DATE=5/30/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=CHILD SOLDIERS
NUMBER=5-46400
BYLINE=EVANS HAYS
DATELINE=LONDON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Britain's decision to supply arms and
ammunition to the army in Sierra Leone has sparked
growing concern that many of those weapons may reach
child soldiers. The British government says it will
do everything possible to ensure that this does not
happen. V-O-A's Evans Hays in London spoke with
representatives of Amnesty International and Save the
Children Fund, two organizations that have been
monitoring the problem of child soldiers, to find out
if weapons can be kept away from children in the midst
of war.
TEXT: The picture of a 14-year-old boy in Sierra
Leone holding a British rifle appeared in London
newspapers just as Britain announced its supply of 10-
thousand weapons to Sierra Leone's army.
Those weapons are seen as crucial in helping Sierra
Leone's army combat rebels of the Revolutionary United
Front. But the prospect that they might reach the
hands of children raised public concern.
V-O-A spoke with Martin McPherson, a spokesman for the
human-rights organization Amnesty International. Mr.
McPherson said Britain and other governments could act
effectively to keep weapons and children apart, even
in a war zone.
// 1ST MCPHERSON ACT //
Yes, it should be possible, maybe not in the
next few days or weeks, but in terms of the
coming months, yes it should be possible for the
Sierra Leone armed forces to begin the
demobilization of the child soldiers, that is
all those persons under 18 years of age.
// END ACT //
Mr. McPherson said once the process of demobilization
has begun, the children would need extensive help from
governments and agencies of the United Nations to
become re-integrated into civilian life.
// OPT 2ND MCPHERSON ACT //
And some of them will need assistance both
medical and psychological. Others will need to
be re-integrated into an educational or training
system and others into the workforce.
// END OPT ACT //
Save the Children Fund spokesman Mike Gaouette agrees
that getting children out of combat is the first
priority and it is up to the countries supplying arms
to see that this happens. He said this means bringing
pressure to bear on the government.
// 1ST GAOUETTE ACT //
And there the question is not really whether is
it possible, it is really should we ever expect
anything else and no, we should not, because
this is such an extraordinarily negative thing.
It is quite clear that if the U-K government is
going to be the principal military adviser to
the government of Sierra Leone then they are
obliged to make sure there are simply no
children in that army. I mean that is not
negotiable. And if there are children, then the
support is withdrawn. It is that simple.
// END ACT //
Mr. Gaouette says dealing with the rebels is a more
complex issue. He said rebel leaders have to know
they will be held accountable for using child
soldiers. He cited the use of war crimes tribunals to
punish crimes committed in Bosnia and Rwanda.
// 2ND GAOUETTE ACT //
When leaders, who are legitimate or otherwise,
do things in conflict that contravene
international laws and statutes they have to
live with that and they have to pay for that.
Now what has happened historically is that not
many of them have been answerable to the use of
child soldiers, and there are some, in fact, who
have not suffered at all, having used them in
their forces and having become legitimate in
spite of that. What we have to do is to make
sure that the powerful governments and the
international community no longer accept that.
If you use child soldiers, you will pay the
price.
// END ACT
Save the Children Fund and Amnesty International
figures show there are about 300-thousand child
soldiers worldwide. Tens-of-thousands of these are
said to be in Sierra Leone.
Mike Gaouette of Save the Children Fund says the
damage, especially, psychological damage, done to
these child soldiers is enormous. But he says they
can be saved.
// 3RD GAOUETTE ACT //
And I think any reasonable person, if they were
faced with an 11-year-old boy who had gone
through these traumas could only believe that
this child could be, if you like, restored
somewhat. We have to believe that or else there
is really nothing to do but despair.
// OPT // Having said that, it is a tremendously
complicated and difficult task and it means
creating, if you like, the community around the
child that is as normal as possible for that
child to try to get on with their lives. In
fact it is something the community itself has to
do, and organizations like Save the Children and
other humanitarian organizations can only help
the community to help the child, if you like. //
END OPT //
// END ACT //
As weapons continue to flow into Sierra Leone and
other war-torn countries, humanitarian organizations
will be working to get child soldiers off the
battlefields. It is a goal Amnesty International and
Save the Children believe can be achieved. (SIGNED)
NEB/EH/GE/RAE
30-May-2000 09:20 AM EDT (30-May-2000 1320 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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