France leads global push to protect child soldiers

France leads global push to protect child soldiers

February 6, 2007

A child soldier holds up a machine gun in an ethnic Hema militia camp near Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo
©Reuters

The United Nations children's agency UNICEF, which sponsored the Paris meeting, estimates that more than 250,000 children were recruited or used by armed forces in 2006.

In a report issued on Monday, British-based charity Save the Children said children as young as eight had been recruited by government forces in southern Sudan, while over 8,000 were being used in rebel and militia groups in West Africa.

By Crispian Balmer

PARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Governments from around the world pledged on Tuesday to do more to prevent children from becoming soldiers and to enable young fighters to return to a normal life.

Amongst the 58 nations that signed up to the so-called "Paris Principles" were 10 of the 12 countries where the United Nations says child soldiers are often used on a "massive scale".

"For the first time, states are solemnly committing themselves to applying and respecting the principles of the struggle against the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict," said French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.

The United Nations children's agency UNICEF, which sponsored the Paris meeting, estimates that more than 250,000 children were recruited or used by armed forces in 2006.

"This really is a crime against humanity," Douste-Blazy told delegates during the two-day conference.

The "Paris Principles" follow on from guidelines laid down in the ground-breaking "Cape Town Principles" which were agreed at a symposium in South Africa in 1997.

But whereas that document was adopted by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the Paris accord comes with the blessing of official governments.

"This is unique because it sets out state of the art procedures and practices to be applied by governments, NGOs and the U.N. when dealing with child soldiers," said Rima Salah, the special representative for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Among the countries that signed the document, which carries moral rather than judicial weight, were a number of African states with high numbers of child soldiers, including Angola, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Chad.


DARFUR

"We are particularly worried about Sudan and Chad," Salah said. "There is a real security vacuum at the Chad-Sudan border and children are being recruited from the (refugee) camps."

A political and ethnic conflict raging in the western Sudanese region of Darfur has been spilling over into Chad, but Sudan is defying international pressure to allow a strong force of U.N. peacekeepers to deploy into the area.

In a report issued on Monday, British-based charity Save the Children said children as young as eight had been recruited by government forces in southern Sudan, while over 8,000 were being used in rebel and militia groups in West Africa.

One diplomat said the fact Sudan publicly backed the "Paris Principles" did not mean the international community expected a change of heart over the Darfur crisis.

The Paris document includes 20 specific commitments to protect children from being employed by armed forces or groups.

Amongst these are a pledge to press for the release of all children under arms and to prosecute those who unlawfully recruit children.

Many of the measures refer to ways of reintegrating child soldiers into society, saying such minors should be viewed "primarily as victims" and helped to overcome their traumas.

"Most of the international and legal framework we have (today) regards the non-recruitment issue. These principles talk about what to do with children once they have been released. That's what is unique about it," the U.N.'s Salah said.

© 2007 Reuters

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