March against recruitment of child soldiers

Hundreds of people marched in Freetown on Wednesday against the recruitment of child soldiers and for their early reunification with their families, a UNICEF source told IRIN. Some 2,500 people joined in the peaceful demonstration, including representatives of UN agencies, government, human rights organisations, educational institutions and civil society. Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leader Foday Sankoh was represented by his spokesman Eldred Collins. Senior officers of the former Armed Forces Revolutionary Council also attended. The march, organised by the Roman Catholic NGO, CARITAS, aimed to sensitise the community and signatories to the Lome Peace Accord to the urgent need to stop using children in armed conflicts and release those still held by armed factions, the source said. Various speakers referred to the slow release of children since the signing of the peace accord and urged the continuation of discussions and activities to speed up the process. According to UNICEF, only 1,500 out of an estimated 5,000 child combatants have been through the Sierra Leone’s demobilisation programme. About 10,000 other children were abducted by armed forces to work as porters, sex slaves and food growers, but just half have been reunited with their families.