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On 17 April 2018 in Yambio, South Sudan, [NAME CHANGED] Nawai, 15 yrs, stands during a ceremony to release children from the ranks of armed groups and start a process of reintegration. Nawai’s parents fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2016 when the conflict became brutally violence. On that day, Nawai was walking home on the side of the road with her two sisters, when she was surrounded by armed men and abducted. “They were waiting for us to come back so they could take us,” she says. They took her to a nearby base with her sisters, and forced her to work for them. After a few days, they returned her youngest sister to the village, as she would not stop crying. For two years she shared a small room with other girls in the group, and was forced to cook, clean, fetch water for the armed men. “One time I was asked to collect water, and when I came back, they [the armed group] said I took too long,” she says. “They threatened to beat me.” Now she has been released from the armed group, she wants to return to school. English is her favorite subject, and she wants to work very hard so one day she can be a Commissioner. Nawai does not know if she will see her parents again.
More than 200 children were released by armed groups in South Sudan on Tuesday 18 April 2018. This was the second release of children in a series, supported by UNICEF, that will see almost 1,000 children released from the ranks of armed groups in the coming months. The 207 children released (112 boys, 95 girls), were from the ranks of the South Sudan National Liberation Movement (SSNLM) - which in 2016 signed a peace agreement with the Government and is now integrating its ranks into the national army - and from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO). An upsurge of fighting in July 2016 stalled the original plans to release children, but momentum is now building for further releases in the future. This latest release of a further 207 children continues that effort and took place in a rural community called Bakiwiri, about an hour’s drive from Yambio, in Western Equatoria State. During the ceremony, the children were formally disarmed and provided with civilian clothes. Medical screenings will now be carried out, and children will receive counselling and psychosocial support as part of the reintegration programme, which is implemented by UNICEF and partners. When the children return to their homes, their families will be provided with three months’ worth of food assistance to support their initial reintegration. The children will also be provided with vocational training aimed at improving household income and food security. Being unable to support themselves economically can be a key factor in children becoming associated with armed groups. In addition to services related to livelihoods, UNICEF and partners will ensure the released children have access to age-specific education services in schools and accelerated learning centres. Despite this progress, there are still around 19,000 children serving in the ranks of armed forces and groups in South Sudan. So long as the recruitment and use of children by armed groups continues, these groups fail on their commitment to uphold the rights of children under international law. As peace talks resume and the future of the transitional government is debated, UNICEF urges all parties to the conflict to end the recruitment of children and to release all children in their ranks. Adequate funding for UNICEF’s release programme is also essential. UNICEF South Sudan requires US$45 million to support release, demobilization and reintegration of 19,000 children over the next three years.
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- Credits A ceremony to release children from the ranks of armed groups. Sebastian Rich/UNICEF
- Themes Conflict Human Rights Child soldiers
- Regions Africa East Africa South Sudan