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A Duty To Protect: Justice for Child Soldiers in the DRC.
By: WITNESS Media Archive
Posted: Jun 2 08
Witnessed: 11072 times
Regions: Africa, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Issues: Armed conflict, Child soldiers, Sexual exploitation
Tags: abuse, child rights, justice
UPDATE: Warlord Thomas Lubanga was arrested and is due to stand trial 26 January 2009 in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Click here to read the latest news and learn how this video played an integral role in the campaign to put the issue of child soldiers onto the ICC's agenda, and helped to bring charges against a warlord for enlisting and conscripting children under the age of fifteen and putting them on the frontlines during the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A DUTY TO PROTECT tells the stories of Mafille and January, two girls who were recruited into the military at thirteen and ten years of age respectively. Mafille is a demobilized girl soldier whose experience of violence and sexual exploitation cause her deep psychological scars. In addition to having suffered during the year and a half she spent in the military, Mafille also recounts the stigma she has faced upon returning to civilian life and the constraints in seeking medical attention due to a lack of financial resources. January is a girl soldier whose bravado veils her suffering and whose character and perceptions personify the complexity of the conflict and local perceptions. In this unique portrayal of child soldiers, A DUTY TO PROTECT also looks at the effects of the recruitment and use of child soldiers on their families and the broader community, concluding that the people of Eastern DRC wish for peace and justice in their region.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C) children make up the majority of combatants in a war that has claimed over five million lives. Through the voices of child soldiers, A DUTY TO PROTECT explores the complexity of the war, the issues confronted by girl soldiers including rape and sexual exploitation, and the importance of the International Criminal Court to end the rampant impunity reigning in Eastern DRC. The video gives specific recommendations to strengthen the work of the ICC and calls for the international community’s engagement to stop the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
Copyright 2005 AJEDI-Ka/WITNESS
Running Time: 14:10 minutes
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Comments
Testimonies of child soldiers on VI Photo
DeSameer Padania on Jan 6 09
There is a series of portraits and testimonies of child soldiers here:
http://www.viiphoto.com/showstory.php?nID=838
--
Sameer Padania | http://hub.witness.org | http://www.witness.org
comment on the video
Dembugua kibera on Dec 8 08
this is very nice work, shocking!!!!
it goes further to make us ask ourselves, who benefits
from all the natural resources that congo owns???
who supplies the 'perenial rebels' in DRC with all types of mordern weapons??
the answer lies in the multinational companies that would like to see africans kill each other while they ( western countries and also the east( read china etc) benefit with our( africans) God given wealth!!!
africans wake up
see what is happening to our continent!!!
mbugua kibera
afrocentric youth
with no apology