Child soldiers share their stories on the International Day

To mark Universal Children’s Day and the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, spoke with reporters about the tragic consequences for young persons who are forced to go into combat.

She cited education as a key goal— to train communities about the devastating long-term effects on children who are brought into war. Eighty percent of women and children become victims during armed conflicts.

Mr. Alan Doss, Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will meet with Ms. Coomaraswamy’s office next week to discuss better protection for children and strengthening peacekeeping. She will request more commitment be made on the recruitment of the internally displaced, especially in the Eastern Congo.

UNICEF representative Mr. Houry said he sees the process  “as a  collective responsibility of all those parties involved to protect children and to realize all children are zones of peace–we have to look at whole continuum of the situation.”

Grave violations against children in armed conflict include killing or maiming, rape, abduction, and attacks at schools or hospitals.

Former child soldiers Ishmael Beah from Sierra Leone, Grace Akallo from Uganda, and Kon Kelei from Sudan launched a network for action today to work with countries in a coordinated approach to promote advocacy, encourage dialogue and negotiations with armed groups and to send a message to the rest of the world for governments and armed groups to stop recruiting children.