Sudan: Senior UN Rights Official Praises Agreement To End Use Of Child Soldiers
New York, Nov 22 2009 3:10PM A top United Nations human rights official today welcomed a deal agreed by a former rebel
group in southern Sudan to end the use of child soldiers among its ranks, while warning of the threat posed to children
by various armed militia operating in the region.
The Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which fought in the nation's long-running north-south civil war, signed
the action plan to discharge the children on Friday in the southern capital, Juba.
"This commitment is a milestone in the efforts to end association of children with the SPLA," said the Secretary
General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, on the eve of her departure from
Sudan after a nine-day visit.
"I shall continue to appeal to the SPLA leadership to spare no effort to release and prevent re-association of these
children with their armed elements," sai d Ms. Coomaraswamy.
She also stressed that her office will collaborate with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help find much needed
resources and funds to support rehabilitation and reintegration efforts of former child soldiers in the whole of Sudan.
While praising the Government of National Unity for its progress over the past two years in strengthening child
protection, Ms. Coomaraswamy voiced concern over the "presence of children amongst non-State armed groups including the
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) factions."
In addition, she stressed that incursions into villages and abductions in southern Sudan led by the notorious Ugandan
rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) remain a threat to children in the region.
"I spoke to girls and boys formerly abducted by the LRA in Juba who recounted that they lived in fear of death
everyday," she said. "Children's experiences were horrendous, and the LRA remains one of the worst offenders in the
world today."
The Special Representative urged the international community to harness all its force in a bid to protect civilians,
especially children in the LRA affected regions.
ENDS