AFRICA - “The problem with child soldiers is resolved through development, not by rhetorical agreements”

Rome (Agenzia Fides) – African governments must commit to removing the conditions that create rebellions which in turn lead to the recruitment of child soldiers, and not merely sign agreements that I think are just rhetoric," Fides was told by Fr. Gerardo Caglioni, Xaverian missionary with a long experience in Sierra Leone, in his commenting on the declaration signed on June 9 in N'Djamena (Chad) to put an end to the recruitment of child soldiers.
The declaration was signed in N'Djamena by six of the nine participants in the regional conference on child soldiers, organized by the Government of Chad and by UNICEF, held in the Chadian capital June 7 to 9. The signing States are Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. The other three participants who did not sign the document are: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The declaration commits the signatories to "put an end to all forms of recruitment of children into armed forces and groups and to ensure that no child under the age of 18 years take part, directly or indirectly, in hostilities."
"It is useless to enter into agreements that are likely to remain a dead letter, if you do not take specific policy to give a life expectancy of the younger generation. This means creating a genuine development policy, a serious fight against corruption, building schools and infrastructures vital for African countries. I do not believe, however, that there is this desire," says Fr. Caglioni. "If you do not offer young people the hope of a better life, there will be new guerrilla groups formed that will recruit whoever they want, including children. Thus, I am skeptical of documents that are likely to remain only declarations of intent without any real impact on people's lives."
"In Sierra Leone, child soldiers were used by everyone, not only by guerrillas of the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) but also by the Kamajors militia, allied with the government. After the war (concluded in 2002) programs were started for the insertion of demobilized child soldiers into society, into schools, giving them a job, but nobody takes care of victims of child soldiers, who are often children themselves. These people have suffered deadly physical and psychological violence. I know cases of sexual abuse, of children forced to see their parents killed and burned, others who have suffered amputations. The victims are in need of material and psychological care, but they are left completely on their own," says the missionary. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 06/11/2010)