OPAC Annex 5: USAID Efforts to Address the Unlawful Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers

Agency for International Development (USAID) has implemented various programs to address the unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers. These efforts are organized into three categories: documentation, prevention, and Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) efforts. Documentation efforts aim to improve global documentation and accountability on protection issues. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) supports the UN Security Council-established monitoring and reporting mechanisms. Additionally, USAID/OFDA supports efforts to ensure that relief agencies have optimal child protection guidance, which could strengthen efforts to protect children from recruitment into armed activities. Relevant efforts include the Tides Center Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, which measures the impact of the UN's Children and Armed Conflict Agenda on child protection efforts in the field. The Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, a central resource to guide operational planning for humanitarian child protection efforts, has been developed with USAID/OFDA funding. Prevention efforts focus on preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), USAID/OFDA funding to UNICEF has enabled the agency to continue working on prevention of child recruitment and targeting by armed groups. USAID/OFDA, in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), is providing psychosocial assistance, along with case-management services, to children in distress through the USAID-supported rapid response mechanism. The USAID/OFDA-supported, International Organization for Migration (IOM)-managed Rapid Response Fund is providing both preventative and responsive protection assistance to conflict-affected individuals and IDPs, including children, in Jonglei State. Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) efforts focus on supporting children who have been released from armed groups. In Nigeria, several USAID/OFDA partners are providing essential services to children affected by armed groups in northeastern Nigeria. USAID/OFDA-supported activities include providing medical and psychosocial support to girls who survived abduction, their family members, and affected communities. In the Central African Republic (CAR), USAID/OFDA supported UNICEF to deliver immediate life-saving services to, and lead reintegration assistance for, children released by armed groups. UNICEF provided newly released children with health care services, psychosocial support, and family reunification assistance. In Somalia, USAID/OFDA funding to UNICEF is supporting children affected by armed groups through case management, provision of specialized services, and/or referrals to other service providers. In South Sudan, USAID/OFDA partner UNICEF provides children released by armed groups with food, medical care, psychosocial assistance, and shelter at interim care centers. For several years, USAID/OFDA has funded UNICEF in DRC in support of child protection activities, including efforts to both prevent child recruitment into armed activity and supportive services for children formerly associated with armed groups. A UNICEF-conducted evaluation of programming in DRC reported that, between 2010 and mid-2014, USAID/OFDA-funded activities helped identify and temporarily provide services to almost 4,200 children associated with armed groups, including 1,050 girl children, and provide reintegration opportunities for nearly 3,700 children.