Local report over resettlement protest “confusing”

The demobilisation of 3,500 child soldiers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) carried out by UNICEF at the end of March 2001 is unrelated to the resettlement of Sudanese refugee children to the United States, a UN spokesperson has said. Sudanese local media last week said the Sudan government had protested against the “resettlement” of children from southern Sudan to the United States, and said that it had been done “without the knowledge or consultation of the government of Sudan”.

A UN spokesperson said that the reports were confusing “two unrelated humanitarian operations”. The resettlement to the USA of Sudanese children from Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya, was carried out under the auspices of UNHCR. The demobilisation of the child soldiers was carried out by UNICEF, and the children are presently in Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) transit facilities in Rumbek County, Bahr al-Ghazal, awaiting reunification with their families within Sudan. The UN confirmed that these children were not being resettled to the United States.