09 May 2003
U.S. Official At U.N. Praises Anti-Child Soldier Advocates
(Amb. Williamson cites problem in Africa at Labor Dept. conference)
(1000)
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The U.S. Alternate Representative to the United Nations
for Special Political Affairs, Ambassador Richard Williamson, thanked
500 participants at a "child soldier" conference May 8 for "taking to
heart a cause that desperately needs fervent advocacy in every corner
of the globe" but especially in Africa.
The former Chicago lawyer and official in the Reagan White House was
the luncheon speaker on the last day of the "Children in the
Crossfire" conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and
held in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Nine former child
soldiers from six nations attended as guests of the U.S. Labor
Department.
Williamson said he was "especially gratified" to see "representatives
from several governments who are prepared to address this issue in
their own countries: El Salvador, the Philippines, Columbia, Burundi,
Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Uganda. I am particularly heartened that
the Government of Burundi has agreed to be an active participant in
this event."
In 1999 the United States was one of the first countries to sign the
ILO's Convention No. 182 that forbids the use of children in armed
conflict. In spite of that, Labor Department statistics note there are
300,000 children under the age of 18 fighting in wars in 30 countries.
Of that number, 120,000 are serving as soldiers in sub-Saharan Africa.
The U.S. Agency for International Development spends about $13 million
on anti-child soldier programs, most of it in Africa, and at the
Washington conference Labor Secretary Elaine Chao announced her agency
would devote another $13 million to help train child soldiers and
reintegrate them into society.
At the Washington conference Williamson told his audience, "Our
children are our future. Allowing their exploitation in armed
conflicts does irrevocable harm to them and it diminishes the future
for all" because it is "robbing people of the future leaders they need
to reconstruct their society when the conflict ends [and] scarring the
next generation that a society needs to reconcile and find justice
when the killing stops."
The American representative said, "Go to President Bush's speeches and
public statements and you will find a firmly-worded, recurrent theme:
'It is our duty to make sure that no child is left behind.'"
Therefore, while unpleasant, it was imperative, Williamson said, "to
stand here today and acknowledge that over 300,000 children are
currently being used in armed conflicts as soldiers, messengers,
guards, bearers, spies, cooks and sex slaves. The problem is most
critical in African nations but we know it exists in Latin America,
Europe and the Middle East."
In places like Uganda, where the rebel movement called the Lord's
Resistance Army has kidnapped children for use in its struggle,
Williamson said, "children as young as ten years old have been
abducted from their homes and forced into situations where they
witness, and sometimes perpetrate, violence against their own families
and communities."
The situation in Burundi is also "extremely volatile," Williamson told
his audience, and "the international community must be vigilant in
preventing a catastrophe on the scale witnessed by Burundi's neighbor
[Rwanda] in the recent past. There have been encouraging developments,
but circumstances in Burundi are still such that children continue to
be exploited as combatants."
In the Mano River region of West Africa, Williamson pointed out "the
use of child soldiers perpetuates violence across borders. For many of
those children the only life they know is one of violence and
bloodshed as mercenaries prowl for new recruits." If they survive and
free themselves, many find it hard to go back home.
For example, he noted, "child soldiers who cannot reintegrate into
society have hampered efforts for peace in Sierra Leone, which cannot
escape the instability in neighboring Liberia...whose government's
flagrant failure to adhere to international law is a major
contributing factor to the instability in West Africa."
Ongoing conflict in western Cote d'Ivoire has wreaked havoc on its
younger generation, according to the official, who quoted a recent
article in the New York Times that said: "In ever growing numbers,
youths from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Cote d'Ivoire are now
schooled in nothing but the art of destruction."
On the bright side, Williamson said, "the international community has
taken some important steps in responding to these abuses, steps the
United States has strongly supported." He pointed out that at the
U.N., "The first optional protocol on the involvement of children in
armed conflict, The Convention on the Rights of the Child, was adopted
by the U.N. General Assembly on May 25, 2000 and came into force on
February 12, 2002. Over 111 countries signed and over 52, including
the United States, have ratified it."
With that in mind, Williamson said, "I am pleased to report that
significant progress has been made in Afghanistan. As the secretary
general's report notes, 'The Afghan National Army will not recruit
under-age soldiers. Despite the use of child soldiers by factions, the
lives of Afghan children have improved markedly.'"
Calling for greater monitoring of countries where it is suspected
child soldier abuse still occurs, Williamson left his audience with
the message: "The obnoxious use of children in armed conflict cannot
stand the light of scrutiny. The perpetuators of the abuse of children
in armed conflict want to remain in the shadows, hidden from scrutiny
and protected from accountability. We need to know -- the world needs
to know -- what is happening to our children."
[In addition to the United Nations International Labor Organization
(ILO), UNICEF and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
non-governmental organizations at the conference included: World
Vision, International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers,
International Rescue Committee, International Organization for
Migration, the International Red Cross and Save the Children.]
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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