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posted by jade
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UNICEF airlifts over 2,500 demobilized child soldiers out of Sudan combat zone
27 February – In the largest effort of its kind ever undertaken in southern Sudan, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced today that it had airlifted more than 2,500 child combatants out of conflict zones and into safe areas where a rehabilitation and family tracing process can begin.
In an evacuation operation that began Friday and continued through the weekend, UNICEF evacuated the children from conflict-torn Bahr el Gazal using two humanitarian relief planes operated by the World Food Programme (WFP). The children were taken to reception centres where local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) greeted them with medical check-ups and other basic care.
A single aircraft was continuing the operation through Tuesday, according to UNICEF, which said that children are also being moved from some garrisons by road.
The former soldiers, who range in age from 8 to 18, were demobilized from military camps run by the rebel Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLA) based on a personal commitment made by an SPLA commander to UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy in October 2000.
UNICEF said the children would live in transit centres, which are run by NGOs with experience in child protection, for the next four to nine months while a family tracing process takes place. During this time the young people will be provided with education, psychosocial counselling, and vocational training. UNICEF has arranged for water points to be built at the sites and WFP has brought food there.
Sharad Sapra, the head of UNICEF's operations in southern Sudan, acknowledged that a long process was only just beginning. "Our first priority was to get these children to a place of safety, out of harm's way," he said. "Now our goal is to give them an education and some time to recover."
The UN agency, which ultimately aims to totally end the use of children as combatants in southern Sudan, estimates that 9,000 child soldiers are serving in various armed groups in the area.
Dr. Sapra said the success of the current effort offered hope for the future. "We have a way to go, but this operation has shown what can be done with strong advocacy and follow-through," he said. "We are more inspired than ever to convince military leaders in this conflict that children have no place in armies."