The Central African government and the United Nations (UN) have signed a memorandum of understanding for the protection of children associated with armed forces and groups.
The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) wants to strengthen the protection of children, considered “victims” in the ongoing armed conflict in this country. From now on, “ it is expected that once they have left the forces or armed group in which they had been incorporated, they will be handed over within 24 hours to the civil authorities which are the relevant services of the Ministry of Gender Promotion, Protection of women, families and children or UNICEF or civil society stakeholders approved in the field of child protection », Declared Wednesday MINUSCA spokesperson, Florence Marchal, during a press conference in Bangui.
The text, signed by the Central African Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sylvie Baïpo Témon, and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Central African Republic, Valentine Rugwabiza, details the stages of the transfer of children from the armed forces to civilian authorities.
The process which led to this agreement was launched in 2017. According to the spokesperson, it underlines that “children associated with armed forces and groups are recognized as the children they should never have ceased to be. Children who go to school, who play, who are cared for, children whose right to innocence had been ignored until now.”
Before this agreement, these children were often arrested by national defense and security forces and subjected to a lengthy legal process, which could even lead to their detention.
MINUSCA, in accordance with its mandate to protect civilians, promises to continue its support for the implementation of this protocol through training, advocacy and awareness-raising actions with communities and parties to the conflict.
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, welcomed the conclusion of this agreement, while emphasizing the need for rapid implementation.
“I congratulate the authorities for the signing of this Transfer Protocol, which marks the culmination of a process initiated seven years ago. It is now important to start implementing the Transfer Protocol as soon as possible,” she recommended in a statement.
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