Brussels, 13/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On 12 February, the International Day against the use of Child Soldiers, the EU and UN reiterated their commitment, in a joint statement, to cooperating to put an end within two years to the recruitment and use of children by government armed forces.
The “Children, not soldiers” campaign, which was launched jointly by UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, and UNICEF in March 2014 to address this challenge by the end of 2016 “is already making a difference for thousands of children (…) We stand ready to support governments who release all children from their national armed forces and provide for their education”, said High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.
Zerrougui observed that the EU-UN partnership, which is “essential to (…) consolidate progress to end the recruitment and use of children”, has been “put to the test” with “the proliferation of crises over the past 12 months”.
The EU finances reintegration programmes for former child soldiers. More than 108,000 children have benefitted from the “Children of Peace” initiative - a European programme aiming to provide education to children in emergencies. In addition, the EU contributes to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which aims to accompany the release and reintegration of up to 3,000 child soldiers from an armed group in South Sudan. Over 400 children have already been released from Myanmar's army, and Chad is completing the criteria for a child-free government army. (Aminata Niang)