Africa: Preventing Children Use in Conflicts Is Key to Transform Violence – Experts

Shelly Whitman, executive director of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, said preventing the recruitment and use of children is key to reversing the multigenerational cycle of violence.

The Dallaire Institute commemorates the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers (also known as “Red Hand Day”) on 28 February to draw attention to the issue of child soldiers worldwide.

It brought together African Union, United Nations, policy makers from across Africa, security personnel and civil society members, followed by workshop sessions on 27 February.

Its purpose was to formulate strategies and actionable plans on the prevention of the recruitment and use of children as soldiers in armed conflicts and the implementation of the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping.

Every year, thousands of children, both girls and boys, are used by armed forces and armed groups for various roles such as combatants, cooks, porters, messengers and spies, and for sexual purposes.

Whitman stated that noting today’s effects of conflict on children’s psyche, their belief systems, their perceptions of the other, failure to disrupt patterns of division only creates a world with a desire to right the wrongs of the past. Will do

“They all desire education, opportunities that empower them, and peaceful communities. Our approaches need to combine preventive responsive actions that can be targeted to address this massive violation against children. “

However, he added that such approaches are missing from the international peace and security agenda. Whitman challenged everyone to change the pattern of using children as instruments of peace rather than as instruments of war.

Lieutenant General (Retd) Dallair Romeo, former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda between 1993 and 1994 and founder of the Dallair Institute, said: “Red Hand Day is a day where we become very aware that children are on the front lines. and are being abused as child soldiers”.

“It is up to governments and the international community to put an end to the martyrdom that children are going through,” he said.

Clementine Mukeka, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said the partnership between the government and the Dallaire Institute has existed for more than a decade and builds on the history of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, where the former government carried out forced recruitment. and used children and youth as a means to kill.