The Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

[Name of the Institute]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The involvement of the child soldiers both girls and boys needs extensive indoctrination, training of the military and socialization from the front end. The use of the girls and boys that are under the age of 18 in the military operations during the war is an organized ideology of the armed forces. The ingestion of the hallucinatory and alcoholic drugs by these armed forces is the main operation through which these armed forces usually make the children to participate in the war. The separation of these child soldiers from their communities and families is another important process through which these children are made soldiers and are made ready for participating in the war. Thus these children consider their armed groups as their families instead and it gives them a sense of the empowerment and solidarity. It is estimated that 10,000 children fought in the war of Sierra Leone. The 1990s made the most brutal year for the child armies due to the infamous reputation made by them. However in the year 2001, 600 child soldiers have been released by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Moreover 100 of these child soldiers were also provided training, skills, psychosocial care and education by the International Rescue Committee. In the year 2002, entrepreneur of the Sierra Leone started a program for teaching programming and other I.T related subjects to the child soldiers. Various agencies like DDR, IRC and UNICEF are engaged in working and improving the social and economic status of the country. The Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program has proved to be successful in reducing the likelihood of the resumed conflicts thereby acting as a platform for the social, political and economic development of the country. Through the DDR program in the Sierra Leone, combatants that were disarmed are 72,490; demobilized 71,043 while reintegration of 63545 individual combatants taken place that included child soldiers of about 6,845. The high rates of participation in DDR program was experienced along with the peace maintenance in the six years of time in Sierra Leone. Other than this, DDR program did not offer any other tangible benefit to the country and individuals of Sierra Leone.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY1

INTRODUCTION3

IRC AND UNICEF PROJECTS CONSIDERATIONS6

Gender and war in Sierra Leone11

LESSONS, OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS18

Girls and DDR21

COMMON OBSERVATIONS REGARDING DDR26

IMPORTANT ISSUES26

INTRODUCTION

The people living in Sierra Leone have been devastated due to the long civil war that went on for ten years. Thousands of people have been killed in the civil war among which several were maimed mentally as well physically. The sufferings of the children and other individuals living in the Sierra Leone increased extensively due to their involvement in the war. Among the individuals that participated in the war were mostly the children.

Sierra Leone, a small coastal country in West Africa, is home to approximately 6 million people. Geographically, the country is divided into four sections: north, south, east and west. The capital city Freetown, home to approximately ...