a mosque to a nearby shelter. There, a rebel commander known as Rocky told the pastor to pray for his fellow captives and then mowed them all down with a machine gun, Tamba Teh testified.

Rocky later told another commander called Rambo that he had killed 101 men -- and the horror had only just begun.

"After he had killed the civilians ... he gave instructions that they be decapitated," Tamba Teh told the three-judge tribunal.

The beheadings were carried out by a so-called Small Boys Unit of child soldiers -- some of them too tiny to lift the guns they were dragging around.

A little later, an even smaller boy -- screaming and asking what he had done wrong -- was dragged to a log. The other boys pinned down his arms and legs and hacked off his hands and feet with machetes.

After the mutilation, they grabbed the boy by the stumps, Tamba Teh said. "They were swinging him. They threw him over into a toilet pit. I saw it myself. They boy was screaming, shouting, crying."

Such mutilations were a grisly trademark of the 10-year civil war in Sierra Leone, and Taylor is accused of arming and supporting many of the rebels responsible.

Tamba Teh did not draw any link between the atrocity and Taylor, who sat calmly throughout the testimony, taking notes and sipping water.

Tamba Teh said Rocky, who defied an order to kill the clergyman, sent him back to Rambo. Rambo then staged a macabre vote among 30 commanders on whether the pastor should live or die. The vote was split 15-15 until one more commander arrived, voting to spare Tamba Teh.

He said he was then taken to a rebel camp where captured women -- kept as sex slaves -- were repeatedly raped and forced to forage for food.

Prisoners also had the acronyms of the rebel groups RUF and AFRC carved on their chests and backs, Tamba Teh said, explaining that it prevented the captives from fleeing because they would be killed by enemy rebels if found with such markings.

Tamba Teh said he later was transferred to a camp where a commander smashed out his front teeth with the barrel of a gun. Tamba Teh opened his mouth, removed a denture and lifted his lips to show the court his missing teeth.

Earlier Tuesday, judges allowed into evidence video of victims telling of being sexually assaulted or dismembered by rebels plundering West African diamond fields.

The ruling, overriding defense objections, capped the testimony of the first witness in the trial, a diamond expert who said Sierra Leone rebels backed by Taylor used slave labor to dig up diamonds worth between $60 million and $125 million a year, and terrorized the population to assert their control of the fields.

Prosecutors allege that diamonds from Sierra Leone were smuggled through Liberia, and Taylor used the proceeds to buy arms and ammunition for the rebels -- earning them the name "blood diamonds."

Taylor "was involved in both weapons and diamonds," said the Canadian expert, Ian Smillie.

Under cross-examination, Smillie denied he was "hostile" toward Taylor. "We felt sorry for him. He had squandered his opportunity to turn Liberia from war to peace. We felt badly for Liberia and sorry that it had missed that opportunity."

Taylor's trial resumed Monday after a six-month recess. It was adjourned last June after a chaotic opening day during which Taylor boycotted the proceedings and fired his lawyer.

Fox news

Charles Taylor : Profile

Charles Taylor, on trial. Who is this man? I've compiled some background information, from various sources online.
---

Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor (born January 28, 1948) served as President of Liberia from 1997 to 2003. He was once Africa's most prominent warlord during the First Liberian Civil War in the early 1990s, was elected president at the end of that conflict, subsequently was forced into exile, and now is in detention at the International Criminal Court, where he faces trial from Sierra Leone's Special Court.

In December 1989, Taylor launched an armed uprising from Côte d'Ivoire into Liberia to overthrow its government. His forces, known as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), soon controlled most of the country. Then-president Samuel Doe was overthrown and tortured to death the following year by Prince Johnson, a former senior commander of Taylor's NPFL who broke away and formed the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia, INPFL. Doe's fall led to the political fragmentation of the country into violent factionalism. In mid-1990, Prince Johnson's supporters split from Taylor's group and captured Monrovia for themselves, depriving Taylor of outright victory.

The civil war turned into an ethnic conflict, with seven factions fighting for control of Liberia's resources (especially iron ore, diamond, timber, and rubber). Between 50,000 and 200,000 people were killed, and more than two million people were forced from their homes, out of a population of six million. This was planned and financed by Taylor.

After the official end of the civil war in 1996, Taylor became Liberia's president on August 2, 1997, following a landslide victory in July, in which he took 75% of the vote. Taylor's toughest competitor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, only managed to collect 10% of the vote. The election was judged free and fair by some observers, although Taylor's victory has been widely attributed to the belief that he would resume the war if he lost. He famously ran on the slogan “He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him."Because of this threat to restart the war in which Liberia's population had literally been decimated, many people voted for him simply to preserve peace.

On August 10, Charles Taylor appeared on national television in Liberia to announce that he would resign the following day and hand power to the nation's vice-president, Moses Blah. He harshly criticized the United States in his farewell address , saying that the Bush administration's insistence that he leave the country was a foolish policy that would hurt Liberia.

Following the election of a new president in Liberia, the Nigerian government said on March 25, 2006 that Liberia was free to collect Taylor so that he might face war crimes charges in Liberian courts. On March 29, 2006, Taylor was arrested in Gamboru. On March 30, the Special Court requested permission to use the premises of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to carry out the trial of Taylor, although the Special Court will still conduct the proceedings of the trial. In Taylor's absence, the trial began on June 4, 2007. He pleaded not guilty.

When Taylor's trial on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity opened June 4, 2007, Taylor boycotted the proceeding and was not present. Through a letter which was read by his lawyer to the court, he justified his absence by alleging that at that moment he was not ensured a fair and impartial trial.

On August 20, 2007, Taylor's defense obtained a postponement of the trial until January 7, 2008

---
Article
---
This is another blog specifically on the trial of Charles Taylor.

"Children With Guns" will be covering the trial of Charles Taylor by posting relevant articles and news as it breaks. Also look for one or more postings that will bring you up to speed on what has happened previous.

----------------------

Found at the Sydney Morning Herald

THE war crimes trial of the former Liberian president Charles Taylor, accused of controlling militia that killed and raped thousands in Sierra Leone, resumed yesterday in the Hague after a six-month delay.

Taylor, the first African head of state to appear before an international war crimes tribunal, was in court for the hearing, in which the prosecution was to call its first witness.

Once one of Africa's most feared warlords, Taylor faces charges of rape, murder, mutilation and recruitment of child soldiers at the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, which has been set up to try those most responsible for the 1991-2002 conflict.

The 59-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

"This is an important test for international justice … It will have ramifications throughout the world," the prosecutor, Stephen Rapp, said of a trial that he hopes will end decades of impunity for African strongmen.

"There have been other cases involving chiefs of state that have not gone well … but I am confident that we can present the case and show that it is possible to hold a chief of state responsible in a fair and just trial."

More than quarter of a million people were killed in intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, which shocked the world with stories and images of child soldiers high on drugs, killing, raping and looting. Taylor is accused of trying to gain control of Sierra Leone's mineral wealth, particularly its diamond mines, and seeking to destabilise its government by arming the Revolutionary United Front rebels.

Prosecutors have said their first witness will be an expert on the trade in conflict diamonds, followed by a victim of the violence, and then an insider once close to Taylor's regime. In Sierra Leone, a generation of civilian amputees - their hands or legs hacked off by rebels - is a painful reminder of the cruelty of the conflict.

Prosecutors intend to call 144 witnesses but hope half of them can submit their testimony in writing, allowing the prosecuting team to wrap up their case in about eight months.

Taylor boycotted the opening of his trial in June in a dispute over resources allocated to his defence, prompting legal wrangling and delays. More funds were made available to Taylor, despite suspicions he amassed a considerable fortune, and a new defence team was appointed in July.

Child Soldier Blog - Up Close and Personal

This blog has some horrific personal stories heard by the author while in Uganda. Let's show her some support for the work she's doing.

Two Wheels for Children

Global Youth Partnership for Africa and it's contributors helped to make a difference for war torn children including past child soldiers. On January 4th, 2008 they distributed 200 bicycles in Patongo, Uganda. The article can be read here.

Sri Lanka Cease Fire Ends

The Sri Lankan government announced its withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement on January 2, 2008, hours after a bomb attack on an army bus in the capital, Colombo, killed one soldier and three civilians, and wounded 28 others, mostly civilians. The ceasefire had largely been ignored by both the government and the armed secessionist LTTE since major new fighting broke out in mid-2006.

Unfortuantly this also means the end to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, which kept tabs on the use of child soldiers. Although not completely effective, it's loss means no one standing in the way of child recruitment by the LTTE or the government.

Human Rights Watch called on both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to immediately implement practical measures to protect civilians from continuing armed hostilities. The government and the LTTE should:

• Agree to the establishment of a United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka;
  
• Designate demilitarized zones as sanctuaries in conflict areas and pre-position humanitarian relief in known places of refuge;
  
• Improve humanitarian access to populations at risk, including by ending unnecessary restrictions on humanitarian agencies;
  
• Whenever possible, provide effective advance warning of military operations, both broadly – through loudspeakers, radio announcements or leaflets – and directly through messages to community leaders; and
  
• Appoint local civilian liaison officers who are known and accessible to local communities and have sufficient rank to ensure that community concerns are heeded.

Children Soldiers Worldwide - Myanmar, Bangkok

The government of Myanmar, Bangkok:

The New York-based rights group, Human Rights Watch, says military recruitment is low and the military is "buying, kidnapping and terrorizing boys as young as 10 to join its ranks."

"Clearly the military is preying upon children and using children to form a substantial proportion of its forces," said a co-author of the report, Jo Becker, the children's rights advocate for Human Rights Watch.

The large number of child soldiers in Myanmar's army - and in the ranks of some 30 armed ethnic groups - has been known for years, and Human Rights Watch has published reports on it before.

In 2004 the government created a committee to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers, but Becker says it is a sham. She also says that it is impossible to guess how many children are serving, or have served, in the armed forces.

Once in the ranks, the report said, child soldiers are subject to mistreatment by officers and are sometimes forced to participate in the human rights abuses that have been widely documented among the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw. These include battlefield atrocities, the burning of villages, forcible recruitment of porters and sexual abuse of women.

As recent as December 7, 2007 children continue to be recruited and used as child soldiers in Myanmar and Burundi, according to the United Nations envoy for children in armed conflict who has just presented two new reports on the issue.

“The issue of recruitment and use of children continues to be a problem in Myanmar both with regard to the Government and various non-state actors,” stated Radhika Coomaraswamy, who yesterday presented the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of children and armed conflict in Myanmar to the Security Council Working Group dealing with the matter.

Although there has been progress in terms of dialogue with the Myanmar Government and two non-State actors, the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the report notes that “State and non-State actors continue to be implicated in grave child rights violations.”

Ms. Coomaraswamy also raised concerns about the issue of access for UN monitors in Myanmar, stating that “the Government should provide the UN country team with free access to conflict areas and to recruitment centres so that monitoring and reporting can be performed effectively and all the information can be verified.”

Among other issues cited were difficulties with age verification, reports of children convicted and sentenced for desertion, and lack of humanitarian access. “Children are the first to be affected by a humanitarian crisis,” she said. “There is a real urgency for a humanitarian needs assessment in the conflict areas in order to devise proper programmatic responses for the most vulnerable.”

However, she stressed that the efforts of the Working Group and the monitoring and reporting mechanism established by the Council had already led to commitments by some parties to stop the recruitment and use of children.

The Government has adopted directives that explicitly prohibit the recruitment of children under 18 and set up a high-level Committee for the Prevention of Military Recruitment of Underage Children, she noted. The KNU and the KNPP have also signed deeds of commitment that are currently being finalized.

With regard to Burundi, Ms. Coomaraswamy condemned new reported cases of recruitment and use of children by the Forces Nationales de Libération (FNL). She also criticized the attitude of armed groups that have been recruiting children by promising them demobilization benefits for which they were not eligible.

In addition, she deplored the alarming increase of cases of rape and sexual violence in the country, a concern that was also raised by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his recent report on Burundi. “The 80 per cent rise in reported cases show that [the] dawning of peace has unfortunately not heralded a more secure environment for women, boys and girls in Burundi,” she stated.

Ms. Coomaraswamy was pleased to note that the UN system had begun a series of activities together with Government ministries to address this problem, and called for sustained political will and commitment to fight impunity for such crimes.

Mr. Ban’s Executive Representative for Burundi told reporters in New York today that the UN is aware that there are under-age persons among the alleged FNL dissidents, and stressed that the UN is ready, willing and able to take care of those identified as children.

“We have sent that message to the FNL, to the Government, that if there are children among these alleged dissidents, we would be prepared to take care of their needs and they should not be in the camps,” Youssef Mahmoud stated.

IHT - article
UN - Article

Video - Child Reclaims Life

Unicef has a video you can watch here.

Maisha (not his real name) was 15 when he joined the militia, a loose coalition of Congolese soldiers that emerged a decade ago.

What to do about Omar Khadr?

Bill Longstaff's blog has an interesting article regarding Canadian Omar Khadr :

Furthermore, he is a child soldier and child soldiers are internationally recognized as victims, not perpetrators, and offered rehabilitation, not imprisonment. The United States itself recognizes this, and is bound by it as a signatory of the United Nations Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child, which states that people under 18 who are enlisted or conscripted into armed conflict are not adults and therefore “are entitled to special protection.”

Still Children

Nothing prepares you for talking to a child you know has killed others in battle – or mutilated them in a test to prove his loyalty to the rebel gang that pressed him to become a soldier at the unbelievable age of seven.

Gulu, in the north of Uganda, has been, for the past 20 years, at the centre of a fierce and demoralising guerrilla war between government troops and the rebels of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). Last year, they agreed a ceasefire but a year of uneasy peace has failed to quieten the reverberating horror of the war in the minds of the local people.

In the town is a camp closed off from the surrounding world by high whitewashed walls. More than 7,000 children have passed through the place the locals call Gusco, which stands for Gulu Support the Children Organisation. They constitute a third of the 20,000 child soldiers who were abducted by the LRA and press-ganged into its raggle-taggle army. Many of them were taken as young as six or seven – the age at which rebel leaders believed they would be most malleable and easy to groom into unquestioning, ruthless killers.

A considerable number are still unaccounted for. Many died, either in battle or at the hands of their captors. Some, however, have in the past year either been released by the LRA, or escaped and found their own way.

They return no longer children. They carry with them demons no child should hear about, let alone wrestle with. They are gathered in Gusco, a camp fitted out like a rudimentary army barracks, funded by Save the Children – one of the three charities being supported by the Independent Christmas Appeal this year

In the shade of the few leafy trees in a corner of the camp courtyard Jonny Quinn [Snow Patrol's drummer] and I met some of them, accompanied by the camp's administrator Christine Langol. We sat on plastic school chairs, a detail of bizarre normality in this strange and disconcerting place.

Beneath the heavy heat of the midday sun, we were introduced to six former soldiers. They looked like ordinary children. And yet the tale they told was anything but ordinary.

The first two to speak, through a translator from the local Acholi tribal dialect, said their names were Norrie and Stephen. They had arrived at Gusco only a few days before, after having spent seven years with the rebels. They had been abducted in 2000, seized together by a rebel raiding party on their school.

"We were tied to a long line of other kids and marched" said Norrie, who is now 14. "We were kept moving because we were new to the system and couldn't be trusted yet. Every day we were beaten with sticks or the flat side of a panga (a type of machete)."

Relentless marching and random brutality was the daily routine for the first two years of their captivity. They were told that "you first have to be beaten to remove the fear in you". But it was also clear that the violence was designed to deter the abductees from planning to escape.

Initiation beatings of 50 strokes were common. Sometimes, the whole group was beaten for an offence by a single individual.

They were also subjected to an initiation ceremony, which involved smearing them with shea butter, which the rebel leaders told them would make their skin impregnable to bullets. They were then forced to fight and told "if you die you, this body will rot, but you will continue to live".

Norrie and Stephen, throughout their recollections, did not raise their voices above a whisper, such was the burden and the shame of their memories

At Gusco, over the days to come, they will spend time with a class therapy teacher to prepare them for re-entry into school. The Save the Children project also has vocational centres in Gulu town where older children can learn skills such as carpentry, tailoring and cycle repairs.

But it is in the villages that the other key work of the project takes place. Most parents there are overjoyed to see their children again. But some are as traumatised as their offspring. "They've committed atrocities on their very own people," says the project administrator Christine Langol. "They've participated in abducting other children, in killing, in burning houses."

Counsellors prepare the adults for family reunions at the centre. But some children were made, at their abduction, to kill one of their parents and their families refuse to take them back. If so, Gusco seeks out a foster family.

Problems are particularly acute for girls. One of those sitting silently under the tree was a 15-year-old named Nora. She had been in rebel hands for more than six years. She cast her eyes to the ground as she told her story.

"I was nine when the rebels came," she said. "I was in the field with my mother, sister and brother. They were all older than me and could run faster. They ran off leaving me in the field. Because I was young I could not run, so I was grabbed".

She was forced to become a porter, carrying luggage, cooking utensils and food. "At one point, when we were embarking on an attack on an enemy base I was given a gun to carry. I dropped it and it went off. I was seriously beaten".

Beside her sat Geraldine. She was 17 and had been held by the LRA for five years. She too spoke in a whisper, and never once made eye contact. "It was evening around 8pm. I came back from school and was helping my mother cook. My little sister was also home. I remember she was refusing to eat and my mother asked me to get some cassava for her.

"It was not in a safe place. Every night we would commute to a safe refuge. Mother said we should go there that night. But that night I said 'no'.

"Just then, my elder brother came home. He was clowning around, pretending to make scary noises when – by horrible coincidence – the rebels arrived. They had followed him home. They attacked, seized him and made off. But just as the last man was going, he grabbed me as well."

All at once, Geraldine ceases to speak about herself. Instead she talks in the third person, about what the rebels did with others, rather than what had happened to her. Girls, she said, were raped and given to the rebel commanders "as wives". The greater the fighter the more "wives" he got. One commander had as many as 21 women.

"Some girls are given as young as 12 years old," she said. It was the age at which she was taken. Her eyes had been pointed at the ground. Now her face turned completely away.

The last to speak was Peter, a gangly 17-year-old, who had been captured by government forces after he was shot in the leg. He had been abducted when he was just seven. As early as he could remember, he said, he carried, and used, a rifle.

"I was given a gun within two weeks [of being abducted]. We were given full training, how to assemble the gun, how to lay ambushes, even how to march." He had been a child soldier for 10 years, spending more of his life with the rebels than he had in his home.

He spoke, calmly and matter-of-factly of how he fought in many bloody and horrific battles against both the Sudanese and Ugandan armies. After he was shot in the leg and taken to Gusco, he says, her was overwhelmed, depressed and disorientated. He was suicidal. "I felt I didn't want to continue, I just wanted it to be over. Just kill me and let me rest."

As the months at Gusco passed, his mood changed to one of optimism for the future: "I realise education is extremely important and that's a big step, a lot of people don't get that chance."

That is not glib optimism. He still finds things hard. At 17, he is in school for the first time, and in Primary 5, with a bunch of 9 and 10-year-olds. But he has been made a prefect. And he has come to realise that school is real lifeHe has, at last, been reunited with family.

Burma's Retirement Policy

It's estimated that around 70,000 child soldiers are serving in 727 infantry battalions of the Burma army.

Many of them are victims of a practice enabling veteran soldiers to "buy" their discharge by recruiting new blood for the army.

Nyunt Hlaing (not his real name) is a 48-year-old warrant officer first-class who has served 25 years in the Burmese army. He wants to retire from service, but has been told he must first recruit at least five young men, regardless of their age, or pay a recruitment unit around 600,000 kyat (US $460) to do the job for him.

A source close to No 1 military recruitment unit based in Danyingon, Mingalardon, confirmed that soldiers wishing to retire after serving more than 20 years had first of all to sign up new recruits.

Railroad and bus stations, markets and public places are targeted by the army recruiters and civilian brokers in search of likely young candidates.

"Recruiters force the children to sign a letter confirming that they join the army of their own will and pledge to serve for at least 5 years," one source said.

Still Crying For Help

IN JUST 30 minutes, a young boy can master the use of an AK-47 machine gun. And a split second can turn him into a killer.

When Radhika Coomaraswamy first met a child soldier in Africa, she felt surprise and fear. "These boys come in with the swagger of grown men. They've been carrying guns, they have big shoulders, they act very masculine," she said.

But meeting these battle-scarred fighters, aged between 10 and 15, she soon heard the awful stories of abuse: boys torn from the arms of parents, beaten, given a gun and injected with drugs to make them ruthless in combat. "If you talk long enough, they break into being just children," she said.

Ms Coomaraswamy is the high-level United Nations official charged with giving voice to the boys — and, increasingly, girls — trapped in deadly wars.

She gave the annual University of Melbourne Chancellor's Human Rights Lecture last night, saying the problem of children in armed conflict is getting worse.

"One reason for this trend is the proliferation of small arms and light weapons," she said. Children are now just as lethal as an adult on the battlefield.

The UN puts the number of child-fighters worldwide at more than 250,000. Ms Coomaraswamy said the situation is most desperate in Africa's eastern Congo, where more than a decade of war has ravaged the resource rich region.

But children are pressed to fight in around 30 other conflicts, including in Burma and Sudan, and the risk goes beyond their recruitment as soldiers.

Young girls are abducted, raped and forced to work as camp labourers, she said. Many end up pregnant and suffer ongoing sexual violence.

Schools and hospitals have also become targets in "new wars" where ragtag militias fight in place of professional soldiers.

Praising Australia's official support for the work of her office, Ms Coomaraswamy said rich countries needed to think carefully about children in armed conflict when putting together overseas aid packages.

She said the world had taken many steps in the past decade to confront the threat to children in armed conflict. But she said governments were often too timid to act against those regimes and rebel groups who turned children into "fighting machines".

"It's really important for these children to know the world cares," she said.

Congo Breaks Record

Record numbers of children are being recruited to fight on the front line of eastern Congo's escalating and increasingly brutal conflict, it is claimed today.

Concern over the plight of child soldiers increased after aid workers for Save the Children reported seeing youngsters in militia close to some of the worst of the fighting near Goma, capital of the war-torn North Kivu district. The charity says that as well as acting as combatants, children are being recruited to work as porters, spies and sex slaves by the rampaging armies.

There was also evidence, the charity said, that militias were targeting schools to boost their numbers as clashes between government soldiers and rebels forced 800,000 people to flee their homes in the region, contributing to a major humanitarian emergency as people were left without access to clean water or health care.

Hussein Mursal, Save the Children's country director, called on the international community to step in to prevent another generation of Congolese children from being brutalised by armed conflict. "The situation for children is eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is catastrophic. Fighters from all sides are using children as frontline fodder, raping young girls and attacking houses," he said.

Ex-child soldiers have told aid workers how they were held captive for days in appalling conditions, either as a punishment from their own side or as prisoners of war.

Demobilized child soldiers cannot be returned to their homes for fear of being recruited again, the charity said. In the past year, the charity has demobilized 800 children from the armed groups.

The conflict in the mineral rich eastern Congo remains one of Africa's most intractable and deadly problems despite the end of a four-year war there in 2002 which drew in armies from half a dozen countries. Historic elections held last year, the first free vote in more than 40 years, also failed to stem the violence.

Its continuance is being fueled in part by rebels accused of orchestrating neighbouring Rwanda's 1994 genocide who were expelled from the country went to eastern Congo. One of those groups, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda, responsible for the deaths of 500,000 people, is among the most active recruiters of child soldiers, according to a recent United Nations report.

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to extend the 18,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in Congo for another year, the largest currently deployed anywhere in the world. It urged the Congolese government to address the crisis "in a comprehensive way". Congo's Interior Ministry has called a peace summit for Thursday to try to end the fighting in North Kivu.

Good News

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has commended the Sri Lankan Government's efforts in protecting interests of children by taking several measures, including the creation of a special task force on children.

In his latest report released yesterday, covering the period from 1 November 2006 to 14 September 2007, the United Nations Chief applauded the Government's creation of a special task force on children and armed conflict last April, and called on authorities to take further measures to prevent armed groups' abduction and recruitment of children as soldiers and to secure the release of current child soldiers.

The 20-page report of UN Secretary-General too proves that the recruitment of child soldiers has been reduced considerably. According to Moon's report, LTTE has recruited 262 children (including 32 who were re-recruited) between November 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007. But the report, based on information received by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the LTTE has recruited 756 children during the corresponding period of the privious year.

Despite some advances in the dialogue between UNICEF and the LTTE (through the so-called Child Protection Authority of the terrorist outfit which deals with child recruitment issues), there have been several hurdles, such as the LTTE's insistence that only children born after 1 January 1990 - who are 17 years old - would be released. This is in disregard of both international and national legal standards which state that 18 years is the minimum age of recruitment.The report also stated that the number of children recruited by the TMVP/Karuna faction between 1 November 2006 and 31 August 2007 was 207.

"Despite initial engagement on an action plan, the TMVP/Karuna faction demonstrated bad faith on a number of occasions, including leading the United Nations to a falsified training camp in Batticaloa and re-recruiting children within days of releasing them in the presence of UNICEF," the report stated.

"As of September, 2007, the TMVP/Karuna faction has not demonstrated a full commitment to stop recruiting children and has not released all children within their ranks," it added.

Full Article Here

Chad Moving Backwards

A UN programme to demobilise hundreds of child soldiers in Chad has been on hold since November following the resurgence of fighting between the army and rebel groups in the east.

"The process on standby," head of protection programmes with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Chad, Jean Francois Basse, told IRIN. "It's now all just a big mess."

UNICEF began helping hundreds of child soldiers to demobilize after signing an agreement with the government in May 2007. But in recent months, soldiers have reportedly been recruiting people, including children, by force.

Government spokesperson Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor responded to the allegations earlier in December saying that if troops are carrying out such raids they are not authorized to do so.

Human Rights Watch stated in a July report that the Chadian army and its allied paramilitary forces are keeping thousands of child soldiers out of demobilization efforts, despite the government's promises to release underage fighters.

full article here

UN Urges Countries to Find Kony

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, has urged all countries to do “everything in their power” to help arrest LRA leader Joseph Kony and his commanders indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ban told the sixth Assembly of States Parties meeting of the ICC, held at the UN headquarters in New York, that since the court was launched in July 2002, only two indicted individuals had been arrested and transferred to The Hague for trial.

“There are still a number of outstanding arrest warrants that have to be executed,” he stated. “I urge all member states to do everything within their powers to assist in enforcing these warrants.”

Paris Conference makes Pledge to Help Child Soldiers

African, Asian and South American nations known to have used child fighters in war endorsed a new international agreement Tuesday that commits them to track down and demobilize child soldiers and to punish their recruiters.

Unfortuantly there is no legal ramifications or backing. It's just words. Which means we have to rely on the moral strength and personal commitment of these governments and groups to take action.

Sixty nations endorsed the text. The United States did not. I don't understand that, the United States that I always have known should be at the forefront of such a pledge, leading the way for the human rights of these children. Now they don't even make the promise of help.

Participants at the Paris conference also drafted another text -- a guideline that gives governments, aid groups and educators concrete recommendations on how best to prevent the recruitment of children and reintegrate former child soldiers into society. The 31-page document urges caregivers to try to rekindle former fighter's family bonds and offer a wide range of educational and vocational training, from literacy classes to apprenticeships.

UK the next LTTE?

It has been revealed that the UK has sent a possible 15 soldiers to Iraq that were, gasp, 17 years old and, gasp, four of them were....female! Why they should make this distinction I really don't know. Ok, so is the UK the next LTTE? Should we start protesting? Possibly this is being blown out of proportion.

I do understand that they broke the UN agreement, and yes, they better take measures so that it doesn't happen again. But is this even on the same scale as recruiting 35,000 children for a rebel military faction? I don't think so.

So, slap on the wrist for the UK, and let's get back to war!

Maoists Must Let Children Soldiers Go

Human Rights Watch is demanding that the Maoist military stop recruiting children, especially since they signed a peace agreement in Nov 2006 that expressly forbids it.

HWR-"The peace agreement explicitly forbids the use of child soldiers, and complying with this will be a key test of the Maoists' good faith to uphold the accord."

Much to our 'surprise' the leader of the Maoists is denying recruiting or abducting children-

Maoist leader Prachanda responded by repeating the Maoists' official line: "We have never taken the policy to recruit children into our army. But in our military, they feed some children whose parents were martyred."

The local commanders are also blaming lower levels of the military for being lax in their discipline.

"Only when the Maoists, from the top leadership down to cadres on the ground, admit how many children are in their ranks and begin releasing them, can Nepalis be confident that their children will no longer be recruited for combat,"

Of course, this doesn't explain their various campaigns over the years that center on children, such as the "one family, one child" policy or various 'volunteer' propaganda.

On February 9, a UN Security Council working group on children and armed conflict, is scheduled to consider reported violations against children by all parties to Nepal's armed conflict. The working group will make recommendations for Security Council action. "The Security Council should make it clear to the Maoists that they must immediately end their practice of using child soldiers,"

Personally I would think stronger measures are in order. But since it took 4 months after the peace treaty for red flags to go up, I suppose a UN working group 'considering reported violations' so that they can make 'recommendations' for action is a good step, albeit a slow one.

A full article by PeaceJournalism.com can be found here.

War/Dance - New film about Child Soldiers

Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine won the Best Directing in a Documentary award at the Sundance Film Festival this week. War/Dance tells the story of three former child soldiers in northern Uganda.

The official page is here.

And the organizational page is here.

A quick clip from the Sundance review:

In War/Dance, a profoundly moving cinematic work of art, an indomitable beacon of light shines within a world of darkness. For the last 20 years, northern Uganda has been at war with a rebel force, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). In this war zone, children are not only the victims of the rebels--they are the rebels.

The LRA employs a horrifically effective process to fill its ranks--abducting children. War/Dance follows the historic journey of three of these children--Dominic, Rose, and Nancy--and their school in the Potango refugee camp, the first school from the northern war zone to make it to the finals of Uganda's national music and dance competition.

Amidst unimaginable violence and grief, these children sing and dance: they sing with vitality; they sing without fear; they sing in protest and in celebration. They dance and stomp to the rhythms of their ancestors. Devastated by the horrors of war, they carry the hopes and dreams of their entire village with them. Husband and wife filmmaking team Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine have crafted a consummate work that elevates nonfiction filmmaking to its highest level. War/Dance will renew your faith in the power of the human spirit to soar despite unspeakable odds.

If you had a chance to see this film please post and give your opinion and experience.

Children Soldiers - Nepal Maoists

Nepal Maoists and Child Recruitment

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) became well known in 1996, when they entered the picture in full force and launched the "Nepalese People's War". In August 2005, the European Union condemned CPN(M) for using children as soldiers in the civil war of Nepal. It claimed that about 400 child soldiers had died in the country's civil war.

In 2006 the CPN (Maoists) signed a 12 point agreement with the Seven Party Alliance (The Seven Party Alliance is a coalition of seven Nepali political parties seeking to end autocratic rule in the country). Following this, a three month ceasefire was declared. The rebels and government also agreed to manage arms and soldiers of the PLA and Nepalese army, as well as a ban on the recruitment of children.

Reuter's Alertnet has an article here regarding news that the Maoists are still recruiting child soldiers even now.

The international children's watchdog, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, claimed in its 2005 report, 'Caught in the Middle: Mounting Violations Against Children in Nepal's Armed Conflict', that up to 30 percent of the Maoist forces may be children.

The UN Secretary-General reported in 2007

16 January 2007] – Children in Nepal were still being recruited by the
Communist Party (Maoist) to serve as soldiers despite last April’s ceasefire
with the Government, the Secretary-General has warned in his latest report to
the Security Council, calling on the Maoists to immediately end the practice and
on both sides to do more to protect children’s rights.

Although many of the reported violations occurred prior to the
ceasefire between the State and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M),
“there are still serious abuses being perpetrated against children,” the report
states. “A serious concern since the April 2006 ceasefire is that recruitment
and use, and abductions of children by CPN-M continue.”

All concerned must fully respect international law concerning the
protection of children, including in the context of the peace process, and
ensure that specific provisions for children are included at all steps of the
negotiations. “CPN-M must immediately end the practice of use and recruitment of
children, as well as cease any new recruitment of children.”

The Secretary-General also recommends that the mandate of any further UN mission to Nepal should “explicitly incorporate child protection issues and include a specific child protection capacity” in order to help it to work more closely with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other agencies dealing with the issue.

A ceasefire and written agreement may appeast the masses, but the children are still victims and the truth is that resolution has not been achieved.

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to Stand Trial at International Court

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to Stand Trial at International Court


Finally, making a warlord answer for his crimes. Although this is going to be a hugely drawn out event, which may or may not end to the satisfaction of all, at least it's something. It will bring child soldiers to the world's eye, and hopefully be the start of international governments taking action against warlords like Dyilo.

The announcement that Dyilo would stand trial perhaps as early as this year:

The evidence against Thomas Lubanga was strong enough to “establish substantial grounds to believe” that he was responsible “for war crimes consisting of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15,” said presiding judge Claude Jorda of France.

If convicted he would face life in prison. Hardly what most people would say he deserves, but why make a martyr?

I love this line:

His lawyer says he is an innocent patriot who sought to end plundering of resources and bring peace to his mineral-rich region.

Innocent patriot? ahuh. Sell me another one. Of course is his own mind he believes himself to be a patriot acting in the best interest of his country...


An interesting fact:

The United States fiercely opposed the creation of the ICC, fearing its soldiers and citizens would be the target of what it claimed would be politically motivated prosecutions. But despite Washington's refusal to ratify the international treaty creating the court, 104 countries have signed up and the ICC is now investigating war crimes in Congo, Rwanda and the Sudanese province of Darfur.

Hm. I suppose the US is trying to stop a possible fire before it's started...but the ICC seems like the only group who has power over some of the world's worst criminals like Dyilo.

You can read more about the ICC and the USA policy on it here.

SLUNA Slams Allan Rock

"We are of the opinion that the choice of Allan Rock was a poor one"

Thus starts the official report released by SLUNA (Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada) regarding Allan Rock's investigation into the use of child soldiers in Sri Lanka.

Read previous posts regarding Allan Rock here and here.

...with his previous Liberal Party baggage, where his party had a close relationship with the LTTE's front organizations in Canada for electoral gains in about ten ridings in the Greater Toronto Area which depended on the promised block voting by the Tamil Diaspora in return for soft pedalling Canada's anti-terrorism laws against the LTTE. The exclusion of the LTTE from Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act by the Liberal Party went against the recommendations of Canada's Intelligence Services. It was also a well known fact that the LTTE front organizations paid $7.2 million for purchase of 60 tons of explosives including 10 tons of RDX from the Ukraine, which was used in the truck bombing of the Central Bank in Colombo and packing of 264 suicide body suits worn by Black Tiger Suicide Bombers to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi of India, President Premadasa of Sri Lanka, several other Sri Lankan leaders, and to kill thousands of innocent civilians in that country. It was also known that 30 percent of the funding for the LTTE was raised in Canada, but the requisite measures to suppress the financing of terrorism with Canadian funds in keeping with Canada's international obligations did not materialize under the Liberals. There is a high degree of possibility that most of the complainants were set up by the LTTE to accuse both the Karuna Group that they seek to liquidate in blood, and at the same time discredit the Government of Sri Lanka which has been raising the child recruitment issue to their detriment. The HRW knows having done other research in respect of extortion of the Tamil Diaspora in Canada and other western countries, that ordinary Tamils are extremely fearful of the LTTE and would not voice their views even though they live 10,000 miles away from the Tiger leader's hole in the jungles of Mullaitivu, as they know of the harm that can come to them and their relatives from this ruthless terrorist organization. What chance have Tamil civilians living in the east of Sri Lanka, next door to the Tiger Murder Machine, to act against the orders of the LTTE?

I have already commented on Allan Rock and his 'report' therefore this blogger refrains for stating the obvious.

Almost 6000 Children In the Hands of the LTTE

UNICEF has recorded 5956 abductions carried out by the LTTE for forced recruitment between January 2002 and December 2006, with 1012 of these being children under the age of 15 years which is considered a war crime.

What an insane world when almost 6000 children can disappear and be forced to kill.

SLUNA Rebuffs HRW Report on Sri Lankan Military Involvement in Abducting Child Soldiers for Karuna

The Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada (SLUNA) has issued a press release in response to the 100 page document by Human Rights Watch (HRW) that attempts to address the accusations.

Regarding the use of the Sri Lankan Military persons in helping Karuna members to abduct children from families and serve in the Karuna faction:

It has also been said that Karuna's men also wore Sri Lanka Army uniforms and carried weapons when they visited the villages to forcibly recruit children and adults. This does not clearly prove that Sri Lanka Army personnel had participated, as it could well have been Karuna's people dressed in army outfits similar to the LTTE's use of Army uniforms for attacks on civilians and abductions.

It is true, that the Karuna are not above playing a bit of dress up to confuse the issue. This, however, makes it impossible to prove who it was in the uniforms...

we find that HRW has failed to make a distinction between the government adopting an official policy in condoning Karuna's actions if any, and the possible actions or inactions of a few individual security forces personnel in the lower rungs of the organization.

However, this does pose the problem of the government being able to control their own troops. Which is another thing entirely.

Regarding the use of government checkpoints and controlled roads to transport children:

HRW also assumes that there are no other routes to the jungle training camps other than the main roads with a heavy military presence. Contrary to what is in the report, we cannot rule out the existence of jungle pathways from the villages to Karuna's camps that are far removed from the well patrolled main roads. The security forces cannot arbitrarily remove children accompanied by adults at the check points, unless they reveal their situation when their identity papers are being checked.

Although there is a decent arguement here, I would point out that it is unlikely a checkpoint would not notice the transport of scared children by Karuna military happening more than once. Perhaps there were 'incentives'? Again I realize that the government is not making official policy, but is only unable to control some of it's lower rung troops.

Regarding the non-assistance of government police responding to abduction complaints:

Considering the ground situation, with the large number of issues to be dealt with, it would have been a case of prioritizing immediate life and death situations over other complaints of missing persons involving a great deal of time and energy, and searches being restricted by 'No-Go' zones put in place by the CFA of 2002. Neither did the police or army have the luxury of men and means to sweep the jungles to apprehend the abductors and rescue the abducted children or adults.

Understandable, certainly. But what about making the complaints official and then, once sufficient number have been made, using this as evidence of the Karuna abducting children? Human rights groups and the government could then use their weapons of politics and pressure to stop the continuation of this. Instead the complaints and reports were given low priority. I can't help but point out it is not in the Sri Lankan governments best interest to accuse the Karuna faction, since they are both fighting the same enemy. However, do the means justify the end?

The government is confident that they have nothing to hide, and has in fact invited an International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIEGP) to monitor their Commission of Inquiry into recent alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka. These eminent persons have been drawn from leading countries such as the USA, UK, Japan, Netherlands, India, EU, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Australia and Canada.

Although I cannot say with certainty whether the government is indeed turning a blind eye to the Karuna abduction of children, I can comment that if they are...then that is not something a monitor or inquiry would be able to pinpoint. The whole point is that the government is not actively using child soldiers, but how would you prove they are not being a passive or oblivious bystander to another ally's actions?

Sri Lanka Government Denies Accusations of Child Soldiers

In a 'shocking' move, the government of Sri Lanka has denied the charges by Human Rights Watch regarding their 'blind eye' towards the recruitment of child soldiers by the Karuna faction. Their response?

"The Human Rights Watch lacked evidence to backup its allegations of military support for enlisting child soldiers, relying instead on “unsubstantiated” claims from a UN official. "

Of course UN officials have nothing better to do than travel around the country and made allegations against innocent governments. Right.

I personally think it interesting that the government only denied that they were helping, and did not try to deny that the Karuna (their allies) were using children as soldiers. Let's distract everyone.

Since it has been determined that the Karuna ARE using child soldiers, and that the Karuna are operating in areas occupied by the Sri Lanka government...doesn't A follow B? How do those children fall into the Karuna's hands, or get transported past government road blocks, or trained? I don't think 'proof' is needed. All it takes is some reasonable deduction skills.

However the government said it would “engage an independent and impartial process to investigate the allegations made." So the government is going to be impartial? Right.

“This process will be conducted to determine the facts,” it said, without revealing who would conduct the inquiry or when it would commence. The government promised a similar probe in November after Rock’s charges. I somehow doubt we're going to see any results, and if we do...can we trust them? I mean, if UN officials are running around making false accusations then we can hardly be expected to trust a democratic government...right?

An article on this can be found online at International News.

Japanese Dancer Choreographs Child Soldiers

In an innovative and completely unique vision, Fumiyo Ikeda, has choreographed a dance about the plight of child soldiers. Inspired by the book "Beasts of No Nation" she has teamed up with Benjamin Verdonck to produce "Nine Fingers".

Fumiyo has been part of Belgian dance company Rosas, led by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeke, for nine years. This is her first solo project and I, for one, applaud her choice of subjects. We need more people striving to bring awareness to this issue for something to finally happen.

Fumiyo will be performing in Brussels and throughout Europe. If you get a chance to see her perform, please post about your experience.

For full info see the article in The Japan Times.

Link to "Children With Guns" - New Official Button!

New:

Link to "Children With Guns" and help promote awareness, now you can use our official web button below.



Feel free to comment and leave us your URL if you linked to this blog.

Thank you,
Crystal

Sri Lanka Government - It is enough for good men to do nothing.

The Karuna military group in Sri Lanka works as an ally to the Sri Lanka government against the LTTE. The Sri Lanka government desperately needs the Karuna. But what are they willing to give up to get their assistance? Apparently their morals, integrity, and reputation.

The 100 page report, "Complicit in Crime: State Collusion in Abductions and Child Recruitment by the Karuna Group," Human Rights Watch documents a pattern of abductions and forced recruitment by the Karuna group over the past year. With case studies, maps and photographs, it shows how Karuna cadres operate with impunity in government-controlled areas, abducting boys and young men, training them in camps, and deploying them for combat.

"The Karuna group is abducting children in broad daylight in areas firmly under government control," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The government is fully aware of the abductions but allows them to happen because it's eager for an ally against the Tamil Tigers."

This includes letting abducted children through government controlled check points as well as refusing to file parent's complaints or undertake a proper investigation into the missing children. I suppose they don't feel they need to, since they know where the children are.

Karuna completely denies the existance of children in his armed militia, even though the proof is there. Everyone knows it, but because of politics we have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Pretend it's not there even though you can smell it and you just stepped in it...

Should the Sri Lankan government be held accountable for negligence? Are they responsible, even though they haven't actively recruited children?

Relief Web has the full article.

Unicef podcast - Child Soldiers Return Home

Unicef podcast - Child Soldiers Return Home

Southern Sudanese former child soldiers tell the story of their plight as soldiers in the rebel army, and about how they were able to flee that situation.

This is a very intense and informative episode with insight into the physiological aspect of child soldiering.

Child Soldiers on Podcast - ABC National Radio

In the mind of the child soldier

Broadcast aug 2006 - ABC National Radio - All in the Mind
transcript available here

Northern Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sri Lanka, Columbia. Some of the world's conflicted countries where young children are recruited, or violently abducted, to serve as soldiers. Two psychologists at the coalface, and a teenage abductee, join Natasha Mitchell to discuss the complex psychology of child recruitment, reintegration and repatriation. Little innocents or self-aware agents? A confronting issue that's not straightforward. Stories of hope prevail too.

Disturbing content, graphic.

Child Soldier on Podcast

Here On Earth - Global Radio Conversations has a a podcast episode entitled Child Soldiers in Uganda. It focusses on a number of students who documented child soldiers in Uganda and interviews a former child soldier.

• Peter Quaranto, co-founder of Uganda Conflict Action Network
• Charles Bongomin, former child soldier, Fulbright scholar at American University

Children Soldiers Worldwide - Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army

Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) , led by Joseph Kony, operated in the north from bases in southern Sudan. The area affected by the LRA started growing in 1997 - The LRA sought to overthrow the Ugandan Government and brought intense violence to the population in northern Uganda. LRA forces also targeted local government officials, employees, international humanitarian convoys and local NGO workers.

Basically this group doesn't care who you are, what you're doing, or whose side your on. Everyone is fair game.

In particular, the LRA abducted numerous children and, at clandestine bases, terrorized them into virtual slavery as guards, concubines, and soldiers. In addition to being beaten, raped, and forced to march until exhausted, abducted children were forced to participate in the killing of other children who had attempted to escape. Amnesty International reported that without child abductions, the LRA would have few combatants. Most human rights NGOs place the number of abducted children still held captive by the LRA at around 3,000, although estimates vary substantially. (http://www.globalsecurity.org)

The LRA rebels say they are fighting for the establishment of a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments. I'm not sure which ten they are referring to, since the ones I know definately don't include killing innocent people and children.

Children from outlaying villages congregate in the towns at night to avoid being kidnapped and taken by the LRA. Even priests and volunteers gather at night.

In August 2006, the Uganda government and LRA agreed to peace talks. This quickly broke down and on January 20th, 2007 the LRA formally refused to continue stating "Peace talks in Sudan are closed forever,".

Save The Children organization has this very stark remark which basically sums it up:

"If talks fail, children, particularly in the north of the country, will once again live in fear of the physical, emotional and sexual violence that dominated the decades-long conflict in the north. The emergency situation in northern Uganda is worsening by the day. Increasing ambushes and attacks risk obstructing humanitarian aid trying to reach communities in the Pader district, and this could quickly spread to other areas."
http://www.ugandacan.org/

The hardest part with this situation is that a lot of the humanitarian aid sent to Uganda is taken by the LRA or destroyed. The workers are in constant jeapordy and there are no safe havens.

The UN website states their action against child soldiers in Uganda as follows:

Effective prevention will have to be directed at the root causes of children's recruitment and participation in conflict, at particularly vulnerable groups of children at risk for recruitment, and at the recruiters themselves. The United Nations, the international and local communities, and countless non-governmental organizations are working worldwide to reduce poverty, improve Educational and vocational opportunities, and create avenues for the participation of youth in the development of their communities and countries. In volatile places, such efforts are essential to future peace and security.

The official article on UN.org.

They list 3 ways the international community is working to ensure the safety of these children.

1. Addressing the root causes
2. Demobilizing children and rehabilitation
3. Avoiding the risk of re-recruitment

Although this may at first appear a bit sketchy and more of a reaction rather than action, it does address all the issues. The only way they could be more effective is to get rid of the LRA completely, and that is obviously not within their power.

I'm not certain where the International Courts stand on this. Right now they are dealing with the former head of the Union of Congolese Patriots in the eastern region of Congo, Thomas Dyilo, who is charged with enlisting and conscripting child soldiers. I don't believe they have attempted to charge anyone in the LRA.


With the LTTE getting the spotlight lately, Uganda is in the shadows. We can only hope the peace talks resume and that some semblance of peace is agreed upon.

For your interest the documentary "Invisible Children" is about the children of Uganda and the LRA. Their official site is here.

Allan Rock - Possibly Bought and Paid For

To catch up on the Allan Rock situation (previous post about his initial report on child soldiers in Sri Lanka is here) we have an article on tothecenter.com regarding his alleged involvement with some colleages who materially supported the LTTE in previous years. A photograph from a few years ago caught Allan and his associates together, although no proof of his knowledge or involvement in the support of the LTTE has been found.
It has also been brought up that his report was not up to the regulated standards and will probably not hold much water.

Minister Keheliya Rambukwella says the Sri Lankan government is having a zero tolerance policy on child soldiers and maintains, "Allan Rock in his report to the UN has failed to provide the much needed credible evidence to prove his allegations against the Security Forces"

I suggest reading the article and forming your own opinion as this blogger doesn't yet have enough information to accuse anyone of anything.

LTTE Base Captured by STF - Child Torture Areas Discovered

Recently the STF (Special Task Forces) captured an LTTE base at Kangikadaichi Aru, Ampara. They discovered looted humanitarian aid supplies as well as cages and cells for civilians and children. These 'torture chambers' have been mentioned by numerous escaped children, known as "Siththirawada Kadai", (Butcher's Place). The original article at NMAT is here, and pictures from it are shown below.






Maybe this will bring the UN and world into a more decisive action against the LTTE and anyone who could commit these kinds of immoral actions against innocents.

Children Soldiers Worldwide - Tamil Tigers

Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka

The LTTE seems to be getting the most headlines these days. I certainly have posted in this blog repeatedly concerning their blatant disregard for the objections constantly voiced by the UN and other world leaders. (Past postings on the LTTE can be seen here)

A brief overview of the group. The LTTE also known as the Tamil Tigers, is a politico-military organization that has been waging a secessionist campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the 1970s in order to secure a separate state for the Tamil majority regions in the north and east of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). The LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 29 countries and is headed by its founder, Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The LTTE recruit/abduct the children into training camps where they give them the basic knowlegde they need to shoot a gun. They also send them on 'missions' to boister their courage, dope them up on drugs to make them feel invincible, and generally brainwash them. A more detailed description is below:

A typical unit of children was trained for four months in the jungle. Woken at 0500hrs they assembled, fell in line, and their leader raised the LTTE flag. This was followed by two hours of physical training, after which the recruits engaged in weapons training, battle and field craft, and parade drill. During the rest of the afternoon, time was spent both reading LTTE literature and more physical training. Lectures on communications, explosives and intelligence techniques continued into the evening. No contact was permitted between the camp and the children's homes during the training period. Sleep and food were regulated during training to build endurance. After 1990, when children were pitched into battle against Sri Lankan forces, the LTTE made training tougher. The military office of the LTTE headed by Wedi Dinesh developed a training programme that would make the child fighters even more daring than adults. This included the screening of Rambo-style videos in which the daredevil approach is invariably successful. The trained child fighters were also prepared for battle by attacking unprotected or weakly defended border villages. Several hundred men, women and children have been killed by LTTE child combatants armed with automatic weapons guided by experienced fighters during such 'inoculation attacks'.

-http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/terroristoutfits/

Now, what exactly is being done to stop the LTTE from further recruitment of children?

The UN has repeatedly put the LTTE on their "shame list". Not quite sure how much that does, but at least they acknowledge them. However UNICEF also states that the group recruited 315 child soldiers between April and December 2006.

Under the 2003 Action Plan for Children Affected by War, the first and only formal human rights agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, they agreed to end all recruitment of children and to release children from its forces. However, there is a general concensis that this was never held up, the LTTE only 'put on a show' by releasing a handful and then stepped up the recruitment even more.

The LTTE has in the past encouraged every family to give a son or daughter to the cause and has militarized Tamil schools, sometimes for use as military training grounds.

As of January 17th 2007, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has recommended to the Security Council to take "targeted measures" to prevent separatist Tamil Tigers rebels and a breakaway group Karuna faction from abducting children to fight as soldiers in the bloody conflict on the island. The details of these "targeted measures" are listed in a previous post here.













Karuna and the Sri Lankan Government Forces

It's impossible to talk about the LTTE without at least mentioning their offshoot, the Karuna.
In March 2004, the Karuna group led by the commander of the Eastern Province, V. Muralitharan, known by his nom de guerre Karuna, split with the LTTE. At the time, Karuna publicly declared that his opposition to the LTTE's policy of recruiting children was among the reasons for the split.

Since then this group also has been reported recruiting/abducting children into their armed conflicts. UNICEF had documented 194 cases of child recruitment by the Karuna group as of November 2006. UNICEF estimates that the real figures may be three times higher. Worse still, there have been reports that the Karuna are helping the government of Sri Lanka recruit children. It's the ol' "keeping up with the Jones's" in a sick way.

This sheds some suspicion on the Sri Lankan government, at the very least they are taking no action against child recruitment. However, more direct involvement has recently been confirmed by Ambassador Allan Rock, a United Nations advisor on children and armed conflict, who, during a mission to Sri-Lanka in November 2006 found "strong and credible evidence that certain elements of the government security forces are supporting and sometimes participating in the abductions and forced recruitment." (See my previous post on his findings here)

Since then, Colonel Karuna, while still denying he ever recruited children, has committed to work with UNICEF on four actions: informing commanders that recruiting and using children is forbidden; training commanders on child rights; releasing any children among Karuna ranks: and giving UNICEF monitors free access to Karuna camps to ensure that there are no children there.

We will have to wait and see if these commitments will be honored. We also, unfortuanly, have to wait and see whether the secretary general's suggestions of taking action against the LTTE sparks any action.

References:
http://www.child-soldiers.org/coalition/action-appeals

Sri Lanka - LTTE and Karuna Both Out to Get Children

The Secretary-General's latest report to the Security Council condemns both the LTTE and the off-shoot Karuna for the practice of abducting children for their war. (See more on this report in a previous post)

The Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy commented that:

[this] shows the ongoing attempt by the world body to end the global scourge of recruiting children as soldiers, along with other violations of children in times of conflict.

The new report covers Nov 2005-Oct 2006 and says that in 12 months UNICEF has reported hundreds of incidents of children being recruited by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and ALSO that the Sri Lankan army has been involved in recruitment of children by the Karuna faction.

Again the UN and the Security Council calls for an end to using children in this armed conflict. But despite the continued shout-outs, they still lack the means to enforce their demands.

Ms. Coomaraswamy said it best:

“Despite these progressive developments many challenges remain and more action has to be taken to protect the interests of children trapped in situations of armed conflict. Though a great deal has been done in formulating standards and receiving commitments, the actual implementation on the ground is far from satisfactory,”

How can the UN and security council actually stand behind the demands? If the world is in agreement, what can we all do?

Read an article on this at UN News Center online.

UN Gets Down and Dirty with LTTE

In the report submitted to the Security Council on Jan 11th, the UN Secretary-General’s report on Sri Lanka has recommended that “targeted measures be undertaken against LTTE political and military leadership” for violations of children’s rights.

(read my other posts about the LTTE and this situation here)

This is the first time the UN has suggested targeting the LTTE leadership and about time!

The full text of the recommendation published exclusively in the Asian Tribune reads: “Although limited progress has been made in the release of some children from the LTTE over the last three years, the LTTE’s refusal to completely cease recruitment and use of children, release all children remaining on the UNICEF database, and engage in transparent procedures for release and verification of demobilization merits that targeted measures be undertaken against LTTE political and military leadership.”

It's a shock that it took three years to realize that the LTTE isn't about to stop using children as soldiers. Of course they needed to show good faith in their agreement with the LTTE, as well as be careful not to sway public opinion against them by going after the LTTE without evidence.

This is the second shut down the LTTE has suffered this week.

Earlier this week the Tamil Tigers were also hit hard by the Indian Foreign policy statement on Sri Lanka which stated that India’s commitment to Sri Lankan sovereignty and territorial integrity was not dependent on any future solution that would appease the Tamils.

An article on the Asian Tribune sums it up nicely:

From a global perspective this is a decisive turning point which will push the Tamil Tigers into a corner from which they cannot escape unless they re-enter the peace process with a total commitment find a negotiated settlement.

Finally the words have been said and the world community and major organizations are putting down their collective feet.

The other issue that was at least brought up was the accusations that the Sri Lanka government was also using children in the armed conflicts. Alan Rock, the special UN advisor, made a report that was less than polite towards the Sri Lankan government. (Read about my previous post about Alan Rock's report here)

In their report the Secretary General merely “stresses the need for the Government to immediately investigate allegations of certain elements of the Sri Lanka security forces involvement in aiding recruitment and /or abduction of children by the Karuna faction in the East”.

I'm posting below all the recommendations made by the United Nations Secretary General that the Security Council will be looking at. This is courtesy of the Asian Tribune (link found here)

1. I urge all parties to the conflict to immediately cease all violence and re-engage in the peace process in order to reach a negotiated settlement. Such a peace settlement should include provisions to ensure the protection of children, thereby preventing grave violations and abuses against children.

2. Although limited progress has been made in the release of some children from the LTTE over the last three years, the LTTE’s refusal to completely cease recruitment and use of children, release all children remaining on the UNICEF database, and engage in transparent procedures for release and verification of demobilization merits that targeted measures be undertaken against LTTE political and military leadership.

3. The LTTE must immediately cease the release of children to the ESDC and instead release them directly to their families as stipulated in the action plan, with adequate information shared with UNICEF for the purpose of timely verification.

4. The LTTE must respect the right of freedom of movement of IDPs to leave areas of conflict and cease all use of civilians as human shields.

5. The TMVP and its military wing, the “Karuna faction” should cease all recruitment and use of child soldiers, including abductions with immediate effect and engage with UNICEF, as a matter of priority, to release all children among its ranks, ensure a transparent verification process and devise procedures for age verification with UNICEF, to prevent further recruitment, failing which, targeted measures may be considered.

6. I stress the need for the Government to immediately investigate allegations of certain elements of the Sri Lanka security forces involvement in aiding recruitment and /or abduction of children by the Karuna faction in the East and invite immediate support from UNICEF and other relevant agencies to address these allegations.

7. I encourage the Co-chairs and the Norwegian Facilitation to approach the parties to include a substantial child protection component into the mandate of the peace monitoring mission, in order to intensify efforts to monitor and verify compliance by parties listed in annex II of the 2006 Secretary General’s report on children and armed conflict.

8. The UN country team stands ready to support the Government of Sri Lanka in rapidly devising child-appropriate release and interim care for “surrendees” from armed groups in the custody of the Government of Sri Lanka.

9. The international community should support the work of UNICEF and other relevant agencies to increase the capacity of the monitoring and reporting mechanism, including the necessary funding to increase the capacity of the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission and the National Child Protection Agency.

10. I urge all parties to recognize and commit toward maintaining the neutrality and security of schools, hospitals, and religious institutions as “safe zones” in conflict-affected areas.

11. I call on the Government of Sri Lanka and all relevant parties to ensure open and safe access to humanitarian actors in Sri Lanka to affected areas.

What do you think of these recommendations? If applied, will they help solve the problems faced by Sri Lanka or just offer a temporary reprive?

Child Abductions/Soldiers video clip

Taken from Childsoldiergroup on YOUTUBE the below video tells us a bit about life as a child soldier.

Former Child Soldier speaks out...

Found a great blog (Kmareka.com) entry detailing a former child soldier who is now working with Unicef to speak out. The link also contains a video of this man talking about child soldiers. Definately worth a read.

Take Action with Amnesty International

Urge Democratic Republic of Congo Not to Abandon Child Soldiers

Take a moment and take action. Amnesty International has set up a letter you can sign and send to add your voice. It only takes a minute online, so go here and do your bit.

What else can we do? Ideas, links or suggestions are welcome.

New book on Child Soldiers by Michael Wessells

Child Soldiers - From Violence to Protection
Michael Wessells

New book that just came out this month, written by an experienced child protection practitioner with Christian Children's Fund and Professor at Columbia University and Randolph-Macon College. The following is an quote from the Harvard University Press website.

Compelling and humane, this book reveals the lives of the 300,000 child soldiers around the world, challenging stereotypes of them as predators or a lost generation. Kidnapped or lured by the promise of food, protection, revenge, or a better life, children serve not only as combatants but as porters, spies, human land mine detectors, and sexual slaves. Nearly one-third are girls, and Michael Wessells movingly reveals the particular dangers they face from pregnancy, childbirth complications, and the rejection they and their babies encounter in their local contexts.

We need more books like this to get it into the main stream that child soldiers in armed conflicts is not a throw away issue. You can see some other books on this subject in my earlier post here.

If you've read this book or would like to comment on it, please leave us a message!

Child Soldiers and Coffee

A few links about Starbuck's upcoming book written by a former child soldier. If you missed my last post about this, look here.

"For One More Day" is a sentimental novel by a brand-name author about a son and his late mother. "A Long Way Gone" is a debut book about Beah's years as a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone, in the 1990s, when his parents were killed and the author was carrying a gun by age 13.

Here's a small article on the new book Starbucks is going to be selling about a former child soldier, on mediabistro.com.

Also, Starbucks Gossip blog has a small blurb on the new book.

NWCN News article.

Yourmedianews.com article.

The Seattle Times has a longer piece.

What do you think about Starbuck's campaign? Are they sincere or just out to make a buck/foster good opinion?

Child Soldiers an Excuse for USA to Catch Terrorists

We've heard about the Islamic government in Somalia being forced from power, this done by the Ethiopians and a healthy dose of US help. Why would the US help? Perhaps because Fazul Mohammed and two other alleged high level al-Qaeda terrorists reside there. The American Prospect Online has an article today regarding this, I quote:

A State Department spokesperson told The New York Times that the Bush administration, in the Times's paraphrase, "was concerned about reports that the Islamists were using child soldiers and abusing Ethiopian prisoners of war." Thus the U.S. backing. It ought not require spelling out that the use of child soldiers and abuse of prisoners of war in Africa have never been much of a concern to the United States. In fact, Ethiopia's relationship with the United States is a strategic marriage of convenience.

How can a government like the US not realize their actions in attacks on Somalia are aiding the Ethiopians? Do they not realize that their actions are effecting an entire country? I'm not judging the Islamic or other governments that have been in place in Somalia...the only people who know which one would be better for the people are the people. But how can the US step in without being asked for aid or assistance, and change a country like this? Playing God comes to mind...
why should an entire country be punished because some terrorists are hiding there?

Do you think the US was right in their actions? Could they have gone about this in a different manner?

A Shout Out

As the author of this blog I'm trying my best to give you the skinny on what's really happening based on articles, news, and other internet based information. What I need from you visitors is comments, insights, knowledge, experiences, and anything else you can give me. I'm trying to build awareness, so I need to know if there are people out there becoming aware.

Here's a shout out.

Child Soldiers in Somalia are Currently in Hiding

After the Islamic miltia known as the Council of Islamic Courts was driven from power in Somalia, a few months ago, children who were involved have been hiding out. One child, recovering from his wounds (various bullet wounds) says he wants to go back to fighting for his religion after he recovers even if it means his death.

Unicef and Save the Children are calling for a release, on both sides, of children soldiers. However, if other children feel the same as the one above...what can be done? Of course both sides deny using children, (nudge nudge, wink wink) but first hand reports suggest otherwise.

Read the whole article on the International Herald Tribune.

Is a child fighting for his religion a just cause, or the result of conditioning by the government/religion/society?

NEPAL: Child soldiers 'still recruited by Maoists

Reuters Alertnet has brought forward the growing threat for children in Nepal. Although a peace treaty (which included a ban on child soldiers) was signed in November 2006 by Maoist rebels, there are growing concerns about child recruitment.

An 16 year old boy recently escaped one of the training camps in December 2006. The article states:

"We have been monitoring the situation closely and we hope that the Maoists release the child soldiers that they [allegedly] have been recruiting," said Usha Thapaliya from the local rights group Insec.

Not a very strong statement, "we HOPE that" they will release the children. I think we all HOPE for that, but what exactly is being done?

Thapaliya said there was no accurate data on the number of child soldiers in the PLA. Maoists, however, consistently deny recruiting children.

I think we all know my opinion on the denial issue. Saying it does not make it so, and pointing fingers is becoming a new trend.

The international children's watchdog, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, claimed in its 2005 report, 'Caught in the Middle: Mounting Violations Against Children in Nepal's Armed Conflict', that up to 30 percent of the Maoist forces may be children.

Thirty percent?? And all they can do is "HOPE" that the children get released. Unbelievable.

Dipak admitted that children worked as porters, messengers and performers in Maoist cultural programmes but he explained they could not be categorised as child soldiers.

According to the United Nations children's fund (UNICEF), a child solider is any boy or girl under 18 who is involved in any other capacity than combatant, such as being a porter or an informer.

The Maoist rebels are offering up to 70$us a month, which is a fortune is some countries, as well as a secure future. Of course these promises have yet to be seen by the children who are now involved, but hope springs eternal apparently.

Read the whole article on Reuters Alertnet here.

Starbucks sells book about Child Soldier

Starbucks Coffee has put a stamp of approval on a new book it will distribute throughout it's stores called, "A Long Way Gone" and is the memoir of Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone. This book will be on shelves February 15th.

Ishmael Beah was helped by UNICEF, to which Starbucks will donate $2 for every copy of the book it sells. Not alot, grant you, but it's something. And since Starbucks has thousands of stores worldwide - it'll make a difference. Make sure you pick up a copy.

You can find an article about it here.
The Starbucks official site has no info as of yet, but check back.

Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, read the book last fall. The lesson, he said, is how war and violence affect children around the world. It is also "a gripping account of hope and redemption borne out of a world of violence," Lombard said.

Jonathan Galassi, president of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the book's publisher, said that Starbucks' backing will mean more sales than the book would have gotten otherwise.

"It's going to provide the book with a lot more exposure than it would normally get," Galassi said. "I'm very excited they chose a fresh new voice and such a courageous subject."

Video Blog on Child Soldiers

Phil's Blog on Zaadz has a fantastic informative and moving video about child soldiers which includes interviews with the children and other information. I suggest we all take a closer look. The blog is here.

LTTE holds over 50 child soldiers in a Camp at Iralaikulam; Three fugitives revealed

LTTE holds over 50 child soldiers in a Camp at Iralaikulam; Three fugitives revealed

Three LTTE fugitives surrendered to the Security Forces this morning (Thursday the 11th of January) said that the LTTE is running a concentration camp for child soldiers at Iralaikulam in Batticaloa.

The three youth aged between 17 to 23 years arrived at the Army roadblock at Mavadivembu in Batticaloa around 7.45a.m. The youths further revealed that they had been abducted by the LTTE during the first week of January and were forced to join the terror outfit.

How crazy to think that this is going on TODAY. While we're sitting here reading this...

One of the fugitive who was also an underage LTTE rookie told defence.lk , that he had to risk his life fleeing the LTTE camp in which he had to undergo unbearable torment.

"There were over 50 other children in the camp who had been abducted by the LTTE and forcibly given military training" he added.

It is further revealed that two of the three fugitives were employees of Mitisui Cement Company, Trincomalee and were abducted while they were on their way to see their parents.

"We had good jobs and never had any intention to join the LTTE and become a suicide loser. That's why I risked my life in fleeing their (LTTE) camp" one of the youths told defence.lk.

The original article found on the Ministry of Defence Sri Lanka website.

Allan Rock's Report - True or False?

Allan Rock, the Special Advisor to the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict (he's very special apparently) has made a report of his findings after several brief stops in Colombo, Ampara, Batticaloa, Kilinochchi and Jaffna.

An article (media release) from the Sri Lanka United Association of Canada and written by Mahinda Gunasekera, Honorary President of the Association (also posted on Lankaweb) calls him a liar and says he's been mislead.

I'm going to quote bits of the letter but I want you to bear in mind this letter was written by a group that is trying to foster good relations between Sri Lanka and Canada / North America. I'm not saying they are wrong, I'm just saying they have good reason to negate any of Allan Rock's findings as his reports put alot of the blame on the Sri Lanka government.

Allan Rock, the Special Advisor to the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, on a flying visit lasting ten days covering areas far apart as Colombo, Ampara, Batticaloa, Kilinochchi and Jaffna, has naively rushed to conclusions, making wild accusations of complicity by members of Sri Lanka’s Security Forces in the abduction and forced conscription of underage children by the Karuna Group which broke away from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2004, on mere hearsay presented to him.

Mr. Rock has obviously been influenced by the controversial Nordic SLMM (Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission) whose partiality towards the Tamil Tiger Terrorists has been demonstrated previously by their leaking information confidentially given to them of planned moves by the Sri Lanka Navy to apprehend a vessel smuggling weapons for the LTTE, proposing special sea lanes for movement of the LTTE’s Sea Tiger Naval Craft in Sri Lanka’s sovereign waters, blaming unknown third parties to shield the LTTE from serious acts of violence including their sinking of a Chinese owned cargo vessel chartered to carry essential commodities to the civilians in the the northern Jaffna peninsula.

When I went to clarify the validity of the above statement I found this report by the NAT (Norwegians Against Terrorism). I can't, of course, vouch for the truth of either of these statments. However I thought it best to present them either way.

The following is a statement by the NAT from their report.

The SLMM has been a failure from day one. The SLMM has a very limited mandate and was a toothless organization monitoring a worthless ceasefire agreement (CFA).

LTTE made sure their Norwegian friends was leading the SLMM. All along, pro LTTE friendly Norwegian generals have been leading the SLMM. General Telefsen had to leave the SLMM after it was discovered he helped the LTTE with intelligence information, enabling an LTTE arms smuggling vessel to escape the SL Navy.

It then goes on to quote the Human Right Watch (HRM) who reported in Aug 2003, "The SLMM appears to lack both sufficient political distance from the negotiation process and a genuine capacity to investigate these incidents." I'm not sure this constitutes real proof, but at least it offers a small validation.

Rock made some scanty remarks about the LTTE’s child recruitment referring to their assurance of taking steps to release all of their child soldiers by January 2007, whereas the LTTE has scoffed at the UN despite their earlier undertaking to take similar measures as per their pledge given to the UN’s Special Representative, Mr. Olara Otunnu.

The UN’s failure to have the LTTE fulfill their prior undertaking to release their child soldiers is a serious black mark on the UN’s ability to effectively safeguard children, which Allan Rock conveniently ignored and instead attempted to divert attention to alleged acts of wrong doing by the government’s security forces which he based on mere hearsay or village gossip, which he blurted our loudly to the media.

According to UNICEF and HRW, Karuna released nearly 2000 child recruits in his ranks at the time he broke off from the LTTE. UNICEF now reports that Karuna has since recruited about 185 child soldiers. The government’s security forces could only intervene if the abducted children being taken past government check points if any give an indication as to their position when their identity papers are verified, as otherwise, they have no authority to detain persons passing through.

If Karuna is in fact abducting children to enlist in his forces, he would know of jungle tracts to reach his training camps in the jungles without using the main streets and risk detection. The unsubstantiated allegations made by Allan Rock was about members of Sri Lanka’s Security Forces scouting for potential child soldiers in the predominantly Tamil villages in the east to be abducted by the Karuna Group which split up from the LTTE. He even went on to say that the government troops would take photos of potential child victims which were then passed on to Karuna’s men, who would then grab them from the care of the parents.

How naïve could Allan Rock be to sell such absurdities, because Karuna led LTTE fighting units from 1976 to 2004, and does not need to have any party scout for him in Tamil villages as he knows the terrain including the surrounding jungles better than anyone else. Rock may fool other naïve persons in the UN and international community, but he cannot fool knowledgeable observers who understand the ground situation.

So, despite the opinionated and rather fanatical sound to this "letter", there are some good truths in there. Indeed the SLMM has enough of a past history to be doubted, as much as any group interveining in such a corrupt conflicted country. As well, the UN has not yet gotten the LTTE to release their child "hostages" which is indeed a black mark on their credibility.

The end story? The LTTE continues to recruit and kidnap children to use as child soldiers. Does anyone else? Who knows? If one group gets away with little more than a slap on the wrist, why wouldn't other political power groups do the same? In Sri Lanka, life is cheap.

Read other posts I've done on the LTTE for other insights.

Is Allen Rock for real or has he been mislead? Can we trust his recommendations?

What good is International law?

Relief Web just posted a new article on the killings in Chad during 2006. I quote part of it below:

Meanwhile, militia groups and Sudanese rebel movements with bases in the area have been responsible for the recruitment and use of child soldiers. These abuses constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law.

The article goes on to list various atroicities and crime that are going on without any consequences.

There have been no investigations into killings, incidents of rape or other forms of abuse and the perpetrators of serious crimes are enjoying total impunity.

The solution proposed is as follows:

The United Nations Security Council should authorize an international presence of military personnel and human rights monitors along the Chad/Sudan border to deter further attacks on civilians, to monitor the complex political and social dynamics that contribute to communal violence, to provide essential information on human rights issues that are currently ignored, to support civilian protection efforts, and to inform future UN and international responses to the crisis in eastern Chad. Additionally, an international presence could monitor the Darfur arms embargo and the movement of armed groups in the border zone.

The Security Council should also call on the Sudanese government to cease support of armed groups responsible for abuses against civilians and on the government of Chad to cease support for Darfur rebel factions and armed groups responsible for attacks on civilians, the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and other human rights abuses.

I think what the author of this article is trying to get across is the simple truth that a 'law' means nothing when there is no one to enforce it. Do you think these people care that using children as soldiers is against the law? I'm sure it keeps them up at night...

A Fellow Blogger - Help Child Soldiers

I have found a fellow blogger dedicated to Child Soldiers in armed conflicts. It's a Xanga site and the link is here. It has some basic info about the issue and what not. Go see it and show your support!

If you have a blog or know of one that deals with this issue be sure to let me know. Together we make a greater impact.

Sierra Leone Odyssey - Using Film to Heal Wounds

A new article in the Times Colonist (Victoria BC Newspaper) tells of a UVIC students plan to goto Sierra Leone and film street children and their stories. I thought this was a fantastic idea, as long as it can eventually get to the general public. The problem with using film and art is that the people who want to look at it aren't nessasarily the ones that NEED to.

One goal of her stay in the capital city of Freetown will be to help street youth create a documentary that features their stories and music. Many of them are former "child soldiers" forced into war.

We're trying to get them to speak out for peace. A lot of them are ex-child soldiers and ex-combatants, and now the big problem for peace in Sierra Leone is trying to get the youth more involved in what they feel their vision is for their country.

I wish more people were brave enought to do this sort of thing. Actually looking these people in the eye changes you so that you can't help but do something drastic or at least try.

Child Abductions: Who Cares?

In a recent article by the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, entitled Child Abductions: Who Cares?, the LTTE's practice of abducting children was given a realistic look.

Whether the LTTE owns up to child abductions or not, the entire world is fully aware of its crimes against children. The UN has placed it on its List of Shame for that reason. But, the question is why the world is not doing enough to rein in the Tigers for the sake of hapless children, many of whom have stopped schooling for fear of abductions.

Again with the "List of Shame". Dang. That'll show em! But the real question is raised...Why the world is not doing enough to help these kids.

If this was happening in North America do you think the response would be the same?? Can you imagine what would happen? Are we simply more protective of our children or do we just have more options?

Strangely, in a world where international aid for sovereign states is linked to human rights, terrorist groups perpetrating heinous crimes against children (as well as others) are allowed to operate in the very countries that lead the global democratisation campaign from the front, despite bans!

The world's view right now seems to be focused on the Middle East, we have no time to spare for anyone else, no matter if it's children or how desperate their plight may be. If the US showed as much initiative and full force in Sri Lanka, the LTTE would have been decimated long ago.

The human rights activists, the Co-chairs and the international community don't seem to be concerned about children at all. They have apparently deceived themselves into believing that it is a problem that could be solved with the help of an occasional press release or by making a little noise at some forums.

So true, so true. How am I making a difference here? I'm probably not. But since this is the only weapon I have, I'm weilding it as well as I can.

Read my other posting about the LTTE.

What could we do to get the nation to shift their concern to Child Soldiers in Armed Conflicts?

Book List about Child Soldiers

For anyone wanting to read more about child soldiers in armed conflicts, I've compiled a list of books on the subject. This is in no way comprehensive.

Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War
- Jimmie Briggs
Looks at how children are used to wage war and terrorism in such localities as Rwanda, Colombia, and Uganda.

Armies Of The Young: Child Soldiers in War and Terrorism
- David M. Rosen
"No thinking person, no media commentator, no political leader can afford to be without this book--not if they care about the truth and want to understand one of the more awful realities of our time. It will stir you to action on behalf of the world's vulnerable children." --Phyllis Chesler

Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight
- Rachel Brett, Irma Specht
Young Soldiers explores the reasons that adolescents who are neither physically forced nor abducted choose to join armed groups. Drawing on in-depth interviews with the soldiers themselves, the authors offer an account of the role that war, poverty, education, politics, identity, family, and friends all play in driving these young men and women to join military life. They also address the important issues of demobilization and the reintegration process.

Children: the invisible soldiers
- Rachel Brett, Margaret McCallin

Child Soldiers in International Law
- Matthew Happold

Sons of the Brave: The Story of Boy Soldiers
- Arthur William Cockerill

Google Group for Children with Guns

A new google group for discussion of child soldiers in armed conflicts.

Pittsburgh Professor's UN Brief on Child Soliders

A new brief on refuge camps in Africa has labelled them unsafe as far as children are concerned.

"What our work showed is, these camps are often the primary location for forced recruitment of children and adolescents in armed conflicts."

Simon Reich briefed the United Nations last month. He said,

"human-rights groups report that lax security in refugee camps is more responsible for the forced abduction of youths into the military than poverty and orphan rates."

I can see his point. Gathering together large numbers of families, which obviously include children, in one place and then not offering proper security...it's just asking for trouble.

The link to the entire article by the Pittsburgh Tribune.

How far can the UN go to protect these people and not have them feel like they are prisoners?

Video of Child Soldiers

I stumbled across a blog by Martha Termaat called "Rights Readers" which has a posting that includes video of child soldiers. I recommend watching it to gain a reality of this atrocious issue.

The "Smurfs" get bombed ...

I just found this great ad by UNICEF where they bomb the 'smurfs' in order to raise money for rehabilitating child soldiers. Crazy world where we resort to the smurfs for shock value, I just hope it worked. For more details look here.

The United States and Child Soldiers

The United States has taken a stand...or has it? Hard to tell really.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires countries to:

• Take all feasible measures to ensure no child under the age of 15 does not partake in hostilities.
• Not recruit anyone under the age of 15 into their armed forces even for non-combat duties.

It was signed and ratified by almost every nation. The only two holdouts were Somalia (Which, at that time, didn't have a recognized government and therefore couldn't sign) and the United States.

The U.S.A. signed but has not ratified the convention. Treaties in the US go through a long process of review before being ratified.

"...The 'Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide' took more than 30 years to be ratified...and the 'Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,' which was signed by the United States 17 years ago, still has not been ratified."

In 1994 this convention was updated so that the minimum age was raised to 18.

Although most countries would accept such a change, Bangladesh, Cuba, Israel, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States resisted it. The U.S. has a long standing policy of allowing 17 year olds to enter the military if they have the permission of a parent. However, they are not assigned to active combat.

"Since the U.N. Working Group takes decisions only by consensus, all participating nations must be in unanimous agreement on the wording of the draft protocol. The United States alone has said that it would refuse to accept a consensus stipulating 18 years as the minimum age for recruitment."

By 1998-JAN-20, 63 members of Congress (57 Democrats, 5 Republicans, 1 "L") had signed a letter to President Clinton. They asked that he advise the U.S. delegation to the U.N. working group that they cease their opposition to a ban on child soldiers.

Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) introduced a Congressional resolution, calling on the U.S. to not block efforts to establish 18 as a minimum age for engaging in armed conflict. It was passed in 1998-OCT.

2000-JAN: After six years of negotiations, on JAN-22, governments finally reached a full treaty to ban the use of child combatants. 18 will be the minimum age for participation in any armed conflict.

The accord is an optional protocol, which forms part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This enables the United States to sign the accord without ratifying the convention itself. The U.S. is the only national government on earth that has refused to sign the convention.

The compromise reached implies that:

	The U.S. will be able to continue recruitment of 17 year olds.
	The U.S. will "take all feasible measures" to ensure that soldiers under the age of 18 do not participate in armed conflict.
	18 is "the minimum age for direct participation in hostilities, for compulsory recruitment, and for any recruitment or use in hostilities by non-governmental armed groups. However, it allows government forces to accept voluntary recruits from the age of sixteen, subject to certain safeguards including parental permission and proof of age."

2000-JUL-5: The Clinton administration signed the international protocol. It was the eighth country to do so. However, the protocol must be ratified by the U.S. Senate to be effective. This will probably take decades.

-http://www.religioustolerance.org/chil_war.htm

Ok, so what exactly does this mean? Did the US refuse to sign/ratify/comply completely with this protocol simply because they didn't want to lose their 4% under the age of 17 in their military? Don't they realize how many lives they are saving, or at least giving countries the empowerment to help?

What is your opinion? Is the US justified in setting back the work towards eradicating Child Soldiers?

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo / The Invisible Man

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.

The man who is an earlier post I talked about, and who is the first to be judged by the International Criminal Court, seems to be a bit elusive. At least as far as news is concered. I haven't seen him featured on a front page, unless I missed it. Somewhere under Saddam Hussein perhaps?

Is this not as important? A google news search for Dyilo turns up a total of 3 news articles. Wow. That's coverage.

Has anyone seen more coverage in the news or online? Is this issue getting the coverage it deserves?

Somalia

A news article posted today by SperoNews on Somalia and child soldiers. Read it here.

"We have no child soldiers among our forces," Abdirahman Dinari, the spokesman, told IRIN on Tuesday. "All our soldiers are over 18 years old. It is the other side [the Union of Islamic Courts - UIC] which has been using force to recruit children."

Sounds alot like finger pointing to me.

"We don't do it...THEY do"
"No no, not us! THEY do it!"
"They're lying, we'd never do such a thing."
"Us? Never! Look over there!"
"Don't look at us! We're the good guys here!"
"Ya right!"

Who can we really trust in matters like this?

The State of the World's Children

I was reading the UNICEF State of the World's Children. Here are some of the highlights.

Action to take in order to still the flood of Child Soldiers:

Building a protective environment for children:

• Outlawing the use of children under the age of 18 in armed conflict.
• Monitoring this law so that those who use children as soldiers can be tried before a tribunal/international court
• Increasing the capacity of families to care and protect for their children
• Helping children who have been soldiers against re-recruitment
• Dialogue with governement and non-government groups to uphold the law against child soldiers.
• Giving children a voice and listening to them.
  
• Caring for children who have been child soldiers and reintegrating them into society.

What do you think about these measures? Are they working? Will they work? What else must we do?

Desolate Moral Vacuum

"More and more of the world is being sucked into a desolate moral vacuum. This is a space devoid of the most basic human values; a space in which children are slaughtered, raped, and maimed; a space in which children are exploited as soldiers; a space in which children are starved and exposed to extreme brutality."
- UN report 1999

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

also known as the Tamil Tigers, is a politico-military organization that has been waging a secessionist campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the 1970s in order to secure a separate state for the Tamil majority regions in the north and east of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). The LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 29 countries. The LTTE is headed by its founder, Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The LTTE's use of children as front-line troops was proved when 25 front-line troops between the ages of 13 and 17 surrendered en-masse to the Sri Lankan Forces.

Amid international pressure, LTTE announced in July 2003 that it would stop conscripting child soldiers, but both UNICEF and HRW have accused it of reneging on its promises, and of conscripting Tamil children orphaned by the tsunami. Civilians have also complained that the LTTE is continuing to abduct children, including some in their early teens, for use as soldiers.

Moreover UNICEF states that the LTTE has recruited 315 child soldiers between April and December 2006. According to UNICEF , the total number of child soldiers recruited by the LTTE since 2001 stands at 5,794.

Children have featured prominently in the LTTE's protracted guerilla and terrorist campaigns, and assessments by the Sri Lankan Directorate of Military Intelligence have estimated that as much as 60 per cent of the LTTE's fighters were below 18. Estimates based on LTTE fighters who have been killed in combat reveal that 40 per cent of its fighting forces - including both males and females - were between 9 and 18 years of age. The first recruitment of child soldiers into LTTE ranks dates back over two decades, after the ethnic riots of July 1983 resulted in a massive exodus of civilians to India. At this stage, LTTE chief Prabhakaran selected Basheer Kaka, an LTTE leader from the harbour city of Trincomalee, to establish a training base in the State of Pondicherry in India for recruits under 16. Initially, the child soldiers - affectionately referred to as 'Tiger cubs' - received non-military training, mostly primary education and physical exercise. By early 1984, the nucleus of the LTTE 'Baby Brigade' or 'Bakuts', was formed.

Until 1986, the LTTE had sufficient adult units in operation and young recruits were put through the Tigers' standard grueling four-month training course as soon as they reached 16. However, after 1987 the LTTE integrated children with other units to offset heavy losses in combat. A study by a UK-based Sri Lankan researcher Dushy Ranatunge revealed that at least 60 per cent of the dead LTTE fighters were under 18 and were mostly girls and boys aged 10-16.

A typical unit of children was trained for four months in the jungle. Woken at 0500hrs they assembled, fell in line, and their leader raised the LTTE flag. This was followed by two hours of physical training, after which the recruits engaged in weapons training, battle and field craft, and parade drill. During the rest of the afternoon, time was spent both reading LTTE literature and more physical training. Lectures on communications, explosives and intelligence techniques continued into the evening. No contact was permitted between the camp and the children's homes during the training period. Sleep and food were regulated during training to build endurance. After 1990, when children were pitched into battle against Sri Lankan forces, the LTTE made training tougher. The military office of the LTTE headed by Wedi Dinesh developed a training programme that would make the child fighters even more daring than adults. This included the screening of Rambo-style videos in which the daredevil approach is invariably successful. The trained child fighters were also prepared for battle by attacking unprotected or weakly defended border villages. Several hundred men, women and children have been killed by LTTE child combatants armed with automatic weapons guided by experienced fighters during such 'inoculation attacks'.

-http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/terroristoutfits/LTTE.HTM