Child soldiers "a ticking time bomb"

11 February 2008: A generation of children forced to fight against their will are being failed and forgotten when they finally return home, Plan, the leading children’s NGO, will say today.

Urgent action is needed to defuse a ticking time bomb of traumatised and alienated former child soldiers who often face rejection by their communities when they return after years as unwilling conscripts with rebel groups or armies.

Early teenage girls return home with babies and HIV and AIDS after being forced to become the “wives” of members of armed groups, offered as rewards to soldiers for victory in battle. They are also forced to fight. Boys as young as 11-years-old are traumatised by their experiences on the battlefield. Boys are also raped by commanders.

Plan’s call for action comes ahead of tomorrow’s (February 12) debate by the United Nations Security Council on children in armed conflict. It follows a recent report by Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General, which warned children in refugee camps are at particular risk of abduction, as well as rape and other forms of physical and mental abuse and that not enough is being done to give former child soldiers real hope for the future.

The international community must provide additional funding for projects to help former child soldiers to reintegrate into society and to do more to protect children from abduction by armed groups, Plan will say. The NGO’s call comes amid fears surrounding the future of tens of thousands of Kenyan children displaced since violence erupted in the wake of last year’s disputed elections.

Traumatised and vulnerable

Tom Miller, Plan chief executive, will say: “Child victims of conflict endure unimaginable experiences that leave them traumatised and vulnerable to further abuse.

“We all need to work harder to protect children from the worst effects of armed conflict. The international community must make clear it will not tolerate the abduction of children by armed groups and must do more to protect children in refugee camps who are at particular risk.

“Children forced to fight have lost their childhoods, their futures must not be stolen too. We have a moral responsibility to provide the education, treatment and other support they need to rebuild their lives.

“Failure to act will create a ticking time bomb of angry, alienated and traumatised youth whose only skills they have to rely on are those they learnt at war.”

Mr Miller discussed the problems facing children in conflict when he recently met the UN Secretary General. He has also spoken to child soldiers across the globe about their experiences.

Plan is committed to providing long-term community based support to children who suffer mental and physical injury, economic hardship or have their education ruined by conflict.

Children's experiences

Mary was abducted and held for 5 years, one of an estimated 20,000 Ugandan children snatched from their families, during the conflict.

She said: “They took me to the second commander (to be a babysitter). He had 7 wives who had also been abducted by LRA soldiers. They gave me to him and said I should stay as a wife. He forced me until I accepted (to be his wife), then I got a child. I got pregnant by that man when my age was 15 years old. I was assigned to him.

“I want my child to be educated well. Although my studies have been ruined, I want my child to be educated more than me.”

Girls who return home with babies and/or AIDS often face rejection by their communities who see them as an economic burden. Plan’s project will provide them with catch-up education projects and livelihood support. Those who can fend for themselves are more likely to be accepted back into the community.

Children also face difficulties recovering from trauma caused by their experiences.

Robert, 18, was abducted for 6 years. He said: “The worst were other children who were already in the bush. They would do things to us in revenge for what had been done to them... They weren’t accountable to anyone.”

Plan works in 49 developing countries to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged children – including those caught up in conflict. In northern Uganda, one of seven of those countries whose problems were highlighted by the UN Secretary, Plan will this week launch a $300,000 appeal to help child victims of the country’s 21-year conflict.

The project will train teachers to provide psychological support to students who have been traumatised by war. Plan is committed to community based programmes which the Secretary General identified as the best chance of assisting young people to successfully return to society.

Note to editors

Plan works with more than 3,500,000 families each year throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. Plan is committed to working with local communities to strengthen children’s rights.

The children’s names have been changed to protect their identity. Further quotes from children affected by conflict in Uganda are available on request.

Video footage of interviews with former child soldiers is available on request.

Contact the Plan press office: +44 7500 066891

Web: www.plan-international.org/news/journalists/