child soldiers

Some of the children who find their way to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood come from war-torn northern Uganda. It is there that a civil war has raged for twenty years. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), formed in 1987, is a paramilitary group engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government in what is now one of Africa's longest-running conflicts. It is led by Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself a spirit medium. The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations, including mutilation, torture, rape, the abduction of civilians, the use of child soldiers and a number of massacres.

An organization called Human Rights Watch (HRW) is highlighting its work this month on the campaign against the use of child soldiers. It has produced a short video and supports the recently proposed Child Soldiers Prevention Act in the US, which would eventually cut off US assistance to countries known to use child soldiers – nine out of ten of these countries currently receive US military aid: Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Cote d’Ivoire, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

HRW notes that the act would not just cut funding off immediately: “Countries that are seeking to implement demobilization measures would be eligible for assistance in that process and in the professionalization of their armed forces for up to two years before prohibitions on assistance would be imposed. Moreover, the bill provides the president with the authority to waive restrictions if he determines that such a waiver is in the national interest.”

You can find out more and also watch the video, featuring former child soldier – and author of A Long Way Gone - Ismael Beah.

(Thanks to Katie from VolunteerLogue for this update on HRW)