NGO evaluates demobilisation of child soldiers

Demobilisation of children during armed conflict could be achieved if a community-based approach is adopted towards their reintegration into society, an NGO, Save the Children UK, said in its latest report. "Reintegration needs to be viewed more holistically, rather than family reunification and socioeconomic activities being viewed as separate phases," the NGO said in a report issued on 2 October titled 'Going Home: Demobilising and reintegrating child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo'. The report, based on five weeks of field evaluation in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu in the Congo, focused on work with children associated with fighting forces and included a "comparative" mission to Bunia in the embattled district of Ituri in Orientale Province, where sporadic intermilitia fighting continues. Save the Children reported that one of the lessons it learnt from the evaluation was the importance of engaging "non-state actors in tandem to work with the community". "Working directly with communities includes: mobilising for prevention or recruitment and responding to child protection concerns; preparing for the return of child soldiers - including analysing where children may face particular protection and security issues; and, identifying appropriate interventions and partners to support socioeconomic reintegration," Save the Children said. Between August 1999 and December 2002, a total of 968 children were demobilised through Save the Children and 652 of these children have been reintegrated, the NGO reported. It added that 147 of the reintegration children, most of them aged over 18 years, had subsequently been recruited again in two areas featuring a high level of conflict. During the course of demobilisation, Save the Children said, it learnt that reintegration strategies that emphasised family livelihood were found to "provide a more tangible impact". "This paper [report] seeks to present an inclusive view of the work with child soldiers in North and South Kivu, including some of the debates between different partners and actors," Save the Children said. [The full report is available online at: www.savethechildren.org.uk]