The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) concluded a two-day awareness workshop on dangers of recruitment and use of child soldiers in Somalia.
The event held in Kismayo offered an opportunity for various representatives drawn from civil societies and officials from Jubaland State responsible for child protection to discuss the dangers of using children in armed conflict.
Representatives were taken through topics on the rights of children, non-discrimination, the various forms of child recruitment, child survival and development.
According to AMISOM Protection Officer, Gloria Jasse, AMISOM continues to conduct programmes that are aimed at addressing the recruitment and use of children as fighters in Somalia as well as ways of countering violent extremism (CVE).
She noted that the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab violated the rights of children by forcibly recruiting them within their ranks as soldiers. Al-Shabaab militants continue to force rural communities to hand over children as young as 8 years old for indoctrination and military training.
The officers also called on civil society organisations, line ministries and child protection committees to help strengthen community protection mechanisms to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers and ensure in totality that children are not recruited into armed forces.
A recent report by the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict revealed that armed groups in Somalia forcefully recruited and used 2,228 boys and 72 girls in 2018. The report released in June 2019 indicated that the Al-Shabaab terrorist group recruited 1,865 children, accounting for the highest number of child recruits.
