The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has conducted training in child rights protection skills for 120 soldiers attached to the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF).
Development Diaries gathered that the UNMISS organised the training to mark the 2022 International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers.
South Sudan descended into a brutal civil war after it gained independence from Sudan in 2011, resulting in the death of nearly 400,000 people and displacement of millions.
According to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the exact number of child soldiers in South Sudan is unknown.
The UN agency said age verification is made difficult because the crime goes largely unreported by the perpetrators and poor birth registration in the country also contributes.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also documented nationwide recruitment and use of child soldiers since the conflict started in South Sudan.
HRW has always accused South Sudan’s leaders of failing to investigate and prosecute commanders for recruiting child soldiers.
The UN has noted several cases where the use and recruitment of children into the conflict was perpetrated by all sides between 2016 and 2017.
A Child Protection Officer with UNMISS, Joseph Deng, said that all stakeholders in South Sudan are doing their best to ensure that the use of underage combatants is eradicated across the country.
Deng, however, stated that the primary responsibility for protecting children lies with the government of South Sudan.
‘We are here to help you, to help the government of South Sudan, ensure that no child ever has to bear arms again’, he said.
‘We must all commit to protecting the rights of every child so that this young nation can truly build a durable peace’.
For his part, the Commander of the SSPDF Division Three in Kuajok, Magok Achuoth, noted that such sensitisation was critical for his subordinate officers to take positive actions.
‘I attended a similar workshop in Juba and I made it a point to trickle down the knowledge I had gained through our ranks’, Achuoth said in the statement.
‘However, there is no substitute for in-person guidance and I am very glad that everybody serving in my division has got the opportunity to participate in these important sessions today’.
Also called Red Hand Day (12 February), the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers is used to draw attention to children under the age of 18 who participate in military organisations of all kinds.
Source: UNMISS
Photo source: UNMISS
