Recommendations for policies and procedures for addressing and involving children in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
This report is a brief summary of truth commission in Sierra Leone; it provides useful information on conclusions, recommendations and subsequent developments.
Upon returning to their communities, children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups–commonly referred to as child soldiers–often confront significant community stigma. Much research on the reintegration and rehabilitation of child soldiers has focused on exposure to past war-related violence and mental health outcomes, yet no empirical work has yet examined the role that post-conflict stigma plays in shaping long-term psychosocial adjustment. Two waves of data are used in this paper from the first prospective study of male and female former child soldiers in Sierra Leone. We examined the role of stigma (manifest in discrimination as well as lower levels of community and family acceptance) in the relationship between war-related experiences and psychosocial adjustment (depression, anxiety, hostility and adaptive behaviors). Former child soldiers differ from one another with regard to their post-war experiences, and these differences profoundly shape their psychosocial adjustment over time.
This study contributes to a growing body of literature examining the experience of child soldiers by gender. In particular it provides quantitative data on rates of war experiences among male and female CAAFAG to shed light on important differences and similarities. This study emphasizes that children’s psychosocial adjustment must be considered in light of war experiences, post-conflict resources and gender (, .pdf.).
This report summarizes the challenges in supporting women in the process of transitional justice, also focusing on the important role women play here. There are also suggestions how to implement solutions (24 pages, .pdf, for historical reference).
IBUKA and its 15 member organisations, the Survivors Fund (SURF) and REDRESS (the Organisations) submit this discussion paper to the Government of Rwanda to help progress discussions on reparation for survivors of the genocide with survivors, survivor organisations and other stakeholders. The Organisations propose a range of options that could be explored further with a view to ensuring that survivors ultimately secure reparation, in particular in the form of rehabilitation, restitution and compensation.
This report describes current child soldier and DDR programs, as well as gaps, funding needs and overlaps identified by those organizations. It further outlines proposals for information sharing and more effective advocacy work on child soldier issues in the sub-region. Ideas for new research are also proposed. this report is not an evaluation or compilation of best practices, but an attempt to share knowledge about the organizations working on DDR in the region, giving an overview of programs being undertaken by child protection agencies in West Africa. It does not intend to give a complete picture and many relevant and important programs and activities are not mentioned here simply because it was not possible to meet every stakeholder.
The psychological and physical suffering of children expressed in the testimonies makes for disturbing reading. But the findings need to be understood for what they are: reports on children in extreme situations where traditional and modern protection mechanisms of states, families and communities have failed .
Rather than starting out from a preconceived list of items that a gender sensitive reparations program has to abide by, it would seem that, in order to claim that women have been taken into account, a policy of reparations must begin by including the voices of women .
Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone, are still embroiled in, or emerging from, long-term warfare. Women and girls in these countries are most vulnerable to gender-based violence and need special protection measures. This study on the situation of war-affected girls and women in the region highlights programmes being implemented with partners to address the impact of conflict, and recommends how UNICEF can more proactively champion the rights of girls – particularly adolescent girls.
The ending of overt violence via a peace agreement or military victory does not mean the achievement of peace.2 Rather, the ending of violence or a so-called post-conflict situation provides a new set of opportunities that can be grasped or thrown away.3 The international community can play a significant role in either nurturing or undermining this fragile peace building process. Both justice and reconciliation are fundamentally significant goals that need to be addressed in the design of successful post-conflict peace building processes and mechanisms, especially in the aftermath of genocide.
This report is the product of close co-operation and hard work by a multinational team motivated to bear witness to the anguish suffered by the Sierra Leone population.
Child Soldiers provides an overview of the conditions and treatment of the estimated 250,000 children who fight in wars around the world. This thematic page describes the impact soldiering has on children and steps being taken to end this abuse.
The “Field Guide to Child Soldier Programs in Emergencies” is one in a series compiled by Save the Children (SC) as part of its Children and War Capacity Building Initiative. The SC Children in Crisis Unit developed this initiative in order to support SC staff in responding to the priority care and protection needs of children and adolescents during new emergencies and in situations of chronic armed conflict or displacement.
Training Module on Women`s Traditional Conflict Resolution and Mediating Practices.
This report is based on a mental health survey of persons in Freetown, Sierra Leone in May 1999. Several months earlier the city saw fierce fighting that left more than 6000 people dead, an untold number injured and mutilated, and tens of thousands homeless. Many of those affected had gone through similar experiences before, and had fled to Freetown for its relative safety.