D.A.R.E. AWARE

UK Detained 1,300 Child Migrants

2009-11-09T16:31:00.001Z

UK detained 1,300 child migrants

Children are being held at centres intended for adults

More than 1,300 children were held at UK immigration removal centres during a 15-month period, the government says.

The figures were revealed in a letter from Immigration Minister Phil Woolas to Pete Wishart MP, the Scottish National Party home affairs spokesman.

The letter also revealed that 889 children from 488 families had been detained for more than 28 days between April 2004 and September 2009.

Mr Wishart said detaining children in adult centres was "simply wrong".

The letter also said the figures were not subject to the "detailed checks" that usually apply to official statistics, and added that individual children may have been counted more than once, as they could have been transferred from one centre to another.

According to the government's figures:

There were 884 children held at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire between July 2008 and July 2009
Tinsley House, near Gatwick Airport, held 328 children between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009
One hundred and three children were held at the Dungavel centre in South Lanarkshire between October 2008 and 18 September 2009.

Mr Wishart said: "Whatever the position of the parents, children should not be detained behind barbed wire.

Children's welfare is not well served by the UK's actions and regardless of their parents immigration status children should not have to pay this price

Pete Wishart, SNP MP

"That 103 children have been held in Scotland, where the Scottish government is firmly against child detention, is deeply disturbing. It's time for the UK government to end this practice.

"These figures show nearly 200 children a year are being held for more than four weeks.

"Regardless of what provision is made for children in these centres, that they are being held behind bars is unacceptable.

"I will be pursuing this issue with the UK government. Children's welfare is not well served by the UK's actions and regardless of their parents' immigration status children should not have to pay this price."

'Duty of care'

He accused the government of "detaining the equivalent of a high school every year across the UK".

Mr Wishart also claimed it was the first time statistics on the number of children held in such centres had been released.

Mr Woolas said in his letter that "the welfare of children is an issue which I take very seriously".

He added: "The UK Border Agency is introducing the duty of care to children through the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill.

"In addition a programme to improve statistics on people held in detention is under way. This will result in more statistics published, subject to data quality, in 2009. The programme of work will give a particular focus to detained children."

2009-11-04T12:14:00.004Z

Labour made mistakes over immigration, Alan Johnson admits

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, admitted today that the Labour Government has made mistakes over immigration policy in his first speech on the issue.

Published: 12:55PM GMT 02 Nov 2009

Alan Johnson: Distancing himself from his predecessors, he said ministers had ignored for 'far too long' problems in the immigration system Photo: REUTERS

Mr Johnson said that some parts of Britain were "disproportionately" affected by immigration, with an influx of new arrivals putting a "strain" on jobs and services.

Setting out four key principles for debate, including that all immigrants should learn English, he also accepted that his party had been "maladroit" in its handling of the issue.

Distancing himself from his predecessors, he said ministers had ignored for "far too long" problems in the immigration system that led to huge backlogs of asylum seekers and foreign national prisoners.

He told an audience at the Royal Society for the Arts in central London: "Whilst I accept that governments of both persuasions, including this one, have been maladroit in their handling of this issue, I do believe that the UK is now far more successful at tackling migration than most of its European and north American neighbours.

He added: "The legacy problems with unreturned foreign national prisoners and asylum seekers may have accumulated under previous administrations, but they continued to be ignored for far too long on our watch."

Mr Johnson outlined four principles in the debate on immigration which he said should be accepted by everyone.

• That there was "no sensible argument" for immigration to cease altogether;

• Some communities more affected by immigration than others had "legitimate concerns about the strain that the growth in the local population has placed on jobs and services";

• Other countries are affected by the problems caused by immigration;

• People who come to live here should learn the language, obey the laws and pay tax.

Answering questions after his speech, Mr Johnson appeared to distance himself from attempts to introduce detention for terror suspects for up to 90 days.

In the aftermath of the 7/7 attacks in 2005, the Government had "perhaps tried to go too far", on anti-terror laws, he said.

He said: "That was probably an understandable feeling, that we should be more draconian. But perhaps that wasn't the right way to go."

Mr Johnson also criticised Tory plans for a cap on migrant numbers as "arbitrary" and claimed it would hurt businesses who needed to hire skilled staff.

Tory claims of an "open door" immigration system under Labour were a return to "dog whistle politics" he said.

The speech signalled a tougher line on migration from Mr Johnson, who has made few significant pronouncements on the subject.

Only months into the job, he told a committee of MPs he did not "lie awake at night" worrying about the population hitting 70million.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6485966/Labour-made-mistakes-over-immigration-Alan-Johnson-admits.html

Still Human Still Here

2009-11-03T16:39:00.002Z

The Still Human Still Here Campaign

The Still Human Still Here campaign is dedicated to highlighting the plight of tens of thousands of refused asylum seekers who are destitute in the UK.

Supporters of the campaign believe that the denial of any means of subsistence to refused asylum seekers as a matter of government policy is both inhumane and ineffective.

We are calling on the Government to:

End the threat and use of destitution as a tool of Government policy against refused asylum seekers
Continue financial support and accommodation to refused asylum seekers as provided during the asylum process and grant permission to work until such a time as they have left the UK or have been granted leave to remain
Continue to provide full access to health care and education throughout the same period

Get involved

You can get involved in ending the destitution of refused asylum seekers and support our current campaigns by checking out our Take Action section.

Find out more about the issues

Read the latest briefings and reports from the asylum sector on the destitution of asylum seekers in our Resources section.

Contact

Email us if you have any questions or if your organisation would like to support the Still Human Still Here campaign. Continue Reading »

campaign supporters

Amnesty International Asylum and Refugee Campaign

2009-11-03T16:26:00.004Z

Amnesty International Campaign: Refugees and Asylum

Amnesty's goal is to bring about a fair and effective asylum system. We attempt to achieve that goal in a number of ways - carrying out research into aspects of asylum policy and practice, developing proposals for improving those policies and practices, and then promoting our proposals with the government, members of parliament and other influential audiences.

Background

People across the world are forced to abandon their homes, their families and their livelihoods in order to escape persecution and conflict in their own countries.

The majority of the 17 million refugees, asylum seekers and others of concern to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), cross a border to flee to a neighbouring country to reach safety. Others risk hazardous journeys to reach the UK, a country where they may already have a link through the Commonwealth, language, relatives or an existing community.

HOW WIDESPREAD IS THE PROBLEM?

Governments and the media portray people on the move as a problem rather than people fleeing human rights abuses. Sophisticated immigration controls attest to governments' determination to prevent refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants from setting foot on their territories.

In many countries a growing number of people who have sought asylum are being detained. In the UK, in spite of the decline in the numbers seeking asylum in recent years, the number of those detained solely under Immigration Act powers, including families with children, has increased.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugee Convention) and other international human rights treaties include the rights to:

Protection from discrimination
Freedom of religion
Identity and travel documents
Work, housing education and relief
Protection from penalties for illegal entry
Freedom of movement

Every refugee is the result of a government's failure to protect human rights. Like anyone else, refugees have human rights. They also have rights because they are refugees and are therefore entitled to international protection.

UK REPORTS

Down and Out in London: The road to destitution for rejected asylum seekers(November 2006) In this report, Amnesty International has criticised the UK government's policy on rejected asylum seekers, which is forcing thousands into abject poverty. Amnesty believes that rejected asylum seekers are made destitute to force them to go home. More

Seeking Asylum is not a Crime (June 2005) Amnesty International challenged the government to reveal how many people who have sought asylum are detained each year and for how long. The organisation believes that many thousand people who sought asylum in the UK were detained solely under Immigration Act powers in 2004. More

Get It Right (February 2004) Amnesty International reveals Home Office asylum decisions are based on inaccurate and out-of-date country information, unreasoned decisions about people's credibility and a failure to properly consider complex torture cases. More

VIDEO: THE REMOVED

Watch a short film documenting the experiences of a family being taken into detention. The clip is produced by Camcorder Guerillas, a Glasgow-based collective of independent filmmakers.

The Removed
A campaign video about asylum seekers in the UK

Scottish Detainee Visitors

2009-11-03T16:18:00.003Z

Scottish Detainee Visitors

Providing social, practical and emotional support to immigration detainees in Scotland

Scottish Detainee Visitors (SDV) is a registered charity that provides social, emotional and practical support to asylum and immigration detainees in Scotland.

SDV volunteers visit detainees in Dungavel Removal Centre on Monday and Thursday evenings.

We aim to relieve the conditions of isolation and stress experienced by people detained by the immigration service, primarily at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre, in South Lanarkshire.

Interested in volunteering? Have a look at http://www.sdv.org.uk/id2.html to see how to go about getting involved.

Asylum System 'Damages Health

2009-11-03T15:54:00.005Z

Wednesday, 24 October, 2001, 10:13 GMT 11:13 UK

Asylum system 'damages health'

Refugees receive a weekly allowance of around £30

Doctors are calling for an urgent overhaul of the UK's asylum system, saying it is affecting the health of many refugees.

The British Medical Association says it has a dossier of evidence outlining cases where doctors say government policy has damaged the well-being of asylum seekers or their children.

The study, produced with the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, says the controversial voucher system that asylum seekers have to use to buy food, clothing and other goods must be scrapped.

It also calls for an end to the dispersal system under which refugee families are moved away from the south east to places where there is not always the infrastructure to support them.

If you are an asylum seeker and you come to the UK, there is little chance your health will improve - in fact, it may well deteriorate

Dr Michael Wilks
BMA ethics committee

Dr Michael Wilks, chairman of the BMA ethics committee, said: "The BMA has been concerned for some time about the effect of the voucher system and dispersal arrangements on health.

"Families have been housed in tiny bedsits, where a toddler has not been able to learn to walk because they simply do not have the space to walk in."

Doctors say they know that some children of asylum seekers are not being immunised or properly treated for chronic conditions because the forced dispersal policy results in a lack of continuity of treatment.

The treatment of mentally-ill asylum seekers is also causing concern.

In one case a young man walked 35 miles to see a psychiatrist as part of a report for his asylum claim.

He walked all through the night because he did not have any money for transport.

Asylum seekers receive a weekly allowance of around £30, two-thirds of which is in vouchers.

But supermarkets cannot give change on vouchers, prompting allegations these shops profit at the expense of the asylum seekers.

Diluting milk

Dr Wilks said: "The vouchers do not provide anything like the basic nutritional requirements for children or young mothers.

"We have examples of mothers diluting baby food and milk to make it last longer, so the nutritional value is reduced even further," he added.

Another case involved a family, including a very young baby, who ended up sleeping rough with no access to shelter, sanitation or food for several months.

The mother had stomach problems and the baby was not gaining weight.

Asylum seekers are entitled to free health care and have the right to be registered with a doctor.

But senior doctors say more interpreters and better counselling and other support services are needed to ensure they can receive treatment.

Blunkett: Radical overhaul

Dr Wilks said: "The current system is chaotic and offers little or no support.

"The only initiatives to help are at local level, which is disgraceful.

"Our members have reported some very worrying case histories from both hospitals and general practice," he added.

"A colleague working in a deprived part of London has an asylum seeker patient who lost his sight through being tortured, and has been living in appalling isolation in a very low standard of accommodation."

Dr Wilks concluded: "If you are an asylum seeker and you come to the UK, there is little chance your health will improve - in fact, it may well deteriorate."

Helen Bamber, Director of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, said: "We warned from the moment that 'no choice' dispersal was first mooted that widespread suffering and misery would result if asylum seekers were sent to areas where there was insufficient support.

"Sadly, in many parts of the country, we now see that prediction coming true."

Earlier this month Home Secretary David Blunkett promised the Labour Party conference that results of a review of asylum policies would be published within weeks.

He said a radical overhaul was on the way but had been delayed by work on anti-terrorism measures.

Former recruiter of child soldiers on trial

2009-01-26T08:43:00.000Z

Lubanga trial set to test ICC

Lubanga has been accused of using child soldiers to fight in his Union of Congolese Patriots [AP]

Thomas Lubanaga, the leader of an armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is set to go on trial on war crimes charges in the first case to be tried before the International Criminal Court.

Lubanga, will face trial in The Hague on Monday accused of recruiting hundreds of child soldiers to fight in his Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) in the civil war in the country's eastern Ituri region between September 2002 and August 2003.

He is also accused of leading an armed group that committed atrocities during a conflict that led to the deaths of 60,000 people.

Humanitarian groups say the conflict has also created hundreds of thousands of refugees since 1999.

The trial is being seen as a crucial test for the tribunal, as it tries to establish itself as a means of bringing war criminals to justice.

The fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri region has centred around control of one of the most lucrative gold-mining territories in the world.

Much of the fighting there has been between the UPC, composed mainly of ethnic Hema, and people from the Lendu ethnicity, laregly represented by a group called the Nationalist and Integrationist Front.

Child soldiers

The trial, the first at the court since it came into operation in July 2002, is set to open with a statement by Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC's chief prosecutor, followed by lawyers for 93 alleged victims and then the defence.

IN VIDEO

Lubanga goes on trial at ICC

The first witness, a former child soldier, is expected to take the stand on Wednesday, followed by his father.

The prosecution has listed 34 witnesses, including former child soldiers, ex-members of groups involved in the Ituri fighting.

The prosecution also plans to call on an array of experts in such speciality areas as determining the age of a child from x-rays of bones.

Lubanga, who is being held at a UN detention centre in the seaside suburb of Scheveningen in The Hague, has been declared destitute by the court, which is paying for his defence team.

The International Criminal Court is the world's first permanent tribunal to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The trial is expected to last between six and nine months.

Israel - Palestine Conflict

2009-01-05T13:22:00.003Z

Hey everyone, I'm sure you all enjoyed a merry Christmas and a happy New Year and hopefully you're now sober enough to read this blog.

Anyway, unless you've been living under a rock over the festive season you'll have noticed that one of the main news stories (aside from the credit crunch) is the recent renewal of open warfare between Israel and Palestine. Newspapers and the media endlessly show grisly pictures of the consequences of this conflict but do little to explain the causes of the war. As DARE AWARE is about awareness of humanitarian issues, this blog will hopefully explain the motivations of these two states and why they feel inclined to annihilate one another.

To go to the very roots of the problem takes us back thousands of years to Biblical times. All three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) have a claim on the lands of Israel and Palestine; the Jews believe that God granted them this 'Promised Land' and after a period of genocide and mass extermination of the indigenous tribes they settled there. Muslims believe that some of the holy sites in Jerusalem such as the Temple Mount (where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son to God) should belong to them. After the 7th century Arab conquest of Palestine, the lands remained in Muslim hands for 1200 years until they came under British control during the First World War. In the Balfour Declaration of 1917 the British promised the European Jews a new 'Jewish National Home', following the rise of 'Zionism' - the quest to restore Jews to their ancestral prmoised lands - in Europe.

Jewish immigration to Palestine escalated dramatically after World War 2 due to the persecution and Holocaust of European Jews from 1933-1945. The 1948 'Declaration of the State of Israel' lead to thousands of Jews settling in Israel, much to the native Palestinians fury, for their lands had been divided in two and half handed to their Zionist enemies, whilst expelling the Palestinians from their homes.
At first they tried to destroy the newly-formed state but after an UN-backed armistice Israel had time to recover and become a powerful and stable country. In the 1967 6-day war Israel managed to capture the Sinai Desert, the West Bank, Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem from its neighbouring aggressors. This brought another 1 million Palestinians under Israeli control.

Israel returned most of the lands taken during the 6-day war and withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, peace talks were underway to also return West Jerusalem when the militant group Hamas was elected, restarting the terrorist attacks on Israel.

The American-lead invasion of Iraq in 2003 further provoked Muslim-Jewish hostilities and now Palestine refuses to accept the existence of Israel, many militant clerics have issued 'fatwahs' or Holy Wars against Israel.

On 27th December, in response to continued rocket-fire from Palestinian troops into Israeli lands, Israel has commenced targetting and bombing militant compounds in Palestine and the Gaza Strip, though these attacks also result in hundreds of civilian deaths. The balance of power is also quite unequal; Hamas armed forces number 15,000 - Israeli forces are upward of 622,000 and have far superior technology and support. According to these figures it is not surprising that for the 460 Palestinians killed so far Israel has suffered only only 4 fatalities.

With the above information and historical causes it would be extremely interesting to hear your views on the conflict. Was Israel justified in their response? Was the extent of their response justified? Who should have claim on the disputed lands? It is all a matter of opinion and it would be good to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Child Soldiers in Pakistan / Afghanistan

2008-12-20T14:33:00.002Z

Though child are popularly known to be used in countries such as Uganda, CAR and Sudan in Africa, little is known about child soldiers used in Islamic countries.
This is an article explaining the situation.

Children in Tank, a remote town at the centre of Taleban activity in north-west Pakistan, are going missing.

It is a disturbing phenomenon that Tank shares with other towns on the edge of Pakistan's tribal belt. Reports says the children - some as young as 11 - are being kidnapped by pro-Taleban militants.

Most people in Tank are unwilling to admit it is happening and few will talk about it.
Pro-Taleban militants in the region deny they are recruiting children, blaming the region's troubles on government policy.

When people in Tank can be persuaded to talk about the missing children, most appear to guard every word, if they open their mouths, the whole family would suffer the Taleban's wrath.

"They don't really kidnap the children," says a local teacher.
But he is hesitant and thinks his words through.
"The Taleban convince them it is their duty to carry out jihad [holy struggle]."
But then he admits what he's left unsaid.
"How much convincing does a child need? ... Especially when promised adventure."

The trouble is that in most cases, the "adventure" the Taleban offer usually results in no possibility of return.

"They are being trained as fidayeen," the teacher half whispers.

"Fidayeen" literally means "those who sacrifice their lives".
In Afghanistan today, the term has a new meaning - suicide bomber.

The tale of a local school administrator in the town is typical of what is happening.

"The purpose of their visit [in January] was clear from the start," he said.
"The militants came to town with a mission, and wanted to convert us to their cause.
"They said that jihad was obligatory and those who heed the call are rewarded," the principal said.
"As many as 30 students from each of the four government schools in Tank 'enlisted'.
A similar number have also joined from private schools. The ages of those taken are between 11 to 15 years.

Asked why the school administration has not simply refused, the staff appear flabbergasted.

"Do you want me to lose my neck?" one asks bluntly.
"The Taleban don't ask for permission - they just tell us."

Even so, not everyone has given way to the militants.

At the private English medium school, Oxford High, an extraordinary battle for influence over the pupils was recently fought.

"They came on 23 March but the children had left," said a school teacher.
"The Taleban said they would be back later."

They did indeed return three days later, while an exam was taking place. The militants agreed for the exam to finish before they tried to take them away.

"They went outside to wait at 1000," the teacher said, "and an hour later all hell broke loose."

Local police and security forces had been monitoring the militants' activities.

"The first sound we heard was of a helicopter flying in low and then a loud explosion," a local explained.

This was at 1100. Over the next two hours the militants and security forces fought pitched battles. The militants suffered greater losses in the earlier exchanges. But they were soon back in greater numbers, and rolled through the town attacking anything or anyone connected with the government.
Some of the fighters were children as young as 12, eyewitnesses told the BBC.
The security forces were also attacked, and now keep a low profile.

Many locals say they are not properly protected, since then, the militants have had a free hand in the town. But the authorities are not willing to admit anything is amiss.

"I have been here just two months," says Muhammad Idrees Khan, the town's deputy chief of police.

He argues that the parents should come forward if there is a problem.
But locals says that parents are extremely scared.

"They harbour hopes of their children returning if they keep quiet," explains one.
"But if they open their mouths, the whole family would suffer the Taleban's wrath."

On the streets of Tank, students coming out of the local college have ambivalent feelings about the situation.

"We are not extremists... we are liberal people," says a student who has just appeared for his physics paper.

"But our identity is Islamic."

Others are highly critical of the government.

"They are the ones who should be protecting us," said one, "and yet there is not much sign that they are even half-prepared to do so."

Child soldiers in Rwanda and Congo

2008-12-13T14:18:00.000Z

Rwanda and DR Congo in 'proxy war'

About 250,000 people are thought to have fled their homes to escape fighting in eastern DR Congo [AFP]

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are engaged in a proxy war with each providing assistance to the other's enemies, a report by a United Nations Security Council panel has said.

The report, which was authored by five outside experts, says that Rwanda has been assisting Laurent Nkunda, a Tutsi rebel leader, in his fight against DR Congo government forces in the east of the country.

Meanwhile, DR Congo is providing help to ethnic Hutu rebels and other forces against Rwanda, the report says.

The panel also said it had evidence that armed groups from both sides of the conflict were using child soldiers and were engaged in illegal mineral trading.

Rwandan authorities have been "complicit in the recruitment of soldiers, including children, have facilitated the supply of military equipment and have sent officers and units" to help Nkunda, the report says.

In turn, Nkunda uses Rwanda as "a rear base for fundraising meetings and bank accounts," the report said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/12/200812137240698664.html

Child Soldiers article

2008-12-07T14:09:00.002Z

Check out the link to a BBC news article on child soldiers - the story has just been posted

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7767261.stm

2008-11-25T14:49:00.005Z

Hey guys, as you all know Jam Wrestling was a complete and utter sticky success, everyone seemed to have had fun, there was a good turnout and best of all I'm still able to make jam sandwiches from the leftovers still stuck to my coat!

The next (slightly less sugary) event is next thursday (the 4th); it's a showing of the documentary Invisible Children - an hour long film on the lives of child soldiers in Uganda, there will also be a representative from the Invisible Children organisation presenting the film. The event starts at 6:30 in the Dalhousie building (NTB) LT1 and it's completely free so try and get as many people to come as possible 'cos it should be great!

For more information on Child Soldiers the following organisations.....

2008-11-05T15:52:00.002Z

D.A.R.E. AWARE - Directing you to organisations where you can take your interest further and see who is making a change in the lives of child soldiers.

For more information on Child Soldiers please visit the following organisations.....

www.warchild.org

www.warchild.org/links_resources/childsoldiers/childsoldiers.html

www.child-soldiers.org

www.hrw.org/childsoldiers

www.amnesty.org/en/children

www.unicef.org/emerg/index_childsoldiers.html

www.childsoldiers.net

www.childsoldiersglobalreport.org

www.un.org/works/goingon/soldiers/childsoldiersmap.html

www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/02/12/child.soldiers/index.html

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5213996.stm

www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,182805,00.html

"D.A.R.E. AWARE - raising awareness of humanitarisn issues
worldwide, on campus"

The first step toward change is awareness

2008-11-04T16:43:00.002Z

"Raising awareness is the key and getting people to ask the right
questions - only they can decide what they do from there"

"The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance"

D.A.R.E. AWARE

"RAISING AWARENESS OF HUMANITARIAN ISSUES WORLWIDE, ON CAMPUS"

A Duty to Protect

2008-11-03T22:09:00.001Z

War Wounds

2008-11-03T22:08:00.001Z

FACTS on CHILD SOLDIERS

2008-11-03T21:40:00.000Z

Child soldiers – factsheet

Today, UNICEF estimates that 300,000 children under the age of 18 serve in government forces or armed rebel groups. Some are as young as eight years old.

The participation of child soldiers has been reported in 33 on-going or recent armed conflicts in almost every region of the world.

Children are uniquely vulnerable to military recruitment because of their emotional and physical immaturity. They are easily manipulated and can be drawn into violence that they are too young to resist or understand.

Technological advances in weaponry and the proliferation of small arms have contributed to the increased use of child soldiers. Lightweight automatic weapons are simple to operate, often easily accessible, and can be used by children as easily as adults.

Children are most likely to become child soldiers if they are poor, separated from their families, displaced from their homes, living in a combat zone or have limited access to education. Orphans and refugees are particularly vulnerable to recruitment.

Many children join armed groups because of economic or social pressure, or because children believe that the group will offer food or security. Others are forcibly recruited, "press-ganged" or abducted by armed groups.

Both girls and boys are used as child soldiers. In case studies in El Salvador, Ethiopia, and Uganda, almost a third of the child soldiers were reported to be girls. Girls may be raped, or in some cases, given to military commanders as "wives."

Many young girls are forced to marry or perform sexual services for male combatants. Male and female child soldiers are often sexually abused, and are at high risk of unwanted pregnancies and contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

Once recruited, child soldiers may serve as porters or cooks, guards, messengers or spies. Many are pressed into combat, where they may be forced to the front lines or sent into minefields ahead of older troops. Some children have been used for suicide missions.

Children are sometimes forced to commit atrocities against their own family or neighbours. Such practices help ensure that the child is "stigmatized" and unable to return to his or her home community.

Few peace treaties recognize the existence of child soldiers, or make provisions for their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Many former child soldiers do not have access to the educational programs, vocational training, family reunification, or even food and shelter that they need to successfully rejoin civilian society. As a result, many end up on the street, become involved in crime, or are drawn back into armed conflict.

A Global Problem Child soldiering is a unique and severe manifestation of trafficking in persons that involves the recruitment of children through force, fraud, or coercion to be exploited for their labour or to be abused as sex slaves in conflict areas.

Child soldiers are often killed or wounded, with survivors often suffering multiple traumas and psychological scarring. Their personal development is often irreparably damaged.
Child soldiers are a global phenomenon. The problem is most critical in Africa and Asia, but armed groups in the Americas, Eurasia, and the Middle East also use children.

All nations must work together with international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to take urgent action to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate child soldiers.
In the past three years, the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs funded programs in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Liberia for reintegrating former child combatants.

International Labour Organization Convention 182, recognizes the "forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict" as one of the worst forms of child labour
UN Optional Protocol on the Use of Children in Armed Conflict that makes the minimum compulsory recruitment age 18.

Forcible abductions, sometimes of large numbers of children, continue to occur in some countries. Children as young as 8 have been abducted and used in combat.
Demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) programs specifically aimed at child soldiers have been established in many countries, both during and after armed conflict and have assisted former child soldiers to acquire new skills and return to their communities. However, the programs lack funds and adequate resources. Sustained long-term investment is needed if they are to be effective.

Despite growing recognition of girls' involvement in armed conflict, girls are often deliberately or inadvertently excluded from DDR programs. Girl soldiers are frequently subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence as well as being involved in combat and other roles. In some cases they are stigmatized by their home communities when they return. DDR programs should be sensitively constructed and designed to respond to the needs of girl soldiers.

Welcome to D.A.R.E. AWARE!

2008-11-03T20:47:00.001Z

D.A.R.E. AWARE

- Raising awareness of humanitarian issues worldwide, on campus -

Thanks for coming across the new D.A.R.E. AWARE blogspot. This will be your new first stop blog for all the latest information, Awareness raising schemes and info an what we are getting up to.

The whole point of D.A.R.E. AWARE is to raise awareness of humanitarian issues worldwide, on our very own Uni campus.

Dundee University does not have any society around who is willing to raise awareness on issues around the world..... well! thats all changing!

Come and take a peek every week just to keep up to date with the latest DARE AWARE campaigns - AND DON'T FORGET IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE JOIN OUR MAILING LIST FOR MORE PERSONALISED INFO!

Email us at dareaware@gmail.com