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Sudan Tribune

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SLM-Minawi agrees to hand over Darfur”children soldiers” – UN

June 11, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced on Monday that it had reached a deal with former rebel Sudan Liberation Movement which agrees to hand over all of its “children soldiers” to the UN agency.

Under the deal, the SLM, which signed the Darfur Peace Agreement with the Sudanese government in May last year, has promised to identify soon the children attached to its forces in preparation for the handover.

UNICEF said in a statement issued here that the two sides reached the deal after discussions for several months, applauding the SLM’s decision to begin identifying and handing over the ” children soldiers”.

“Today we are thankful that for many children in Darfur the process of rebuilding their lives can begin,” UNICEF Representative in Sudan Ted Chaiban said in the statement, adding that “every day these children have been associated with armed groups has been a day of childhood lost.”

“These children are amongst the most vulnerable in Darfur, and they must be given the chance to go home, and take back their childhood,” the UNICEF official stressed.

The SLM-UNICEF agreement commits the former rebel movement to identify the children associated with its armed groups as well as their locations within one month, after which a joint verification by the SLM and the United Nations can be carried out.

According to the deal, the UNICEF, in collaboration with the Sudanese government and local and international non-governmental organizations, will support the provision of family tracing and community reintegration programs, along with training of SLM field commanders on international child rights and protection standards.

Demobilized children will benefit from life skills and vocational training opportunities, education support, psycho social activities such as recreation, sports and career guidance, as well as the assistance of social workers who will monitor and ensure follow-up of children during the reintegration process.

Exact numbers of children associated with armed forces and groups in Darfur are unclear, as monitoring and reporting has been difficult due to limited access to conflict areas.

However, UNICEF estimates that at least 7,000 children could be linked to various armed forces and groups in the region, either as combatants or serving in ancillary roles such as porters, cooks, messengers and bodyguards.

“Today’s agreement with the SLM is only the start of the process,” noted Ted Chaiban, adding that it would take time for children to be properly identified and appropriate reintegration programs to be established.

“But I hope we will now see real efforts to turn this agreement into tangible action for children, and that other armed groups will agree to hand over children that may be attached to their own forces,” he said.

(Xinhua)

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