Amnesty International Labels Recruitment of Child Soldiers War Crime, Says Demobilization Efforts Ineffective in DRC---Conscription of Children Continues Despite Armed Groups' Promises to the Contrary,
Organization Warns

(AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWSWIRE)(New York)In a new report released today Amnesty International (AI)criticized demobilization of child soldiers in eastern Congo as timid and ineffective, claiming that among certain rebel groups demobilization is merely a public relations ploy that often ends in the re-recruitment of those recently demobilized. Based on interviews with former child soldiers, the report, Democratic Republic of Congo: Children at War, documents the plight of thousands of child soldiers in the Great Lakes region.

"The recruitment and deployment of children under 18 in armed conflict is not only abominable, but constitutes a war crime," stated Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "Until sham demobilization efforts designed to deceive the international community

are abandoned, the welfare and, in fact, the very lives of these children will continue to be gravely at risk. Those armed rebel leaders responsible for such actions should be prosecuted for their offenses."

The report describes the discrepancy between public commitments and actual attempts by various governments and armed groups to protect children from being used as combatants, as well as to demobilize children who already have been the victims of recruitment. Demobilization initiatives often ignore the crucial role that families and local communities play in the child's successful reintegration into civilian life. In eastern Congo , the potential re-recruitment of former child soldiers remains one of the biggest challenges to demobilization efforts.

Children interviewed by Amnesty International after having escaped or been demobilized gave horrifying accounts of how the armed conflicts in the DRC have affected them both physically and psychologically. Kalami, aged 15, a six-year veteran of one of the armed groups in eastern DRC, described his brutal ordeal: "We were told to kill people by forcing them to stay in their homes while we burned them down. We even had to bury some alive. One day, my friends and I were forced by our commanders to kill a family, to cut up their bodies and to eat them ... My life is lost. I have nothing to live for. At night, I can no longer sleep. I keep thinking of those horrible things I have seen and done when I was a soldier."

On the front lines children are forced repeatedly to commit abuses, including rape and murder, against enemy soldiers and civilians. Some have been made to kill their own family members, while others have been forced to engage in cannibalistic or sexual acts with the corpses of enemies killed in battle. Children are often given drugs and alcohol to suppress their emotions as they carry out these crimes. As one recounted: "We had to walk for days. At night, I had to raid villages in order to get some food. In October, I was part of the attack on Uvira. It was horrible. I was afraid and didn't want to kill anybody or be killed. After the attack, I left my gun and ran away."

The report also details the particular difficulties faced by female child soldiers who have been demobilized. Most girl soldiers have reported being sexually exploited or raped by their commanders or other soldiers. Girls who have given birth to a child as a result of rape often are rejected by their communities if they attempt to reintegrate.

"The ruthless exploitation of Congo's children by leaders of armed forces to further their own material and political ends is one of the most egregious examples of human rights abuses of the entire conflict in the Congo," said Krista Riddley, Africa Advocacy Director for AIUSA. "The international community should bring pressure on all parties involved in the DRC conflict to hold those responsible accountable for their acts and to bring them to justice at the international and national levels."

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For more information please see: Democratic Republic of Congo: Children at war http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/eng620342003 Or visit the online video "Children at War in DRC" at http://www.amnesty.org/resources/videostory/cod-090903-video-eng/launch.html

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