Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers Q3 2009For an introduction to the work of the Coalition, click here: Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers Over the last three months, the Coalition continued its work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, often in very difficult circumstances.
The Coalition is also still working on its illustrated guide to the national and international legislation prohibiting child recruitment – this will soon be published and distributed to groups working in child protection and child rights. This will help them to in turn inform and hopefully influence the government and military. A key role for the Coalition is in offering guidance to non-governmental organisations working in this field and in the last three months, the Coalition helped to set up the ‘DRC Collective’ ('le Collectif de Conseillers de la Coalition') which brings together 11 DRC-based organisations to allow better collaboration between them. Until the end of the year then, they will be working on circulating the Mai Mai report and booklet before officially launching the report next January. Other News - Johnny Mad Dog
www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/johnny-mad-dog-jeanstphane-sauvaire-97-mins-15-1808813.html www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/oct/22/johnny-mad-dog-review It hasn’t got a massive release – still on in just two screens in London (www.timeout.com/film/reviews/86007/johnny-mad-dog.html), not sure for the rest of the country, so could be one to look out for on DVD. James Etchells November 2009
| |
| |
| |
| trustees | |
| log in |
As reported in previous newsletters, the Coalition, over the course of this year, has carried out research into the use of child soldiers by the Mai Mai defence forces in eastern DRC. This led to a Coalition report, which highlights the complex relationships between the Mai Mai, local communities and the Congolese government. These findings are now being used to provide recommendations to governments, armed forces and other parties involved in Disarmament, Demobolization and Reintegration (DDR) – basically the process by which the UN or other parties attempt to bring stability to an area following conflict: 
Johnny Mad Dog is a recently released film from French director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire. It is a critically-acclaimed examination of a conflict in an unnamed African country and it particularly focuses on the part child soldiers play. Filmed in Liberia using real ex-child soldiers, it has been praised for the degree of realism it brings to the subject, whilst remaining completely enthralling throughout. It gets a big John Arnold recommendation which is one of the highest cinematic accolades – if you don’t believe him its got universally good reviews in the media as well: