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Abstract: The Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has abducted more than 697 adults and children in a largely unreported campaign in the Central African Republic and the neighboring Bas Uele district of northern Democratic Republic of Congo over the past 18 months, Human Rights Watch said today. Nearly one-third of those abducted have been children, many of whom are being forced to serve as soldiers or are being used for sex by the group's fighters.
During the abduction campaign, the LRA has brutally killed adults and children who tried to escape, walked too slowly, or were unable to bear the heavy loads they were forced to carry, Human Rights Watch found in its investigations in the region. The LRA has killed at least 255 adults and children, often by crushing their skulls with clubs. In dozens of cases, the LRA forced captive children to kill other children and adults.
Human Rights Watch called on the affected governments and their allies to strengthen their protection of civilians and to put greater emphasis on efforts to rescue the abducted children and others.
"The LRA continues its horrific campaign to replenish its ranks by brutally tearing children from their villages and forcing them to fight," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The evidence points to Joseph Kony, the LRA leader, as the author of this atrocious campaign."
A month-long Human Rights Watch research mission to the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Bas Uele district of northern Congo from July 12 to August 11, 2010, in which over 520 civilians were interviewed, including 90 former abductees, in individual and focus group interviews, found that the LRA's abduction campaign was similar in both countries and is having a devastating impact on affected communities.
Abstract: Conflict related displacement affects millions of families throughout the world. Very little is known about the determinants of health outcomes in the period immediately after a cease-fire is agreed, in which currently displaced people living in camps consider returning to their place of origin. In this paper, we study the effects of war and displacement on the health of children, using morbidity data collected as part of a large household survey from post-war northern Uganda in 2007. We combine this dataset with geo-coded conflict event data at the individual level to overcome the challenges of selection bias and endogeneity arising from households choosing their location in part based on their health status. This methodological concern is confirmed in our analysis. We then estimate the determinants of child morbidity (proxied by various health indicators) in an instrumental variables multivariate model, where conflict intensity at place of birth of the head of household is used as an instrument. We find that while children in IDP camps and in returnee locations exhibit the same mean morbidity rates, IDP camp residency almost doubles morbidity while poor access to safe drinking water in return locations counteracts the positive health effects of camp decongestion. Our results point to the importance of overcrowding and poor cooking technologies in IDP camps for worsening morbidity in children and the need to provide better sanitation and drinking water access in return locations to further improve the health status of conflict-affected children. Better data and analysis in early post-war periods can help to balance public health interventions, thereby strengthening the peace process.
Abstract: This is the 12th FCO Annual Report on Human
Rights. The report sets out the UK’s work and
policy on human rights in 2009, and explains the
importance of human rights across our foreign
policy goals. It highlights our main policies,
countries of concern and the challenges we
face. It demonstrates how we seek to address
these issues through diplomatic channels and
international bodies, as well as our programme
work across the globe. However, many of the issues covered in these pages
highlight the growing tendency to once again claim
human rights as a “Western” construct, unsuited to
particular cultures and countries. In the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea, the government continues
to insist that national security and cultural differences
invalidate human rights obligations and justify
subjecting humanitarian workers to severe restrictions.
In Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi is incarcerated on
the basis of similar arguments that her battle for
Foreword by the Foreign Secretary
David Miliband
Foreign Secretary
democracy undermines national security. Women are
still denied their human rights in many parts of the
world, on the basis that culture and religion render
those rights inapplicable. The increasing threat to
gay people’s rights in some African countries reminds
us that tolerance is a dream rather than a reality for
much of the world’s population.
But this report also shows how people around the
world are pushing back against the idea that human
rights are not universal – in 2009 demonstrators
in Guinea and Honduras demanded their rights to
democracy, human rights defenders from Belarus
to Syria continued to protest against injustice and
worldwide, individuals and groups continue to work
to realise the rights of all. We have a responsibility
to applaud these efforts, and to support them by
challenging the notion that human rights depend on
culture and circumstance.
Abstract: As targets of grave violations of human rights and forced participation in violence, children are among those most affected by conflict. The physical, psychological, social and emotional impacts that conflict has on children have increasingly become a focus of international and national peacebuilding measures, truth commissions, and courts. Children and Transitional Justice: Truth-Telling, Accountability, and Reconciliation explores questions raised when children's issues -- and children themselves -- are prioritized in transitional justice processes. It analyzes practical experiences to determine how the range of international courts, truth commissions and traditional processes can be applied, both to improve accountability for crimes perpetrated against children and to protect the rights of children involved. The chapters of the book include: Chapter 1: Child Rights and Transitional Justice, by Saudamini Siegrist; Chapter 2: Basic Assumptions of Transitional Justice and Children, by Alison Smith; Chapter 3: International Criminal Justice and Child Protection, by Cécile Aptel; Chapter 4: Children and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, by Piers Pigou; Chapter 5: Child Participation in the Sierra Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commission, by Philip Cook and Cheryl Heykoop; Chapter 6: Children and the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, by Theo Sowa; Chapter 7: Accountability and Reconciliation in Northern Uganda Accountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes by the Lord’s Resistance Army, by Kristopher Carlson and Dyan Mazurana; The Potential and Limits of Mato Oput as a Tool for Reconciliation and Justice, Prudence Acirokop; Chapter 8: Disappeared Children, Genetic Tracing and Justice, by Michele Harvey-Blankenship and Rachel Shigekane; Chapter 9: Truth Commissions and National Curricula: The Case of Recordándonos in Peru, by Julia Paulson; and Chapter 10: Realizing Economic Justice for Children: The Role of Transitional Justice in Post-Conflict Societies, by Sharanjeet Parmar.
Abstract: Le Représentant du Secrétaire général pour les droits de l’homme des personnes
déplacées dans leur propre pays, Walter Kälin, s’est rendu en mission officielle en
République du Tchad, à l’invitation des autorités, du 3 au 9 février 2009.
À l’issue de sa visite, le Représentant conclut que la République du Tchad connaît
une situation marquée par une grave crise en matière de protection, caractérisée par la
précarité dans laquelle vivent les personnes déplacées et l’insécurité générale qui prévaut
dans l’est du pays. Le Représentant est convaincu qu’en absence d’un processus efficace de
paix interne au Tchad incluant le Gouvernement tchadien, l’opposition politique, les
représentants des diverses communautés tchadiennes et les différents groupes d’opposition
armés dans un dialogue politique, et tant que la réconciliation entre des communautés et le
rétablissement d’une présence étatique beaucoup plus forte pour mettre fin à l’impunité ne
sont pas réalisées, la situation à l’est du pays risque de se détériorer à tout moment et de
provoquer de nouvelles vagues de déplacement. Une résolution du conflit au Darfour serait
aussi un facteur important pour stabiliser la situation dans l’est du Tchad. Le Représentant
souligne également qu’un processus de paix au Tchad ne pourra être pérenne que si des
solutions durables pour les personnes déplacées sont trouvées.
Abstract: During the reporting period, the Darfur mediation continued its intensive
interaction with the parties to the conflict and with regional and international
stakeholders. Progress towards direct negotiations and agreements to improve the
security situation has been frustrated by the continued fragmentation of the armed
movements, ongoing military activities in Darfur and the lack of confidence
between the parties. With regard to the fragmentation of the movements, the efforts
of the Governments of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the United States of America
to encourage greater cohesion among the armed movements continue to be a
supportive element of the mediation’s work. The mediation has sought to accelerate progress towards a peace agreement by
means of a three-track approach: (a) working with the belligerent parties to bring
them to direct negotiations on a peace agreement for Darfur; (b) expanding the
consultations with Darfurian civil society to create a substantive foundation for the
negotiations and to bolster the willingness of the parties to engage in the political
process; and (c) facilitating an improvement in relations between Chad and the
Sudan.
Abstract: The Humanitarian Action Report is UNICEF's only publication dealing specifically with the needs of children and women in emergencies. It spotlights crises that require exceptional support, and additional funding, to save lives and protect children from harm in an increasingly challenging humanitarian environment.
This year's report – subtitled 'Partnering for children in emergencies' – says the world is seeing crises exacerbated by larger trends, such as climate change and the international financial downturn, that are beyond the capacity of any one agency to address.
The report appeals for nearly $1.2 billion in international donor funding for emergency-response efforts in 28 countries covering six regions – from Eastern Europe to Africa to Asia to Latin America. The funding will be used to support a greater emphasis on emergency preparedness, early warning, disaster risk reduction and rapid recovery.
Abstract: We investigate one of the world’s most pernicious forms of exploitation: child
soldiering. Most theories can be captured by a principal-agent model that incorporates
punishments, indoctrination, and age-varying productivity. For rebel leaders, we show it
is almost always optimal to coerce rather than reward children, and that leaders will tend
to forcibly recruit children when punishment and supervision are cheap, when children’s
outside options are poor, and when rebel leaders are resource-constrained. To see which
mechanisms dominate in practice, we interview and survey former members of Uganda’s
Lord’s Resistance Army, who provide a cruel natural experiment that reveals how
children and adults respond to coercive incentives. The evidence suggests that children
are more easily indoctrinated and disoriented than adults, but are less effective guerrillas;
hence the optimal targets of coercion are young adolescents. We confirm predications of
the model on a new “cross-rebel” dataset and suggest policy solutions.
Abstract: The roots of Darfur's crisis lie in a history of neglect of the Sudanese peripheries, dating from colonial times and continuing during the years of Sudan's independence. The crisis in Darfur is a manifestation of Sudan's inequitable distribution of wealth and power, and the Panel therefore defines it as "Sudan's crisis in Darfur." The crisis in Darfur consists of different levels of conflict, including local disputes over resources and administrative authority, conflict between Darfur and the centre of power in Khartoum, and an internationalised conflict between Sudan and Chad. All of these layers of conflict must be addressed and resolved for peace, security and reconciliation in Darfur to become a reality. The Darfur crisis has political, economic, ecological, security, human rights and humanitarian dimensions. All of these need to be addressed.
Abstract: The main purpose of this thesis is to explore the lives of child soldiers during
their active involvement with the LRA. I will focus on the motivating factors for their
life as a member of the group and attempt to explain why these children remain with
the LRA at all as the majority have been forcefully recruited. As explained above, this
is of great significance as there is not much literature available on this subject and
reintegration programs mismatch their needs. The shortage of research concerning this
issue enables me to contribute to a research environment evolving around an ever
growing problem; children embodying the ultimate weapon in war. Due to the
proliferation of armed conflict, increasing numbers of children are directly exposed to
the effects of war. This indicates that a growing number of children are becoming
engaged in conflicts. These children are recruited into armed groups and quickly
transformed into soldiers. Unlike other scholars, I argue that one of the most
significant processes in the transformation of a child into a soldier is socialization. I
will highlight that socialization creates bonding between the members of a group and
that it is used as a tool to create allegiance and keep child soldiers with the rebel group,
preventing them to escape. As such, this thesis will focus on the rigorous
developments coming about during the socialization process used by the LRA.
Therefore, the main research question to be addressed will be:
How does socialization motivate child soldiers to remain with the
Lord’s Resistance Army? Due to the complexity of the child soldiering phenomenon, this thesis will
illuminate the processes preceding the socialization period child soldiers experience.
In order to create a broad, well developed understanding of child soldiering I will build
on previous research I have done. As such I will focus on the following issues;
In the first chapter I will elaborate upon the difficulties in defining a child soldier as
well as upon socialization theory. Besides that, I will devote a section to explain the
research procedure I followed while conducting my field research. This section will
consist of a description of the method I used and emphasize the importance of
interviewing former child soldiers in this case. The second chapter will consist of three
sections which explain the use of child soldiers in rebel groups, the methods of
recruitment, and the process of transforming a child into a soldier. In order to achieve
a clear understanding of how children become parts of rebel groups, I will analyze a
variety of studies conducted by prominent scholars in this chapter. Examples of these
are Blattman (2007, 2008), Gates (2002, 2007, 2009), Machel (2001), Rosen (2005),
Singer (2006), and Wessells (2004, 2006). Due to the great variety of views
concerning child soldiers, I will analyze the views of a range of scholars with the
purpose of creating a wider understanding of this complex phenomenon. Scholars tend
to view child soldiers either as victims or perpetrators. These alternative viewpoints
will be incorporated in the second chapter in order to address the problem broadly and
create a balanced understanding of child soldiering.
Hereafter I will shift my focus to the LRA and elaborate upon the organization
and the creation of allegiance among its rebels. I will include fieldwork evidence to
create a broader understanding of the organization and illustrate its use of child
soldiers. In the final chapter I will illuminate particular processes of socialization child
soldiers encounter within the LRA, building on three months of field research I have
conducted among child soldiers in Northern Uganda. I will explain how socialization
creates allegiance among abducted child soldiers. By doing this, I aim to develop a
broader understanding of the lives of child soldiers within rebel groups. This will
enable me to indicate opportunities for improvement of reintegration programs for
former child soldiers in the conclusion of this thesis.
Abstract: The present report has been prepared pursuant to Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) and covers the period from December 2008 to June 2009.
The Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and its auxiliary forces, the local defence units, have been removed from the annexes to the eighth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (A/63/785-S/2009/158). That delisting follows the signing in January 2009 of an action plan in line with Security Council resolutions 1539 (2004) and 1612 (2005) between the Government of Uganda and the United Nations country-level task force on monitoring and reporting. The present report outlines the implementation of that action plan and the follow-up activities to the conclusions and recommendations of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict with regard to Uganda (S/AC.51/2008/13).
The report highlights that the cooperation with the Government of Uganda has been very effective and has allowed the United Nations and its partners to successfully verify that no more children are present in the ranks of UPDF or its auxiliary forces and that no cases of recruitment or use of children have been reported since August 2007.
Abstract: The present report addresses the progress made in the implementation of the
recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s report on the causes of
conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa
(A/52/871-S/1998/318). It is submitted in compliance with General Assembly
resolution 63/304, which was adopted following the Assembly’s consideration at its
sixty-third session of the Secretary-General’s progress report dated 4 August 2008
(A/63/212). The recommendations addressing economic and social factors
underlying the promotion of sustainable development are covered in the
Secretary-General’s companion report on the Implementation of the New Partnership
for Africa’s Development (A/64/204). Following introductory remarks, section II of the report provides an overview of major peace and security developments in Africa during the past year, including
the serious concerns being addressed by Africa and the international community in
order to restore, maintain and promote peace and rebuild post-conflict countries. In
section III, the report reviews progress in relation to the capacity-building needs and
increased cooperation with the African Union and subregional organizations and
provides an assessment of the United Nations support for the defence and promotion
of human rights in Africa. The report concludes that, pending the General Assemblymandated
comprehensive review of the recommendations contained in the 1998
report and of the new challenges to achieving long-term peace and sustainable
development, the international community must, more than ever, redouble its efforts
in Africa and ensure that the commitments made are effectively implemented.
Abstract: The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 11 of Security Council
resolution 1590 (2005), in which the Council requested that it be kept regularly
informed of progress in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
in the Sudan, and paragraph 26 of Council resolution 1870 (2009), in which the
Council requested me to develop benchmarks (see annex I to the present report) for
measuring and tracking progress in the implementation of the mandate of the United
Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), and to include in my report an assessment of
progress made against those benchmarks, as well as any consequent
recommendations regarding the configuration of the Mission. The report provides an
assessment of the overall situation in the country since my previous report, of
17 April 2009 (S/2009/211), and provides an update on the activities of UNMIS up
to 30 June 2009. Sections IV and VI of the report assess the progress made vis-à-vis
the aforementioned benchmarks. The reporting period witnessed a deterioration in the security situation in
Southern Sudan. On several occasions, long-simmering local conflicts have
escalated into alarming waves of violence, at times triggering vicious cycles of
attack. Most of the tribal violence occurred in Warrab, Lakes and Upper Nile States.
Heavy fighting between the Murle and the Lou Nuer in Akobo County, Jonglei
State, on 18 and 19 April, reflected a particularly disturbing development in which
villages and their civilian inhabitants, rather than cattle camps, became targets of
attack, resulting in an estimated 195 civilians killed and 70 wounded, including
women and children.
Abstract: This report presents the findings of a research study to examine the role of
disarmament policies in changes in livelihood systems of the population in the
Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda. The study and report are based on a
research partnership between Save the Children in Uganda (SCiUG) and the Feinstein
International Center (FIC) at Tufts University. FIC researchers (hereafter called the
Tufts team) are working with SCiUG in 2009-2010 on a series of discrete studies
to investigate areas of mutual interest in Karamoja. The research findings from these
studies are designed to inform programming and planning in the area of livelihood
interventions.
The topic for this report emerged out of a series of conversations between the
Tufts team and the SCiUG staff in Kampala and Karamoja in February 2009. We
discussed areas in which we felt there was a knowledge gap and that were of interest
to both SCiUG and the Tufts team. Both parties developed the terms of reference
for this study. The research presented in this report is based primarily on field work
conducted in April 2009 by the authors and their research assistant, with field
support provided by the SCiUG offices in Moroto and Kotido. We collected
qualitative data in semi-structured focus group interviews in six locations in
Moroto and four locations in Kotido. In Moroto we collected data in Nadunget,
Rupa and Lokopo Sub-Counties and in Kotido we collected data in Rengen,
Kacheri and Panyangara Sub-Counties.
Our study population intentionally includes a greater number of men than
women, as we hypothesized that disarmament had brought greater changes to male
than to female livelihoods. We interviewed young men, young women, and young
boys in both kraals and manyattas in a total of 27 focus group interviews. More
specifically, we conducted:
• 59% of focus group interviews in Moroto, 41% in Kotido;
• 69% of focus group interviews in manyattas, 31% in kraals;
• 69% of focus group interviews with males, 31% with females;
• Of the focus group interviews with males, 47% were with “older” male youth (defined as ages 20 and above), 32% were with teens (early and late teens in
separate groups), and 21% were with younger boys.
Abstract: From June to November 2008, the Women’s Commission for
Refugee Women and Children conducted an assessment of
educational and skills training opportunities available to
displaced youth in Darfur. This report looks at the challenges
and opportunities young people face; examines existing services
targeting youth; identifies programming gaps; and provides
recommendations on how donors, policymakers and field
practitioners can more effectively support displaced youth in
Darfur.
Almost six years into the current conflict in Darfur, there are very
few education and skills building opportunities to meet the
needs of a large and growing population of young people. The
research found that the few programs that do exist are able to
serve only a very small number of young women and men.
According to available information, there are no secondary
schools in the camps for displaced people and traveling to town
to attend school is almost impossible due to school fees, travel
distance and insecurity. Meaningful employment opportunities
are sparse for young people as the conflict has disrupted
traditional livelihoods and livelihood coping strategies across
Darfur.
The study showed that while vocational and technical training
programs do operate in Darfur, very few humanitarian agencies
specifically target young women and men. Out of 124 local and
international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), youth
groups and UN agencies reviewed for this report, only 15
explicitly target youth (15-24 years old) and of those that did,
14 focus on education and/or livelihoods. Training programs that
do exist face many programmatic challenges, including
operating under increasingly insecure conditions and attempting
to match longer-term education needs of young people with
shorter-term donor funding cycles. Young women, rural youth
and those with disabilities, in particular, have more difficulties
accessing programs and services that do exist.
Within the UN humanitarian coordination system, no specific
working group or sector is responsible for vocational training
and/or youth. Reports indicated that attention to challenges
facing young people and cross-organizational coordination is
minimal.
Despite these challenges, information gathered highlighted how
many young people continue to contribute to the welfare of their
communities, such as volunteering to teach younger children and
leading information campaigns.
Abstract: Little is known about the short and long term effects of war on youth. Yet without
an understanding of who is at risk of violence (and from whom), the factors
that affect violence and acceptance, a sense of the long-term impacts of war violence,
and a strong grasp of the factors that protect youth, how can we design
more effective prevention, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration programs?
While little is known about war affected male youth, less still is known about
women and girls. What seems clear, however, is that their experiences of abuse,
abduction, violence and return have differed sharply from that of men and boys.
Youth have been both the primary victims and the primary actors in the twodecade
long war in northern Uganda. Yet, while we know that youth have suffered
(and continue to do so), we have not been able to answer with confidence some
crucial questions: who is suffering, how much, and in what ways? While we know
that youth made up the bulk of both victims and perpetrators, we have little sense
of the magnitude, incidence, and nature of the violence, trauma and suffering.
The state of knowledge regarding women and girls is especially lacking.
One consequence of this lack of knowledge is that programming is often based
on immediate and observable needs and possibly erroneous assumptions about
who needs help and what sort of help ought to be provided.
Abstract: Political transitions in Uganda are usually
characterised by coups and bloodshed. Uganda’s current
president, Yoweri Museveni, came to power through
a guerrilla war in which he overthrew the then-sitting
head of state, General Tito Okello. President Museveni
has been in power in Uganda since 1986. Since taking
office, he has faced a formidable resistance – the Lord’s
Resistance Army (LRA) – in northern Uganda, and his
government has been unsuccessful in restraining this
force.
In 1987, Joseph Kony started the LRA by convincing
aggrieved soldiers to join him, and by abducting those
who refused to join his cause. The LRA initially comprised
Tito Okello’s former soldiers. Until only recently, it had its
base in southern Sudan, and basically ran its operations
by abducting young children to join its armed fighting
groups. The war between the LRA and the government
of Uganda has resulted in nearly 1.5 million people
displaced from their homes into internally displaced
persons’ (IDP) camps. Kony’s war has ironically turned
against the very same civilian population he claims to
be fighting for, inflicting inhumane acts and causing
widespread despair and hopelessness. The northern
Uganda region in which the conflict has been prominent
is predominantly inhabited by the Acholi tribe, who
have suffered greatly. The plight of those affected by this war has, however, not received enough attention.
The United States (US) government estimates that
about 12 000 people have been killed as a result of this
conflict, with many more dying as a result of disease and
malnutrition. This ar ticle questions the application of
reintegration programmes in northern Uganda.
There has been very little analysis undertaken on what constitutes successful reintegration in northern
Uganda, and the absence of performance indicators is
a major concern when trying to evaluate reintegration
processes.
Abstract: The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council presidential
statement (S/PRST/2008/6), by which the Council requested me to submit a report
on the implementation of its resolutions 1612 (2005), 1261 (1999), 1314 (2000),
1379 (2001), 1460 (2003) and 1539 (2004) on children and armed conflict. The
report includes information on compliance with applicable international law to end
the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict and other grave violations
being committed against children affected by armed conflict;1 information on
progress made in the implementation of the monitoring and reporting mechanism
and action plans to halt the recruitment and use of children, as well as progress
made in mainstreaming children and armed conflict issues in United Nations
peacekeeping and political missions; and a brief summary of the conclusions of the
Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, and of its
progress.
The report includes a proposal to strengthen the monitoring and reporting on
rape and other grave sexual violence against children. The Office of my Special
Representative has also identified the following emerging concerns in relation to the
children and armed conflict agenda as key priority areas for action and continued advocacy. These concerns include internally displaced children and their particular
risks for recruitment; terrorism and counter-terrorism measures and its impact on
children; the accountability of child soldiers for acts committed during armed
conflict, and special protections accorded to them; control on the transfer and use of
arms and ammunitions, particularly to countries where children are known to be, or
may potentially be, recruited or used in hostilities; and measures to achieve
sustainable reintegration of children affected by conflict.
The report covers compliance and progress in ending the recruitment and use
of children and other grave violations, including the killing and maiming of
children, rape and other grave sexual violence, abductions, attacks on schools and
hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access to children by parties to armed
conflict.
Abstract: Forced Migration Review (FMR) provides a
forum for the regular exchange of practical
experience, information and ideas between
researchers, refugees and internally
displaced people, and those who work with
them. It is published in English, Arabic,
Spanish and French by the Refugee Studies
Centre of the Oxford Department of
International Development, University
of Oxford. This issue focuses on 'Statelessness'. A ‘stateless person’ is someone who is not recognised as a national by any state.
They therefore have no nationality or citizenship (terms used interchangeably in
this issue) and are unprotected by national legislation, leaving them vulnerable
in ways that most of us never have to consider. The possible consequences of
statelessness are profound and touch on all aspects of life. It may not be possible
to work legally, own property or open a bank account. Stateless people may be
easy prey for exploitation as cheap labour. They are often not permitted to attend
school or university, may be prohibited from getting married and may not be able to
register births and deaths. Stateless people can neither vote nor access the national
justice system.
Abstract: The present report, which has been prepared pursuant to Security Council
resolution 1612 (2005), covers the period from 1 August 2007 to 30 December 2008.
It is the third report on children in the armed conflict in the Sudan to be presented to
the Security Council and its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.
The report focuses on grave violations perpetrated against children in the Sudan
and identifies State and non-State parties to the conflict responsible for such
violations. In particular, the report highlights that children continue to be recruited
and used by all parties to the conflict, that rape and sexual violence continue to be
systematic and widespread and that children and women in an around refugee camps
and internally displaced persons’ settlements are especially vulnerable. The report
also shows alarming levels of attacks against humanitarian personnel and assets,
particularly in Darfur, and the denial of humanitarian access to affected populations
mainly due to acute insecurity.
The report also notes some limited progress in establishing child protection
dialogue with parties to the conflict and highlights important ongoing initiatives by
the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan in areas
such as adoption of national legislation for the protection of children, establishment
of child protection modalities in the national police force and focus on children in
the national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process.
The report outlines a series of recommendations to address grave child rights
violations, facilitate the implantation of child protection commitments and foster
more effective coordination among key stakeholders.
Abstract: When Ishmael Beah was 12, the Sierra Leone Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels backed by Liberian warlord Charles Taylor attacked his village and killed his family. He spent a year running from the war before joining up with the army in order to survive.
Empowered by the rifles they carried, and often high on marijuana or cocaine, many of the thousands of children who took part in Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war visited unspeakable atrocities on the civilian population. Child soldiers were known to have cut open the bellies of pregnant women just to see what sex the child was.
Charles Taylor is currently on trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone on several charges, including the recruitment of children under the age of 15 years into armed forces in violation of international humanitarian law.
The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) defines child soldiers as "any child—boy or girl—under eighteen years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity." This age limit was established in 2002 by the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
February 12, 2009, also known as ‘Red Hand Day’, marks the seventh anniversary of the entry into force of the Optional Protocol.
The Optional Protocol entered into force in 2002 and requires States Parties to take all feasible measures to ensure that persons below the age of 18 do not take a direct part in hostilities and that they are not forcibly recruited into their armed forces. States must prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers by non-state armed groups and must adoption the necessary legal measures necessary to prohibit and criminalize such practices within their State. It also enjoins States to provide assistance for the physical and psychological recovery of child soldiers and to facilitate their social reintegration.
Violence Against Women and Children in Kenya World Organisation Against Torture // Coalition on Violence Against Women // Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children // Kenyan National Chapter of the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect et al...
Abstract: The purpose of this alternative report is to address matters that make women and children
vulnerability of women and children, as regards their exposure to torture, and other cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment. Furthermore, it draws attention to
consistent human rights violations involving torture and ill-treatment inflicted on women and
children by both State officials and non-State actors. It also addresses to what extent the
Kenyan Government fails to protect women and children from torture. In this respect, the
present report provides the Committee with a legal and practical overview on women’s and
children’s rights in Kenya in the context of the implementation of the UN Convention Against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (The Convention).
This report is based on the international legal obligations of Kenya under the Convention. In
particular, it refers to the positive obligation to “take effective legislative, administrative,
judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction” and
“to prevent in any territory under its jurisdiction other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.” Furthermore, this report refers to the Committee’s General
Comments No. 2, with a particular emphasis on the paragraph stating that, whenever State
authorities or others acting in official capacity “know or have reasonable grounds to believe
that acts of torture or ill-treatment are being committed by non-State officials or private actors
and they fail to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such non-
State officials or private actors consistently with the Convention, the State bears responsibility
(…) under the Convention for consenting to or acquiescing in such impermissible acts. (…)
The State’s indifference or inaction provides a form of encouragement and/or de facto
permission. The Committee has applied this principle to States parties’ failure to prevent and
protect victims from gender-based violence, such as rape, domestic violence, female genital
mutilation, and trafficking.”
Abstract: The high prevalence of sexual violence against women and children in the Great Lakes Region, its crippling impact and the culture of shame and impunity that has surrounded these crimes has compelled the women of the region to break the silence and to tackle the issue at a regional level within the framework of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. Rape as a weapon of war has become a defining characteristic of the armed conflict in the Great Lakes Region and Democratic Republic of Congo in particular.
The seriousness of the matter has been given attention by the 11 Heads of State and Government of the Great Lakes Region namely: Angola, Burundi, CAR, Congo, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Under the milestone initiative of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (IC/GLR), the Heads of State and Government have committed themselves to set up regional mechanisms to protect women and children and provide legal and material assistance for victims and survivors of sexual violence. This commitment resulted in the adoption of the Protocol and accompanying Project that seeks to punish acts of sexual violence against women and children both during peace time and during armed conflict.
This legislation, the first in the area of protection against sexual violence in time of conflict and post conflict establishes international standards to address the crime of sexual violence in regions affected by conflicts. The legislation further defines the offence of sexual violence based on the definition provided under the Statutes of the international tribunal for Rwanda and Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court. The legislation further establishes links between the crime of sexual violence and the offences of trafficking; slavery, genocide and war crimes. The protocol further incorporates preventive aspects as encapsulated in such statutes as CEDAW, the Africa Union and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Counseling procedures are also provided for as part of the rehabilitation of victims of sexual violence. The protocol also advocate for maximum sentencing as per the domestic legislation of individual states.
Abstract: Young people are potentially a tremendous force for change in conflict-affected countries
for both good and bad. Directing the energy of youth towards reconstruction is
a challenge and requires rapid interventions in the areas of education, family life and
health, economic empowerment and civic participation.
Abstract: During northern Uganda's 20-year conflict between the Government of Uganda's (GoU) armed forces and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), widespread human rights abuses were committed by both sides.
Amnesty International documented the LRA's abduction of thousands of children and adults, unlawful killing of thousands of civilians, the rape of thousands of women and beatings of men, women and children during the 1986-2006 conflict.
The organization also documented human rights violations committed by the government's Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF). These included unlawful killings, rape and beatings of civilians. There was general impunity for soldiers who committed human rights violations against civilians.
The government of northern Uganda should establish an effective reparations programme for those victims of the conflict, according to this Amnesty International report. The report examines the continued suffering of the victims of the hostilities and makes recommendations to the government on how to deal with the aftermath of the human rights violations that took place there.
Also documented as one of the most enduring effects of the conflict on civilians was, and remains, the massive displacement of about 1.8 million people from their homes into internally displaced persons' (IDPs) camps in which living conditions were often dire for IDPs in relation to shelter, hygiene, health and nutrition.
