PRESS BRIEFING BY UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Carol Bellamy told a Headquarters briefing today that the leadership of Sierra Leone had reaffirmed full commitment to the demobilization of child combatants. They had expressed concern, however, that it was a difficult task to achieve in a war situation.

Ms. Bellamy, who has just returned from a two-day trip to Sierra Leone, had responded that even if the fighting were still going on, it was not a justification for continuing to use child combatants. She had urged government officials to speed up the process, stating that there needed to be a more demonstrable response to demobilization. Further, she had called attention to reports that children were still being recruited and that amnesty for child combatants was not being observed.

During the talks, she had raised the issue of a follow-up on the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Study the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, Olara Otunnu. She discussed child combatants, recruitment of children, amnesty to children who are part of the rebel movement, child abuse, ratification of the Landmine Convention and high maternal mortality rates in Sierra Leone. She had stressed that there should not be any new recruitment of child combatants. The commitment to amnesty was of particular concern in view of the accelerated fighting that was going on in the north and the east.

She said she had travelled in the east of the country, but had been unable to go to the north because of the hostilities. Although she had not had the opportunity to speak with representatives of the rebels, all forces -- government, rebels and outside forces -- should be bound by the concept that children should not be used as combatants or subjected to sexual abuse. She emphasized that the problem was not unique to Sierra Leone.

Asked if the Nigerians could help to get child combatants out of the war, she said use of child combatants was also an issue for the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG).

In response to a number of questions, she said UNICEF was prepared to provide assistance, ideas and financial resources for the demobilization of child combatants, but it could not do the actual job. The Children's Fund would work through its country programmes and with non-governmental organizations, but the Government and the rebels had to take primary responsibility.

UNICEF Briefing - 2 - 5 October 1998

Ms. Bellamy explained that her references to child combatants included girls. She had spoken to some girls who had clearly been sexually abused. She described some informal school programmes she had seen which taught "life skills", noting that as a result of the conflict with accompanying looting and destruction, formal health and education systems were not functioning.

She said that UNICEF urged that the age for combatants be eighteen. The Convention on the Rights of the Child specified fifteen, while ECOMOG and others were using fourteen as the cut-off age.

In response to a question, she said she did not know why the Government gave priority to the demobilization of soldiers over the demobilization of child combatants, but UNICEF was urging it to emphasize the demobilization of children.

Replying to a question, she said the Turner Foundation had approved UNICEF's proposal to help with demobilization of child combatants in Sierra Leone, but the money had not yet come.

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