Child Soldiers: A Handbook for Security Sector Actors

136 Pages·2012·33.15 MB·English

by  Aeneas Campbell

Child Soldiers: A Handbook
for Security Sector Actors
First Edition

Child Soldiers: A Handbook
for Security Sector Actors

First Edition
© First edition copyright October 2012

The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative
Centre for Foreign Policy Studies
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Canada
Cover photo credit:
UN Photo/Tim McKulka/SPLA HQ

Written and Edited by:
Dr. Shelly Whitman
Tanya Zayed
Carl Conradi
Julie Breau

Designed and Edited by:
Aeneas Campbell
Founded by retired lieutenant-general and celebrated humanitarian
Roméo Dallaire, we are a global partnership committed to ending the use
and recruitment of child soldiers worldwide, through ground-breaking
research, advocacy, and security-sector training.

This publication is available free for download at:
http://www.childsoldiers.org/training-manual
For more information please contact:
[email protected]
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 1
Acronyms 2
Note from the Founder 4

Part I: Introduction
About the Initiative 7

Part II: Concepts and Strategies
A Unique Approach 10
The Minimum Standards for Security Sector Training on Child Soldiers 16
The Importance of Situational Awareness 17
Standard Operating Procedures and Rules of Engagement 23
The Multi-Disciplinary Approach 32

Part III: The Operational Framework
About Child Soldiers 36
Child Soldiers and Security Sector Actors 42
Fighting Child Soldiers: A Moral Dilemma 47

Part IV: The Tactical Response
Improving Interactions with Child Soldiers 52
Psychological Operations 71

Part V: Other Considerations
Cross-Cutting Issues 77

Part VI: The Annexes
Annex 1: The Lexicon 85
Annex 2: International Law 91
Annex 3: Sample Interrogation Questions 95
Annex 4: UN DPKO’s Code of Personal Conduct 98
Annex 5: Selected Readings 100
Annex 6: Selected Websites 106

Notes 107
Endnotes 109
Biographies 114
Feedback Form 117

CHILD SOLDIERS: A HANDBOOK FOR SECURITY SECTOR ACTORS

Acknowledgements

The research and creation of this training manual was made possible by
the generous support of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the
International Development and Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Dalhousie
University.

The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative would also like to thank the
Compton Foundation, the Power Corporation, Air Canada, the Humanity
United Fund and the numerous private donors in both Canada and the
United States of America, without whom the goal of eradicating the
recruitment and use of child soldiers worldwide would not be achievable.

The Initiative is also grateful for the committed support of many
prominent researchers; representatives of various United Nations (UN)
agencies – including the Office of the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, UNICEF, UN DPKO and
UNITAR – non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Search for
Common Ground and Association de Soutien aux Opprimés; countless
individual representatives from the Canadian Forces and DMTC Camp
Aldershot; the RCMP and local police departments; the Network of Young
People Affected by War (NYPAW); and the University of Botswana.

“For soldiers with any sense of honour at all, fighting children
offers a no-win situation. To be defeated by children would almost
certainly bring death, derision and disgrace, while to win would
carry the taint of having killed mere children.”

—LGen Roméo Dallaire (Ret’d)

1 | The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative
THE ROMEO DALLAIRE CHILD SOLDIERS INITIATIVE

Acronyms

AAR After Action Review

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

AU African Union

CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child (also, UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child)

CRC Op. Pro. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on
the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

DDR Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration

DPKO Department of Peacekeeping Operations

DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo

EU European Union

FARDC Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo

HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus

HRA Human Rights Abuse

HRO Human Rights Officer

HRW Human Rights Watch

ICC Interim Care Centre

IDDRS Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and
Reintegration Standards

IDP Internally Displaced Persons

INGO International Non-Governmental Organization

MRM Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms

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CHILD SOLDIERS: A HANDBOOK FOR SECURITY SECTOR ACTORS

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

PRT Provincial Reconstruction Team

RCMP Royal Canadian Mounted Police

RUF Revolutionary United Front

SRSG Special Representative to the Secretary-General

SSR Security Sector Reform

UN United Nations

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research

3 | The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative