South Sudan’s government on Wednesday formally renewed its commitment to the Action Plan signed in 2012 with the United Nations to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
“I personally commit, on behalf of my government, to fully implement all provisions of the Action Plan,” said South Sudan defense minister Kuol Manyang Juuk in a ceremony organized at the headquarters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in Juba.
Juuk denied that the government is recruiting children to the army. The UN has said that over 9000 child soldiers have been used by both the government and rebels since the civil war began in December.
“Today’s agreement recalls the measures agreed upon in the 2012 Action Plan that include: releasing all children associated with government security forces, providing services for their family reunification and reintegration; investigating grave violations against children and holding perpetrators accountable,” Juuk said.
The UN’s top humanitarian official in South Sudan Toby Lanzer expressed his happiness with the government’s recommitment to the Action Plan. Lanzer said it was an important step toward restoring the rights of children in South Sudan and averting the loss of another generation.
Leila Zerrougui, the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, stressed that by recommitting to the Action Plan the government promises to protect children from military recruitment at all times, including during periods of instability or conflict.
She said that lasting peace will be impossible if those who recruit, kill, maim, or rape boys and girls, or attack schools and hospitals, never face justice.
The Action Plan, originally signed in 2009 and renewed in 2012, resulted in the release of more than one thousand children from the SPLA. The plan banned child recruitment and created an SPLA unit dedicated to child protection.
South Sudan is one of eight countries involved in the “Children, Not Soldiers” campaign launched in March by the UN. The campaign aims to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.
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