Child soldiers : prevention, demobilization and reintegration
Verhey, Beth
An estimated 300,000 child soldiers are involved in armed conflicts, and their involvement has increased in recent years. When the Ugandan National Resistance Army arrived in Kampala in 1986 with children as young as four among their ranks, they caught the world's attention. Conflicts in Cambodia, Liberia, Mozambique and other countries also drew attention to the use of child soldiers. Demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers is often portrayed as hopeless-especially where child soldiers have been forcibly recruited and made to participate in atrocities. Yet this study demonstrates that children and youths involved in armed conflict can re-engage positive social relations and productive civilian lives. It is not easy and depends crucially on political will, and the resources to include child soldiers in peace agreements and demobilization programs and to support their reintegration into family and community. Drawing from in-depth case studies of Angola and El Salvador, as well as other country program experiences, the working paper on which this Dissemination Note is based, provides concrete examples for use in future programs.1 The paper stems from a collaboration with UNICEF on lessons learned in the prevention, demobilization and reintegration of children involved in armed conflict.
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