RCD-Goma frees 104 child soldiers

The Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) armed opposition group on Tuesday gave custody of 104 child soldiers to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partner agencies, International Committee of the Red Cross, Save the Children-UK (SCF-UK) and SOS Grands lacs in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to a statement from UNICEF on Thursday, the liberation of this first group of children signals the start of a larger agreement reached with RCD-Goma to ultimately demobilise some 2,600 child soldiers from within their ranks. UNICEF reported that the 104 children were placed in three different transit/orientation centres for an initial period of three months while the whereabouts of their families are established. In the meantime, the children will receive medical and nutritional care, as well as psycho-social support with a view toward their return to civilian life. The three centres are managed by SCF-UK, SOS Grands lacs and Don Bosco. UNICEF, which negotiated the release of the children, is providing financial and material support for the programme. "UNICEF and its partner agencies endeavor to persuade all political and military leaders in the eastern DRC as well as the Kinshasa government of the DRC to respect fully and to implement the basic principles of child protection, particularly the demobilisation and reinsertion of child soldiers," UNICEF stated.