War Child: Ending Recruitment of Children

A foreign ministry official said: "For the first time, countries are solemnly committing to apply and respect these principles to combat the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts."

 

The agreement on Tuesday came at the end of a two-day conference in Paris.

 

Among signatories to the Paris Principles are 10 of the 12 countries where the United Nations says there are child soldiers, including Sudan, Chad, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As a child, he was forced to raid villages for food and kidnap girls for the older rebels.

About his forthcoming album, Emmanuel says: "War Child basically is my experience of my country, how war started ... how I've left home ... and losing the people that I love the most."

When he finally escaped the SPLA, he lived as a refugee in Kenya.

The document put the onus squarely on governments to prosecute recruiters or commanders of child soldiers and to seek the unconditional release of all children enrolled in armies or armed groups.

It also singled out the plight of girls abducted to work as domestic slaves for fighting forces and who are often victims of rape, stating that they deserved special assistance.

In some armed groups, girls make up 40 per cent of the children recruited, according to the United Nations (UN).