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The call by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for an end to the recruitment and use of children by armed groups in Nigeria and the release of those in the custody of such groups deserves prompt attention.
UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office, Phuong T. Nguyen, who made the call on the International Day Against The Use Of Child Soldiers, otherwise known as “Red Hand Day,” urged support for former child soldiers in the North East region.
She observed that 13 years of armed conflict in the region has claimed thousands of lives and disrupted essential services for children and their families. According to the UN agency, since 2009, more than 8,000 girls and boys had been recruited and used as child soldiers in different capacities by armed groups.
“We call for an immediate end to the recruitment and use of innocent children as soldiers or for any other conflict-related role,” said Nguyen.
The agency also asked the Nigerian authorities to sign the Handover Protocol for children encountered in the course of armed conflicts in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin region, which would end the detention of children formerly associated with armed groups.
The Handover Protocol would ensure that children encountered during military and security operations are transferred from military custody to civilian child protection actors to support their reintegration into society through the provision of family tracing and reunification services and medical, educational and psychosocial recovery services. Support would also include life skills support, skills training and links to decent work.
We commend the UNICEF for the initiative. It is unacceptable and unconscionable that children continue to serve on the frontlines of conflicts they did not initiate. We agree with the agency that every day of delay of the children in the custody of armed groups is a tragedy with grave implications for them, their families, and the Nigerian society as a whole. Their involvement in armed conflicts mortgages their future.
A child soldier is any girl or boy below the age of 18 who is recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity. Child soldiers are not necessarily involved in fighting. They can also be those in other roles such as cooks, porters, messengers, human shields, spies, suicide bombers or those subjected to sexual exploitation. They include children recruited and trained for military purposes, but not used in war.
Some are forcibly recruited through abduction, threats or coercion, while others are enticed with money or drugs. Many from poor backgrounds, without education and basic skills are easy targets. Others join to fight for a cause they least understand. Non-state armed groups such as terrorists and insurgents are more likely than states to use children in armed conflicts.
Regardless of the reasons for the recruitment of children into conflicts, the exercise is condemnable as it affects the psychology of the affected children. Some of the recruits end up becoming monsters haunting their neighbourhoods and the country at large.
Let those involved in the act of enlisting children in conflicts desist from the practice. It runs against international protocols and conventions on the rights of the child. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts prohibits the forced recruitment or conscription of children under 18 by government forces, and the participation of children under 18 in active hostilities.
The Protocol also places obligations on non-state armed groups not to involve or use children under 18 years in hostilities and conflicts. Nigeria is a signatory to the instrument. All the parties involved should respect these recommendations.
We call on the government to rise up to its responsibility in protecting children from being manipulated into conflicts and wars. There is need for adequate enlightenment and awareness campaigns on why children should not be involved in conflicts. Community and religious leaders should be carried along in the campaigns.
It is good that Borno State has signed into law the Child Protection Act, which prohibits and prescribes stiff penalties for the violation of children’s rights. We commend Governor Babagana Zulum for the initiative and urge the Federal Government to do so.
Let the government embark on creation of more jobs and provision of good governance to dissuade the youths from falling into those that may wish to recruit them into conflicts. Above all, the restoration of peace in the country will largely reduce the incidence of child soldiers.
