position paper

Committee: UNICEF
Country: Uganda
Name: Van Trinh
Topic: Child Solider
Child Solider in Uganda
Dear Honor Chair,
Child Solider is the child that under 18 years old have to be voluntarily attend to the joining to the military and they have to sign to attend to the army , the leader of that army going to give their families the basic need ( food, clothes , finances ). They encourage participate to the conflict with different kind of job. They can be solider, messenger, guard, cook, construction work or sex slave, work for the company or some children been offer go to the shelter of the enemies to get the information. But actually they didn’t did that they force, kidnapping them have to sign the voluntarily form or they families have to died. They work so hard and everyday they have to see death body, even rebels forces them have to kill their families. Around the world, more than 300,000 children have to work in the army and fighting more than 21 conflicts.2 million killed, 4 to 5 million disabled , 12 million left homeless,1 million orphaned or separated from their parents , 10 million psychological traumatic ( UNICEF).
“Since 1986, 15,000 children have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army“.( UNICEF
And Justice Africa,2006).He is one of the dangerous rebel groups Joseph Kony is leader of the group who kidnapping from the village at night and make the army to overthrow the government. Uganda is one example of one country have the most child solider in the world. “More than 1.8 million people — or 80 percent of the northern Uganda population have attended in army. In 1997, One of third are female” (World Vision, 2002-2005) . One of the reason they joined in because the poverty. They think that army will give them more food and better security. Unfortunately, Uganda is still developing country. The country still has the poverty covered. “Uganda still remains one of the poorest countries in the world with the medium income per capita 320 $ per year .10 million of whom live on less than a dollar per day and approximately 85% of entire population lives in rural areas.”(LUYODEFO.2002)
They don’t have enough food, clean water shelter even clothes. Some of families, parents have illness (HIV). “More than 1million people living with HIV/AIDS. Death from AIDS in 2006 is 91000.” ( AMICAALL,2006)
“More than 50,000 children has been abducted.” They use child solider is easier for them in the conflict. Army always need more solider. They don’t know anything and they easier attracting to the war. Also They are cheap that they don’t have to pay too much food, money like adult. A lot of children has been died, orphan or their house has been destroy by the rebels. Almost they are get fear at night because that time they been attacked by the rebels. So at night more than 30,000 kid walk to safety place like the urban center (Gulu, Kitgum), hospital or veranda also called “ night commuters”. over the year, the number of children go to “night commuters” increase that they don’t have enough space. “In February 2003, some 1,000 children were coming into Gulu nightly while at the hospital more than 2,500 people, mostly children, were seeking shelter. Since February, the number of night stayers in Gulu has tripled, to 13,400 in mid-May 2003.” ( HRV,2003 )
When they attend to the army , it is very hard for them to escape the rebel because they can kill them if they escape. “Of the total number of children who managed to escape or were rescued by military forces, approximately 57% are between 11 and 16 years of age and 40% are between 16 and 18 years of age. Only a small proportion of children below 10 years of age managed to escape.” (Worst Forms of Child Labour Data).Most of children attend the rebels from 5-12 because he think that they are big enough to carry the gun and small enough to steal more children in school.It is very violence for them after they attend that army. They also affect the physiological, physical harm for them. A lot of children have depression, post-traumatic stress. They cannot forgive for themselves what they have done to community. Also the girls have be wives in the rebel group. They injured and risk of the disease has been increase.
“There is only one psychiatrist for every 1.3 million people in Uganda.” (Indept Africa,2010). “Almost all the children experienced several traumatic events (mean six events); 233 (77%) saw someone being killed, and 118 (39%) had to kill someone themselves. 71 children also filled in the impact of event scale--revised to assess their post-trauma stress reactions. 69 (97%) reported post-traumatic stress reactions of clinical importance. The death of a parent, especially of the mother, led to an important increase in score for avoidance symptoms (mother alive 16.4, mother not alive 21.6; p=0.04), with a high increase for girls (from 15.1 to 25.8), but almost no change for boys (from 17.7 to 17.4; p=0.02).” ( Pub med.gov) “. Over 1000 died each week in the Displaced people camp.” ( UNIGHT,2010).The education and health is still not improved because a lot of school and camp has been destroying by war. A lot of children have to come to school very far away and some of them can’t not go to school because they have to take care of their families. Students have studied under very bad condition.“2,000 pupils at the beginning the school year, only 700 would complete the year, more than 100 students to a teacher.” ( HRW,2003).
But beside that the government and other organization like World Vision, UNICEF have a lot of way to help them and the result is very positive. The government has group name Uganda People Forces Defense try to protect children and government pay fee for the school. A lot of children can dismissed from the rebels, get the treatment and can go to school .some of them can come back to normal life.“ 10 million young people receive AIDS education in the nation’s classrooms, many of whom entered school for the first time when fees were eliminated in the 1990s.”( women and HIV/AIDS : confronting the crisis,2010).“Sample of 330 child soldiers 27.6% showed this trait which is obviously a good thing that these children could remotely recover from their experiences (Klasen),”( pit of journal submission stream,2011). The dramatic increase in enrolments for girls in primary schools from 1,420,883 in 1996 to 3,372,881 in 2001; The reduction of people living in absolute poverty from 56% in 1992 to 35% in 2000; The reduction of HIV /AIDS prevalence among pregnant women in Uganda from 13% in 1989 to 5% in 2000 in rural areas and from 31% in 1990 to 11% in 2000 in urban areas.” ( United Nation)
Uganda still need health form other organization and from other country. Uganda will build some of the radio station communicate in each of the villages, put more technologies that they can announce .So when they in the dangerous, people of the United Nation will come and protect them from rebels. Uganda rebuilds school and provides the material for the education, training the teacher in school. The book also can transmit from the other country (school, work place, some public, donation) recycle and fix it to benefit the culture , language and environment. The school provides the bus and food, clothes, book when they go to school. Uganda also provide some of the program to parents about prevent HIV disease, how to do when rebel come, how to get food and grown plant. And they will build some treatment center or health camp for the people, children after they return from the rebels group. Government and other organization or countries in Africa involve together will sign some of the agreement to promise that stop using child for the military help them can come back to normal life. Let’s come together to make the different.


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