The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Virginia Gamba, welcomes the release of almost 900 children from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Nigeria, which was formed to protect civilians from Boko Haram. “Today, hundreds of freed children will get to go home with their family [...]
Story by Gideon Sackitey originally published by UNMISS “The children we enlist in the military are our own children, and we destroy them if this [practice] continues. We must respect them. They must not be allowed to lose their childhoods.” James Adol Acholl, is one of 50 soldiers belonging to the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces [...]
Dear Mrs. Gamba, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Let me first thank Mrs. Gamba for her leadership as Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict. This meeting of the Global Coalition for Reintegration of Child Soldiers marks a significant step toward better addressing the needs of children and youths affected by [...]
“All of us here today agree on the importance of reintegration to help former child soldiers reclaim their lives. However, despite our efforts, we are still unable to assist everyone,” highlighted the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Belgium, Didier Reynders, at the opening of the event: Funding the Future: Challenges and Responses to the [...]
“Comprehensive and community-based reintegration programmes, including education, vocational training, and psycho-social support, help children to heal and grow so they can become productive members of their communities and contribute to peace and development” SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba In the welding class at a vocational training center supported by the Child Development Foundation (CDF) [...]
This is the story of James. The story of a lost childhood, and the trauma he endured as a child soldier in South Sudan. But this is not the end of James' story. One day, he had an opportunity to rebuild his life, and he now works as a child protection officer for the United [...]
Ten years ago, on 22 April 2004, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1539, which called on all parties listed for recruitment and use of children in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict to “prepare […] concrete, time-bound action plans to halt recruitment and use of children […], in close [...]
“There is no acceptable way for children to be involved in hostilities,” Special Representative Leila Zerrougui told the audience of a panel on child soldiers at the Social Good Summit on Monday. Grace Akallo, herself a former girl soldier abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda, talked about the challenges she faced to [...]
