Topic: Reintegrating Former Child Soldiers
Country: Ethiopia
Delegate Name: Jordyn Wexler
School: Roeper School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Ethiopia position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
Ethiopia looks forward to the collaboration between other nations around the world to help manage the reintegration of child soldiers. Ethiopia does not condone the use of child soldiers in our military. However, some neighboring nations’ armies or militant groups in these nations do make use of child soldiers. Because of this reality we know how important it is for UNICEF to address this issue. Through the use of projects involving psychosocial support, education, and family reunification we hope to make the reintegration process as complete as possible for those children affected as soldiers.
As of now, there is an estimate of 300,000 child soldiers in the world. The majority of these child soldiers have been taken forcibly, and at an integral part of their development. At a time when these boys and girls should be socialized spending time with their family and community and receiving an education, they are instead subjected to violence. The key difference between an adult returning to peaceful society and a child making the same return is that the adult has likely had proper adolescence and matured, whereas most of what a child in the military has learned is lessons of violence in preparation for a horrific future.
A demobilized child soldier who is expected to reintegrate with the community cannot just go back to living in the manner in which they have already lived; they have to figure out a way of going about everyday life in a way that does not involve the practices of the military, because during their development that is all they have been exposed to. It is not only the children who have to make difficult adjustments when reintegrating but also the families who are welcoming them back. There are tendencies among family members to have concerns on whether or not to even accept the child soldier into their home if they were involved in atrocities like torture and killings. This is specifically prevalent in northern Uganda, where families feared that reuniting child soldiers would attract rebel groups in the future.
In order to successfully reintegrate child soldiers it is important to put emphasis on psychosocial support programs. These programs are crucial to addressing the pugnacious behaviors that a child soldier develops as well as to aid them through past stressful experiences. There was a study done by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Burundi, where they gave support to youths by giving tools such as microfinance, training and internships. The study gave support to a total of 643 people, 452 demobilized child soldiers and the other 191 youths that had never been soldiers who were used as a control group. Both groups of children participated in all of the same activities. The result was that years after the program the demobilized child soldiers seemed not to do any worse in most areas than their fellow participants who had not been child soldiers. Another technique that has worked well has been family reunification or other family-based living arrangements. In a survey done in El Salvador, 84 percent contended that family reunification was the most important part in transition to civilian life.
But it is not always easy to find the families of the child soldiers or people who are willing to take care of them, which is why programs like the International Rescue Committee (IRC) are important. The IRC offers interim care for demobilized child soldiers while they seek out their families or relatives who would be willing to take care of them. It is also crucial to create more programs specifically oriented towards demobilized girl child soldiers, because of the difference in the brutalities they face such as rape. The ILO studies found that the girls “run a greater risk of developing depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.” As an example about 33 percent of the ex-child soldiers in El Salvador are girls, yet there are no specific program strategies for them. Ethiopia believes that any nation who favors the health and well being of minors will support implementation of programs to help reintegrated child soldiers.
Ethiopia looks forward to working with other nations to help youths that have faced the detrimental experience of being child soldiers reintegrate into society in the best manner possible.
