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“Children in the Crossfire:
Prevention and Rehabilitation of Child Soldiers”
Grand Hyatt Hotel
Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, May 7, 2003
Good afternoon, and thank you all for coming.
I’d like to begin by asking you to do something
a little unusual.
Imagine that you are an African boy only 11 years
old. A rebel army captures you and your family and takes you to
their camp. When you arrive, you are greeted by the sight of decomposing
bodies strewn everywhere. The soldiers shoot your father. Seeing
this, another captive tries to escape. She is caught, assaulted,
and brutally murdered. You are taken away and forced to fight for
the people who killed your parents. When you try to resist, you
are mercilessly beaten.
Or imagine that you are an innocent 16-year-old
girl abducted by soldiers on the way home from school. You don’t
want to go with them, but they threaten to take your clothes and
shame you before strangers. You break down in tears, but they are
unmoved. You are taken far away from home. You don’t know
if you will ever see your parents again.
Or imagine that you are a child, forced to fight
for a commander who says – as one commander actually did –
“Children make good fighters because they think it’s
all a game, so they’re fearless.”
These are just a few of the terrible stories of
the world’s 300,000 child soldiers. These young people are
forced to fight by government-sponsored armed forces or by other
armed groups in more than 30 conflicts around the globe. And we
believe these numbers are conservative estimates.
The plight of child soldiers offends the world’s
sense of decency and the code of conduct of civilized nations. These
children are forced to become soldiers, spies, guards, human shields,
human minesweepers, servants, decoys, and sentries. Young girls
are forced into prostitution. And when violence fails to intimidate,
many children are drugged to make it easier to force them to perform
horrendous acts of violence and cruelty. Some victims are as young
as 7 or 8, and many more are 10 to 15. Children who are orphans,
refugees, or victims of poverty or family alienation are particularly
at risk.
But today, by our presence at this conference,
we are telling the world in no uncertain terms that these horrors
must end. The compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed
conflict is a barbaric practice condemned by the community of civilized
nations. No child should have to experience the atrocities that
child soldiers must face every day of their lives.
This conference sends a message of hope to these
children. Over the next day-and-a-half, we will discuss ways to
help these children reclaim their lives through education, rehabilitation
and reintegration. This conference brings together key stakeholders
in the concerned community, which is an important step towards global
action. We have hundreds of representatives with us from nations
and agencies around the world. I want to recognize the governments,
U.N. agencies, non-profit organizations, researchers, members of
the media, and concerned individuals who have come here to work
together. I want to thank each of you for accepting the invitation
of the U. S. Department of Labor to participate.
The Department of Labor is involved in this issue
for two reasons. First, as you know, the United States is a signatory
to the International Labor Organization Convention No. 182. This
convention names the forced recruitment of children for used in
armed conflict as one of the worst forms of child labor. And second,
President George W. Bush believes-- as you do-- that children have
human dignity and must be protected from exploitation.
I pledge to you today that the U. S. Department
of Labor will work with our counterparts around the world to help
save children from the brutal life of a child soldier. The United
States strongly believes that all nations should join together to
pursue effective solutions. Many developing nations are showing
their commitment to this cause by attending this conference, and
we appreciate their participation.
There are two faces of the child soldier issue
– the face of despair, and the face of redemption. In the
next few moments, I want to show you both faces. First, in some
video footage shot in Africa. And then, in the faces and voices
of some very brave guests who are with us here today.
First, please join me in watching this video supplied
by World Vision about Uganda. In this video, we visit a child soldier
rehabilitation center. I want to commend the government of Uganda
for its commitment to rehabilitating these children. This video
is particularly interesting because it shows children engaging in
mock battles. This kind of therapy allows them to safely express
their feelings about their experiences. Let’s watch.
[Film will be shown.]
As I’m sure you can imagine, overcoming
such horrors requires great courage. We are fortunate that 9 such
courageous young people – former child soldiers – are
with us today. These remarkable young people have traveled from
all around the globe to present the reality of their experiences
as only they can. They are here to bear witness for the children
who are still in captivity and cannot speak for themselves. But
they can also provide us with a blueprint for change and a message
of hope—by proving that it is possible to rebuild shattered
lives.
At this time, I want to introduce each of these
brave youngsters and ask them to stand as I call their names.
Fabrice (Fa-breece), from Burundi. Radjabu (Rad-jab-boo)
from Burundi. Eider (Eye-dare), from Colombia. Berta (Ber-tuh),
from El Salvador. Steven, from Sierra Leone. Emilia, from Sierra
Leone. Mohan (Mo-hun), from Sri Lanka. Grace, from Uganda. And Paul,
from Uganda.
[Children will stand as they are
acknowledged.]
I also want to thank the parents, guardians, and
representatives from government and non-profit organizations who
accompanied these children to the conference.
Our young guests are participating in a program
with students from schools in the Washington area. I’m delighted
that young Americans are getting involved in this issue. Exposure
to this information will help them gain new insights about the benefits
of liberty, basic human rights and the rule of law.
We can’t give child soldiers their childhood
back, but we can help them to rebuild their lives. That is why this
conference will examine all of the strategies at the community level.
As Secretary of Labor, I have a particular interest
in education and job training programs to help rehabilitate former
child soldiers. This is the only way to ensure that these brutalized
children will someday have a chance to become productive members
of their societies. And I also have a strong interest in developing
special protections and facilities for young girls, who have particular
vulnerabilities that deserve our attention.
Today, I’m pleased to announce that the
U. S. Department of Labor is launching a new $13-million global
initiative to help educate, rehabilitate and reintegrate former
child soldiers.
This initiative includes a $7-million project
funded through the ILO’s International Program on the Elimination
of Child Labor. It will develop comprehensive strategies to help
former child soldiers in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, the Philippines, Sri Lanka
and Colombia. This project builds upon and expands a Department
of Labor project in the four Central African countries.
The initiative also includes a $3-million project
to address the education needs of former child soldiers and children
living in northern Uganda, an area that was featured in the video.
Just this morning, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with representatives
of the Ugandan Government to launch this program. The Department
of Labor looks forward to our future collaboration with the Ugandan
Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Welfare, and the Ministry of
Education and Sports.
The third part of the initiative is a $3-million
project focusing on the education needs and reintegration of child
soldiers in Afghanistan. This project will be implemented by UNICEF,
an international organization with a long history of helping children.
Child soldiers suffer in many ways-- often in
silence.
As one young girl said after witnessing the wanton
slaughter of men and women, “So many times I just cried inside
my heart because I didn’t dare cry out loud.”
Child soldiers cannot cry out-- but we can speak
up for them, with clarity, compassion and resolve. That is why we
are here today. As part of our commitment, let us also pledge ourselves
to address the root causes of child soldiers, which is the absence
of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms—a situation
all too prevalent in the world today. I look forward to working
with you to give these children back their future, and to bring
them the hope and opportunity that is every child’s birthright.
Thank you very much.
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