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ILAB News Release: [05/07/2003]
Contact Name:
Kathleen Harrington
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676
U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Convenes
International Conference on Child Soldiers
Announces $13 Million U.S. Initiative on Prevention
and Rehabilitation
WASHINGTON—U.S. and foreign officials gathered here today
for a two-day conference at the invitation of Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
to take action to eliminate the use of child soldiers and to rehabilitate those
caught in such forced recruitment. Chao announced a $13 million initiative to
support programs to counter the problem and to help former child soldiers
rebuild their lives.
“This goal of this conference is to bring international attention
to the atrocity of child soldiers in the world today. The forced recruitment
and use of children as combatants is one of the worst forms of child labor. It
is a moral outrage and must be stopped. All nations have got to come together
to put an end to this evil. The profoundly sad truth is we can’t give
these child soldiers back their childhoods but we can and we must help rebuild
their lives,” said Chao in her remarks opening the conference.
In 1999, the U.S. was one of the first countries to ratify International
Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182, which declared the compulsory
recruitment of children for use in armed conflict as one of the worst forms of
child labor. The International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child
Soldiers’ conservative estimate places over 300,000 children under the age
of 18 fighting as soldiers in more than 30 countries for government forces or
armed groups. Some of these child soldiers are as young as seven, and many are
between the ages of 10 and 15. The majority are between 15 and 18.
Some 500 representatives from government, nongovernmental organizations,
media and research institutions are attending the conference. The conference
will examine strategies to solve the problem—from prevention to
disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation at the community
level. This holistic approach is featured in the $13 million Labor Department
global initiative, which has three parts: a $7 million global project through
the ILO’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC),
a $3 million project focusing on education needs of former child soldiers in
Northern Uganda; and a $3 million project focusing on education needs of former
child soldiers in Afghanistan [to be implemented by UNICEF].
World Vision will host a luncheon during the second day of the
conference that will include a Keynote Address by John D. Negroponte, U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations. Nine former child soldiers also will
participate in the proceedings. They will offer first-hand knowledge and unique
insight to help participants develop practical solutions.
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