April 2, 1998 No. 81

CANADA TO SUPPORT PROJECTS FOR

PROTECTING CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Minister for International Co-operation and Minister responsible for la Francophonie, Diane Marleau, today announced that Canada will support four projects to protect children in armed conflict. The announcement was made following meetings in Ottawa with the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu.

These projects are aimed at demobilizing child soldiers and reintegrating them into civil society.

According to a recent United Nations study, child soldiers are described as boys and girls with weapons, as well as children who "follow or serve armies" as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies, and as sexual slaves.

"The use of children as soldiers has escalated worldwide due to the advent of light weapons technology, the rise of intrastate conflict, and the increase in guerrilla and rebel forces," said Mr. Axworthy. "However, those forms of exploitation or deplorable situations that deprive children of their right to fully realize their mental and physical potential, and expose them to hazardous and dangerous situations, contravene a basic human right."

Canada has actively supported working groups established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to elaborate two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: One on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography, and the other on children in situations of armed conflict.

"Over the past decade, civil conflicts have led to the deaths of an estimated two million children, four to five million children have been disabled, and more than a million have been orphaned or separated from their parents," said Madame Marleau. "In supporting these initiatives announced today, Canada seeks to protect these children from abuse, exploitation, and violence by giving them a chance at life."

Canada will support four projects worth $650 000 to help child soldiers in Liberia, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (ex-Zaïre).

The projects announced today include:

A project in northern Uganda, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), will assist children abducted by rebel forces. It is estimated that between 5 000 and 8 000 children have been abducted. The main objectives are to stop the abduction of children; to support the advocacy work under way for the release of the abducted children; and to facilitate the tracing and resettlement of children who manage to escape captivity. CIDA's contribution is $200 000.

A project in Liberia, supported by CIDA, targets 800 child soldiers. Its aim is to demobilize and reintegrate child soldiers into their families and their communities by providing financial and technical support such as skills and literacy training. It will also help to assess the psychological condition of the children, support their psychological recovery, and rebuild their self-confidence for reintegration into civil society. CIDA's contribution is $200 000.

A project in the Democratic Republic of Congo

(ex-Zaïre), supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), will encourage and assist national and provincial authority to demobilize 1 500 child soldiers, ages nine to sixteen, and to reintegrate them into their families and civil society. It will also help to reinforce existing mechanisms for allowing demobilized children to complete their primary school studies, augmented by local and professional skills training. DFAIT's

contribution is $200 000.

A project funded by DFAIT to support a coalition of international non-governmental organizations, Child Soldiers Coalition, in its effort to raise awareness of young child combatants in armed conflict. DFAIT's contribution is

$50 000.

Canada supports the efforts of Mr. Otunnu to act as an advocate for children in situations of armed conflict. Canada has been supporting children in areas of conflict for many years with clean water, food, health care, and shelter.

Funding for these initiatives was provided for in the February 1998 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown André Doren

Office of the Minister Office of the Minister

of Foreign Affairs for International Co-operation

(613) 995-1851 and Minister responsible

for la Francophonie

(819) 997-6919

Media Relations Office Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs The Canadian International

and International Trade Development Agency

(613) 995-1874 (819) 953-6534

This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Internet site:

http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca