UNICEF-led team to assess child soldiers

A UNICEF-led team is expected in Kyankwanzi, central Uganda, on Thursday to assess the numbers and overall needs of children from the DRC, a press release from the agency said on Wednesday. The children have been housed in a political and military education school in Uganda. The 16-member assessment team, led by UNICEF Uganda Representative Michel Sidibe, will include representatives from UNHCR, UNDP, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Save the Children Alliance and prominent non-governmental organisations. UNICEF said that the assessment was the first phase in a wider multi-agency operation currently being planned to demobilise, reunite and resettle these children. During the three-day assessment, the team will determine how many of the 693 individuals airlifted from Bunia in northeastern DRC to Uganda are “in fact children”. A registration process to compile the names and other pertinent data of children at the camp will be carried out and an initial survey of the assistance and support required during this period will also be examined, UNICEF said. “If during the exercise there are adults among the group identified as potential persons of concern to UNHCR, the agency will conduct eligibility interviews at a later stage to confirm their status.” “Above all, our first concern is that every effort must be undertaken to ensure the rights and interests of these children are a top priority,” UNICEF Representative in Uganda, Michel Sidibe said. “This means that the children themselves must be consulted as regards their future before any next steps are taken,” he added. The mission will consider immediate measures required including education, health, nutrition and psycho-social support to help the children reintegrate into their families and communities. It will also look at interim housing options for the children.