The Sudanese People’s Liberation Army of South Sudan (SPLA) yesterday signed an agreement with the United Nations renewing its commitment to release all children within its ranks. Since 2005, the SPLA has been listed on the UN Secretary-General’s list of parties to conflict who recruit and use children. Although the action plan represents a renewal of commitments made in 2009, the SPLA, as a national army, is signing for the first time. The agreement also requires that all militias that are being incorporated into the SPLA are child-free. The agreement – known as the ‘action plan’ – ensures that a transparent system is in place for disciplinary action against those in command who recruit children within the SPLA. It also improves communication among commanders to make sure that the practice of child recruitment is halted and responsibility for child protection is understood on all levels. This comes just days after the International Criminal Court found Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo guilty of crimes against humanity and of recruiting children to fight in his militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002 and 2003.The Court can try cases involving individuals charged with war crimes committed since July 2002. The DRC is one of seven countries under investigations by the Court, along with Central African Republic (CAR), Cote d’ Ivoire, the Darfur region of western Sudan, Libya, Uganda and Kenya.“This is an important day for South Sudan – the world’s newest country. Not only does this action plan ensure the Government’s commitment that the SPLA will have no children within its ranks, but all armed groups who have accepted amnesty with the Government must also release their children,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy.“For this agreement to make a real difference for children, implementation is a must,” she added in her remarks at the signing ceremony in Juba, the capital of South Sudan at the weekend. “This is an excellent example of the newest nation’s army moving in the right direction concerning the protection and well-being of children in South Sudan,” said Yasmin Ali Haque, Representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the country. “The next step is to ensure that the reintegration of these children is successful and sustainable,” she added. The agreement also comes just before regional governments and the international community meets in Entebbe, Uganda, to strategise on how to combat the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army led by detested warlord Joseph Kony.The LRA has gained notoriety for abducting and forcing boys to join its rag tag army and for turning girls into sex slaves. Kony is a fugitive from the law after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest.The agreement, which also institutionalises child protection within the SPLA, was signed by the Ministry of Defence, the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), UNICEF and Ms. Coomaraswamy, who was in the country for the ceremony. During her visit the Special Representative travelled to Jonglei state, where she met with the Lou Nuer and Murle communities to discuss child protection issues, including child soldiers and child abduction.
