KINSHASA, Congo – According to the United Nations, children in Kinshasa, Congo, are being recruited as child soldiers in violation of international law. In the past week, militants under former army general, Laurent Nkunda, have raided four primary schools and ten secondary schools to round up children to join his battle.
UNICEF has reported that 54 children have been recruited in northeast Kivu. Moreover, there are reports that in the west, there has been “forced recruitment of all males over the age of 15.” The United Nations believes that more than 1,000 children have been recruited into the militia.
Female children are usually recruited to serve as sex slaves. In this capacity, young girls are often raped, tortured, mutilated or murdered by militants. The male children primarily serve as fighters. Males are taught from an early age to murder, maim, and rape. Recruitment also puts young children at risk of measles and cholera because they are living with spontaneous groups of people in poor living conditions without parental authority. Children who try to escape from the militant gangs are ultimately recruited by rival forces in the eastern part of Congo.
More than 80,000 children have been separated from the militia. Many of these children end up participating in petty crime or fall prey to other gangs. Moreover, children become alienated from their former communities. Furthermore, since these children lack educational skills, they often lack the proper skills to reintegrate into civilian life. Presently, 5,500 children face the threat of re integration into militia groups.
UNICEF is currently trying to provide sanitary conditions for children living in camps and makeshift shelters. The agency is presently providing vaccination, nutritional supplements, and purified water to victims of the violence.
For more information, please see:
Yahoo news – Congo warlord recruiting children – 19 September 2007
AllAfrica – Congo-Kinshasa: Fighting Exposes Children to Forced Recruitment, Exploitation – UN – 19 September 2007
Christian Science Monitor – Ranks of Child Soldiers Swell Again in Congo – 19 September 2007
