Coalition Against the Use of Child Soldiers - October 2007

James Etchells

Autumn has been a busy time for everyone at the Coalition. In addition to relocating their operations to their new premises by London Bridge, they have been heavily involved in consultations with other NGOs and various UN agencies and personnel in New York prior to the Security Council considering a major Country Report on the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Coalition coordinated & helped fund several local groups in the NGO appearing at the event. This proved very successful with their Congolese colleagues presenting brilliantly, their speeches reflecting their sophisticated political knowledge and analysis, as well as their hands on experience of working directly with child soldiers.
Graphic reports of the situation on the ground and in particular the atrocities being committed against girls caught up in fighting obviously had a real impact, resulting in the Security Council taking the unusual step of issuing a strong Presidential Statement of concern regarding the Human Rights situation in the Eastern DRC prior to the final report being issued. It appears that for the first time the real cogs of power are explicitly recognising a link between child soldier issues and the broader climate of violence, insecurity and human rights violations in the DRC.

In their meetings with various important parties including the Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and the Congolese permanent representative to the UN, the coalition stressed the fact that to date no specific DDR (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Rehabilitation) programmes have been established to meet the needs of girls, and prosecutions for crimes of sexual violence remain few and far between. It is therefore especially heartening to think OPS has been able to forge links with such a highly credible and professional organization to reach the very heart of an issue that is sadly being currently ignored by larger organizations.

To hear Gege Katana, an affiliate of the Coalition working for a partner group in the DRC speak on the issue please follow this link:

web.amnesty.org/actforwomen/Gege_Katana-eng