PILOT PROJECT ON THE SOCIAL REINTEGRATION OF DEMOBILIZED
     CHILD-SOLDIERS IN EASTERN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

     I. BACKGROUND

     At the start of the civil war in the eastern part of the Democratic
     Republic of the Congo (DRC) (former Zaire) in October 1996, the
     Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL)
     invited young people to join the fighting force and encouraged parents
     to send their children into the rebel army to help liberate the
     country from dictatorship. This message was frequently repeated at
     community meetings in newly-captured areas. Radio programmes for the
     recruitment of children into the army were also regularly broadcast in
     eastern DRC during the war.

     As large areas of the country rapidly fell under the control of the
     ADFL forces, the number of child-soldiers grew considerably. Some of
     these child-soldiers performed non-combat functions, such as carrying
     equipment. Others were stationed on the front-lines and were directly
     involved in the fighting. Some of these children were believed to be
     as young as 10 years old, and possibly younger. Information on the
     total number of children who joined the ADFL is presently not
     available.

     In May 1997, some nine months after the start of the civil war, the
     ADFL reached Kinshasa and a new Government of the DRC was formed a few
     days later. With the end of the civil war, the ADFL no longer required
     the large numbers of soldiers that had been trained or that were still
     under training. In addition, the military did not have the means to
     provide for the basic necessities (lodging, food, equipment, etc.)  of
     all the enlisted soldiers. The ADFL then began demobilizing some of
     its child-soldiers, who either returned to their families or drifted
     onto the streets of eastern DRC's towns and cities. It is clear that
     not all child-soldiers handed in all their military equipment upon
     their "demobilization."

     In the city of Bukavu, South Kivu, the number of armed robberies and
     other acts of crime increased in May and June, creating a wave of
     panic among the city's population. Many of these security incidents
     were reported to be committed by groups of young men, at least some of
     whom were recently-demobilized former child-soldiers. In view of the
     situation, local authorities in Bukavu asked UNICEF to help initiate a
     project to reintegrate demobilized child-soldiers into civil society.
     The Mayor of Bukavu subsequently presented a full project proposal for
     UNICEF consideration. The project agreement between UNICEF and the
     Mayor of Bukavu was signed in July 1997. UNICEF's support to the
     project is considered an important element in the promotion of
     Articles 38 and 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
     related to the responsibility of State-parties to limit the
     recruitment and participation of children in armed conflicts and to
     assure the right of children in situations of armed conflict to
     physical and psychological rehabilitation and social reintegration.

     Following project approval, military authorities in Bukavu provided
     the Mayor with a list of demobilized former child-soldiers from the
     area. The list contained the names, addresses and ages of the
     demobilized child-soldiers, as well as the names of the camps where
     they had been trained. At the same time, UNICEF began training a team
     of psycho-social workers who would take care of the children at a
     residential centre where the project would be based. The Ibanda
     complex in Bukavu was made available free-of-charge by the Mayor of
     Bukavu to serve as the project site for the first phase. The children
     began arriving at the centre - voluntarily - on 28 July, and the
     project was officially launched on 29 July.

     II. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

     Presently, there are about 100 children residing at the centre. The
     youngest ones are 12 years old. The centre is run by a Project
     Director supported by three Team Leaders. One of the Team Leaders is
     responsible for the psycho-social workers, one for administration and
     logistics, and one (whose team is seconded by the military) for
     discipline and security.  A coordination committee, composed of six
     members, meets once a week to review and plan project activities and
     resolve implementation problems. The committee is composed of the
     Mayor, the Project Director, the three Team Leaders and a UNICEF CEDC
     Officer. There is also an enlarged committee open to interested
     international agencies, local social affairs and education
     authorities, a representative of the military, a representative of the
     demobilized child-soldiers and a representative of the parents of the
     children. The enlarged committee meets every two weeks to monitor
     project progress and to make suggestions and recommendations.

     III. PROJECT OBJECTIVE AND ACTIVITIES

     The main objective of this pilot project is to reintegrate about 150
     demobilized child-soldiers into civil society, including into their
     families or other care-givers, and into educational systems or
     vocational training programmes. If successful, it is hoped that the
     project will be expanded and extended to other areas of eastern DRC to
     provide similar reintegration assistance to a larger number of
     demobilized child-soldiers. This pilot project has three phases:

     Phase I: Two months duration. The children are housed at the Ibanda
     centre where psycho-social workers organize regular group and
     individual discussion and counselling sessions aimed at encouraging
     the children to communicate what they experienced as soldiers as well
     as to freely express how they feel and what their ideas, ambitions and
     goals are for their own future. Sports, educational, cultural and
     religious events are organized, and family visits are encouraged. As
     the children begin to feel more at ease and to develop closer
     relationships with individual psycho-social workers, the gathering of
     pertinent personal information from the children is made easier, thus
     facilitating individualized preparations for their social
     reintegration. This also permits the identification of any traumatized
     children, who will require specialized care and attention. While at
     the centre, the children are housed, fed, clothed and provided with
     medical and other basic services. The children participate in
     household chores at the centre.

     Another goal of the first phase is to identify, evaluate and propose
     systems and modalities for increasing the capacity of the Mayor's
     office and other local authorities in Bukavu for the further
     demobilization of child-soldiers and their smooth reintegration into
     civil society.

     UNICEF is providing technical support and advice for the
     implementation of the first phase and is also covering the costs of
     the food, materials and other running expenses. WFP and UNHCR have
     also contributed some food and non-food items for the first phase.

     Phase II: Six months duration. The children are reintegrated into
     their families or, where this is not possible, into other care-giving
     structures (i.e. extended families). Depending on their circumstances,
     expressed wishes, previous educational experience and literacy levels,
     the children are either reintegrated into formal schooling or are
     provided with literacy training and placed in an existing vocational
     training programme (i.e. carpentry, mechanics). Psycho-social workers
     continue to closely monitor the situation of the children during their
     reintegration process and provide guidance and other assistance to the
     children and their care-givers during this phase.

     Phase III: Duration to be determined. Close psycho-social monitoring
     of the situation of the children continues, focusing on the progress
     and problems of their reintegration into family, educational,
     vocational and other social structures. During this phase, the project
     may also provide materials and equipment to those children who have
     completed their vocational training programmes in order to assist them
     in taking up their new professions. Additional measures and modalities
     for strengthening local capacities for demobilization and
     reintegration activities will also be proposed and evaluated at the
     conclusion of this phase, based on the experiences of the pilot
     project.
 

     18 August, 1997

     ****************************************************************
 
 
 

[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN, a UN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN Tel: +254 2 622123 Fax:
+254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@dha.unon.org for more information. If you
re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit
and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the
original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the WWW at:
http://www.reliefweb.int or can be retrieved automatically by sending
e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org.]