Environment, Rural ad Social Development ' ''.t" '+3 - 8---46 d8i,'o~'< "' May 2002 Findings reports on ongoing operational, economic, and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member govemments in the Africa Region. It is published periodically by the IVWO R L D BA N K Knowledge and Leaming Center on behalf of the Region. The views expressed in Findings are those of the author/s and should not be attributed to the World Bank Group. http:llwww.worldbank.org/afr/findings N@ M o> Child Soldiers ' ' -tAt= I- - =Lessons Learned on Prevention, - . - lDemobilization and Reintegration - ,mong the most egregious child ence of others because of a dearth rights violations, an esti- of documentation and dissemina- mated 300,000 child soldiers tion of program experience. Unfor- UgW - S X , ; - n = are involved in armed conflicts. As tunately, efforts at practical action a '; v Di; ]s-= . highlighted in the seminal UN for child soldiers are often over- L;"} ,-'' - = Study on the Impact ofArmed Con- shadowed by intense political and . -. a _ _> J~~~lict on Children by G;rac: a Machel,' emotional debates. Whilst program- ':: ' :' < ' 5 g ;||: the involvement of children in con- ming must be specific to the con- ,.- 3, .,,ffi, , > ) X flict has increased in recent de- text of the country concerned, some cades due to the length of many lessons and principles are consis- conflicts, the blurring of civilian tent across various experiences and , . J , --and military targets, and the pro- provide guidance towards best liferation of small arms. practice. The reintegration of child Child soldiers have often been soldiers in tandem with community portrayed in the media as "future recovery for children affected by barbarians" and "killing machines," armed conflict is a key area of post- and their rehabilitation and rein- conflict reconstruction and sus- ,~ < E -tegration is often portrayed as tainable development goals. hopeless. The study is a contribution to- Yet, a new study, Child Soldiers: wards sharing practical experience w - - . g !.-'F- --_ - Preventing, Demobilizing and Rein- and lessons learned. It draws pri- tegratfng, demonstrates that chil- manly from in-depth case studies dren and youth involved in armed on Angola and El Salvador,3 re- conflict can re-engage positive so- searched in collaboration with w -*s > - J;- 2 | ' -- - cial relations and productive civil- UNICEF, and integrates other ian lives. This is no easy task and country program experiences. will depend crucially on mobilizing Angola's demobilization from 1995 political will and resources to in- to 1997 was one of the most exten- A .-- -llk__ I! l clude child soldiers in demobiliza- sive in the history of the United tion programs and support their re- Nations and was perhaps the first M - t - -t -l, }M>q | integration to family and comnmunity. time that children were specifically A number of countries have un- included in a peace process. The dertaken demobilization and rein- experience of El Salvador provides tegration programs for child sol- a longer-term perspective on the diers, although they have had little transition process to civilian life for guidance or access to the experi- child soldiers and is significant e- ; r trS~J.__- 1-J r rLL cause some 30 percent of child sol- soldiers must be The numbers game and interviewing child diers were girls. effectively sepa- soldiers rated from mili- Prevention tary authority The logistics of preparing for demobilization and other pressures often fuel considerable discussion about the number of child soldiers. and protected Equally, there is often a disproportionate focus on pre-demobilization Prevention lessons highlight the during demobili- profiling of child soldiers rather than investments in programming vital role of civil society actors and zation. In a relevant to reintegration. Interviewing child soldiers raises important protection and ethical their need for external support. number of coun- concerns. The question of language skills and military control raises Awareness of the law has in many try experiences, issues of confidentiality, freedom of expression and the veracity of children and a ack of protec- interviews. Child soldiers may be exposed to retaliation and a child cases empowered children and a lack of protec- soldier's war experiences should not be exploited for media and their families to resist recruitment tion for child sol- propaganda purposes. and to contribute to prevention and diers allowed Although statistics on child soldiers contribute to understanding the problem, many will be excluded from 'counts' and a large proportion advocacy. Most vital to the legal military authori- of children may be involved in the conflict. protection framework is the 1989 ties to manipu- Estimates are important for budget preparations, but more essential Convention on the Rights of the late the demobi- is the early mobilization and support of community based structures for family reunification and psychosocial support. Such a program Child and its Optional Protocol on lization process framework can accommodate any increase or decrease in actual the Involvement of Children in for recruitment. numbers throughout the demobilization and reintegration process. Arimied Conflict, adopted in May In Angola, of 2000 by the UN General Assembly.4 8,613 child sol- Practical measures to prevent the diers registered with adult soldiers While most of the attention on involvement of children in armed in UNITA quartering areas, only 57 child soldiers concerns formal de- conflict require much greater atten- percent could be tracked for family mobilization, informal demobiliza- tion from humanitarian and devel- reunification. This lesson under- tion also requires programming opment actors. For example, for- scores the prudence of establishing centered on family reunification mal and non-formal education and procedures to separate child soldiers and community-based reintegra- other youth activities, food security to special 'centres' in demobilization tion. In many instances, child sol- and the security of refugee camps exercises. diers may escape, be released or have a direct relationship in pre- On the other hand, measures "left behind" in the course of mili- venting child recruitment. must be adopted from the outset tary developments. In other in- to ensure that child soldiers remain stances, local, quasi-formal demo- Demobilization in centers for the shortest amount bilizations may be achieved. Estab- of time possible. While special cen- lishing programming frameworks Demobilization lessons stress that ters are often necessary in the in- to support the demobilization and child soldiers must be specifically terim, experience profoundly demon- reintegration of child soldiers is included in peace agreements and strates that family reunification and thus necessary while waiting for demobilization processes. The ex- community-based strategies are fun- more formal demobilization results. clusion of child soldiers in El Sal- damental to effective reintegration. Protection and legal advocacy must vador hindered their reintegration, Lessons on preparing for demo- be assured so that such cases are engendered resentment and left bilization include: training appro- not accused of being "deserters." them socially and economically priate staff, establishing partner- Appropriate partners and com- mrginaiized Aorld res olu ships, generating resources and munity organizations can effec- prioritizing child soldiers in Angola mobilizing policy coherence. In tively support non-formally demo- proved essential to achieving their Angola, belated staff recruitment, bilized child soldiers in line with demobilization. These lessons have inappropriate interpretation ar- strategies reaching other children already borne fruit in Sierra Leone. rangements, and policy debates affected by armed conflict. Harmo- With regard to formal demobili- delayed and obstructed child sol- nizing programming for child sol- zation procedures, the use of spe- dier demobilization for some eighteen diers with that for other children cial centres in demobilization and months after the official decree pri- affected by armed conflict is of cru- reintegration requires careful oritizing their demobilization. cial importance. A careful balance analysis. Most importantly, child is required between the potential socialization "self-building project" to support usually gained home construction. Either ex- The diverse and often violent experiences of armed conflict have from family and tended family members or tradi- profound effects on child development and well-being. The word community. In tional community leaders gave the "psychosocial" simply underlines the dynamic relationship between psychological and social effects, each continually influencing the the words of a land for the new homes. other. national NGO in Psychosocial support, including "Psychological effects" are those, which affect emotion, behav- El Salvador, traditional rituals and family and ior, thoughts, memory, learning ability, perceptions and understand- ing. they are "social- community mediation, is pivotal to "Social effects" refer to altered relationships due to death, ized into a polar- addressing the asocial and aggres- separation, estrangement and other losses, family and community breakdown, damage to social values and customary practices and ized existence of sive behavior learned by child sol- the destruction of social facilities and services. Social effects also hostility." The diers, facilitating their recovery extend to the economic dimension as many individuals and families focus of reinte- from distressful experiences and become destitute through the material and economic devastation of armed conflict, thus losing status and place in their social network. gration must be contributing to community healing the socio-eco- and justice. Experience shows that nomic fabric of psychosocial approaches are more for stigmatizing child soldiers and community life as the anchor in the beneficial than Western-derived favoring them at the expense of transition from military to civilian trauma assistance. For example. equally or more distressed war-af- identity. Program lessons demon- counselors in Liberia estimated fected children. The study high- strate that three components are that less than 5 percent of child sol- lights lessons where communities essential to effective reintegration: diers required specialized psycho- have resented the favored attention . Family reunification; logical care. Estimates in El Salva- and benefits given to child soldiers. . Psychosocial support; and, dor were less than 2 percent. Indeed, this can create perverse . Education and economic oppor- Group counseling, collective con- incentives exacerbating the phe- tunity. flict resolution approaches and the nomena of child soldiers. Incorporation of traditional ceremo- Mobilizing community-based ca- Family reunification or, where nies were the most effective. In pacity is the essential foundation that is not possible, foster place- Uganda, children themselves note to sustainable support to demobi- ment or support for independent the importance of cleansing cer- lized child soldiers. Furthermore, living are fundamental to success- emonies so that their communities community-based networks can ful reintegration. Many programs do not view them as cen or "con- reach those excluded, most often have struggled with arguments that taminated." girls and the disabled, from formal center-based approaches are nec- Other reintegration lessons stress demobilization. In turn, this builds essary. International child welfare that education and economic op- capacity towards potential formal practice consistently concludes portunities must be individually demobilization programs. AL nota- that institutional settings are in- determined and inclusive of family bly successful network in Angola appropriate to the emotional, so- livelihood needs. Apprenticeships, is described in the reintegration cial and cognitive development micro-enterprise and support to chapter of the working paper. needs of children and adolescents. locally based small businesses have In follow-up work with former child been shown to be more effective Reintegration soldiers in El Salvador, 84 percent than vocational training centers. A Working with child soldiers can be reported that family ties played the balance must be achieved between most important role in their rein- the need to earn income and the extremely difficult. They often have t ineed for education and life-skills highly inflated expectations, exag- tegration. gerated pride in their military iden- Programming must also training. Former child soldiers face tity, and have learned to i-ely on proactively address the needs of many obstacles to formal education aggression to meet needs and solve child soldiers living independently and more attention to innovative problems. Children involved in or having children, with or with- program development in this area armed conflict are depived of the out a partner. In Angola, one of the is needed. normal cunflictural, moralad v hes most successful projects was a normal cultural, moral and values Just as vital as political will to include child soldiers in peace This article was written by Beth 1. Monitoring and estimates of child agreements and demobilization, Verhey, Child Protection consultant soldiers are primarily undertaken by reintegration of child soldiers re- and the author of Child Soldiers: Save the Children ( Redd Barna) and quires a reasonable period, at least Preventing, Demobilizing and Rein- the NGO Coalition to Stop the Use of three to five years. of committed re- tegrating , Africa Region Working Child Soldiers. Cfr. Brett. Rachel and sources. Many formal demobiliza- Paper Series No. 23, November Margaret McCallin. Children: The tion programs emphasize immedi- 2001. Invisible Soldiers, 2"1 edition. Save the ate quartering and reinsertion ef- Children Sweden, 1998: www.rb.se forts and timeframes, undermining 2. UN Document A/51/306 and Add. 1, the process necessary to success- New York, 1996. ful reintegration. 3. The full case studies on Angola and El In conclusion, whilst prevention Salvador are available in full text via is the best solution, the efforts of the World Bank's Post Conflict web those working to demobilize and re- page: www.worldbank.org. then click integrate child soldiers require full on 'Topics'. 'Social Development' and support. Former child soldiers then'Post-Conflict'. striving to achieve a better future 4. The study has annexes on the legal - often despite ongoing tensions, framework regarding child soldiers and social violence and distressed sup- definition of terms. port systems - demonstrate the possibilities of regaining productive civilian life. fin dings Findings can be accessed via the World Bank Group's website at http://www.worldbank.org/ Click on Publications, then Periodicals. Or, Findings would also be of interest to: click on Countries and Regions, then Africa Name Institution Letters, comments, and requests for publications not Address available at the World Bank Bookstore should be addressed to: Editor, Findings Operational Quality and Knowledge Services Africa Region, The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Room J-5-055 Washington, D.C. 20433 e-mail: pmohan@worldbank.org