Coalition to stop the use of Child Soldiers news Apr 07

report by Marcus Fairhurst and James Etchells

Soon after the election results rolled in, I met with representatives from the OPS elections 07 most popular cause, The Coalition to Stop  the use of Child Soldiers, at their office over in Angel. I was rather taken aback to be met by three staff members, complete with business cards, annual reports, photos and a plate of the finest chocolate chip cookies imaginable. Caught rather by surprise by this entourage, I felt a little under dressed, having just cycled over from my regular meeting with those cool cats over at Hackney Job Center. Sharp suits and briefcase for all future OPS meetings – I promise.

As agreed OPS has set up a partnership with the Coalition providing Care Packages for young girls impacted by conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). One of the people I met with, Héloïse Ruaudel, the Great Lakes Program Manager, recently returned from the region with the Coalition’s Europe outreach officer providing support to the coalitions local partners. A copy of her report will be made available to OPS shortly so if any of you are interested please let us know.

The majority of  girls in reintegration centres have experienced sexual assault, rape and other forms of violence as a result of conflict in the region. Some of the girls receiving support have been formerly associated with armed groups or armed forces and most of them have been used as sex slaves and forced into combat . The centres provide a safe place for girls to receive rehabilitation services critical to their successful reintegration back into their communities, such as psycho-social support, reintegration into the schooling system or training through professional apprenticeships.

OPS, with matching funds from the Coalition, is helping provide centres with much-needed supplies for the girls. A significant request amongst has been for undergarments and related feminine garments. Our funds will be helping probably two of the four centres in the worst affected areas of Eastern Congo in Bukavu, Bunia, Goma and Uvira. More specific details, including information on the Coalitions local partners there, will appear in the July Newsletter.

The Coalition is looking into the possibility of hosting an event in May/June, to coincide with the UK release of Ishmael Beah's book - "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier." We will keep you all in touch with what transpires here but perhaps this might be an interesting opportunity for anyone interested in learning more about the problem of child soldiers to come along and hear Mr Beah relate his experiences first hand.

Finally, anybody wishing to know more about the work of the Coalition can take a look on their website [1].  There is a wealth of information to be found here, in particular under the “Press” section. For more information about the DRC there is also an extensive report available on the Amnesty International website [2]. This report gives a really detailed overview of the current situation in the DRC and talks about Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of child soldiers – with reintegration being the key theme for the partnership between OPS and the Coalition.
 
[1]    www.child-soldiers.org
[2]    web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR620172006