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Press ReleaseUNICEF Praises Release Today of 424 Child Soldiers in Sierra LeoneFREETOWN / NEW YORK, 25 May 2001 - The head of UNICEF in Sierra Leone commended the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) today for its release of 424 child combatants and abductees in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Friday's release brings the total number of children released by the RUF this month to 591. UNICEF said the release of children by the rebel group was a significant demonstration of their commitment to the peace process in Sierra Leone, and called on all factions in the civil conflict to stop the use of child soldiers. "We are greatly encouraged by the initiative taken by the RUF to demobilise children associated with their fighting force," said JoAnna Van Gerpen, the UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone. "Our only regret is that the release of girls has been minimal. As the RUF continues to identify children within its ranks for demobilization, I hope they will ensure that girl combatants and abductees are also released to return to their families, to go to school, and to resume a normal life." The release of children took place after many weeks of advocacy and negotiations. CARITAS Makeni, a UNICEF-supported non-governmental organisation responsible for child protection activities in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, worked for the last two months with a RUF task force to identify and screen the children. As part of recent agreements between the Government of Sierra Leone and the RUF, the RUF promised to release child combatants on the 25th of May. Speakers at a ceremony held in Makeni today commended the RUF for keeping their promise. Of the 424 children released, 421 are boys and 3 are girls. The number of child combatants in the group is believed to be 355; the remaining 69 children had been separated from their families due to abduction, displacement or other effects of the 10-year civil war. These children join 167 children, 7 of which are girls, released earlier this month by the RUF in the north-western part of the country. The children will be registered in the national Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme and then handed over to a network of child protection agencies that will care for the children while their families are traced. UNICEF provides financial and technical assistance to the network to support emergency care, family tracing and reunification, counselling, education, recreation and skills training. "The first priority will be to trace and reunify these children with their families," Van Gerpen said. She emphasised that once a child rejoins its family, the agencies will follow through to support successful reintegration into the community. In talking with the children today, Van Gerpen was told by almost every child that they want to go to school. "Their desire to learn and to have a normal life - to be a child again - is very moving," she said. "Sierra Leoneans place a high value on education. Providing access to education can be an important strategy for preventing further conflict and also in promoting reconciliation. If there is to be peace in Sierra Leone, we must find a way to fulfill the right of every child in Sierra Leone to a quality basic education." For further information, please contact: Alfred Ironside, UNICEF Media,
New York tel. 212) 326-7261 UNICEF
urges demobilization/reintergration of child soldiers Tues.
29 Oct. 2001
2000 Sudan rebels give UNICEF a guarantee
on child soldiers, Oct 24 To the
Humanitarian Issues Working Group: the catastrophe in Kosovo Tues.
6 Apr
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