Carmela Santino
Western Bahr el Ghazal State, students from various learning institutions in Wau celebrated the International Day against the use of child soldiers.
The occasion was organized by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan Wau (UNMISS) together with the State Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare in the state.
The Child Protection Officer Team Leader Erasmus Migyikra points out that child protection and other international organizations were established to put an end to the use of child soldiers all over the world.
He says that children have been recruited since the First and Second World Wars and during that time joining the army seemed to be a great duty and that many children were enrolled to join the military.
UNICEF head office Pa Osuman says that violation is still practiced in the country in the form of rape child adoptions and child recruitments and this denies children to have right to access most of their services.
He urges the people to make this year a better year for children to get access to their needs because they are future leaders and by stop recruiting them will allow them to develop the country in the future.
The SPLA-IO representative Peter Ngoli claims that some children people see in military encampments are not soldiers but they are their children they took them since the time of war and were raised in the camp but they are not soldiers.
He adds that they also need their children to study that’s why they are following the rule of the country that children should not be armed recruited.
SSPDF Division 5 Commander Dau Atour Joung claims that they have cleared off the recruitment of child soldiers since 1994 but if there is a child in the military camp that child must be staying with his/her family members.
He adds that they don’t agree with child soldiers nor allow children to work in their barrier.
Since 2002, nations and regional coalitions from around the world have been holding events on February 12, Red Hand Day, to draw attention to the issue and encourage steps to end the use of children for military purposes.