Centre hosts Regional Executive Seminar on Child Soldiers and Security Forces
The University of Botswana’s Centre for Strategic Studies in collaboration with the Child Soldiers Initiative and the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies at Dalhousie University jointly hosted the Regional Executive Seminar on Child Soldiers and Security Forces, geared at broadening knowledge on child soldering and why it is a security problem.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Defense, Justice and Security Mr Dikgakgamatso Seretse stressed that the future of every nation relies on its children and therefore they have to be protected. He said although Botswana has never had the problem of child soldiers nor experienced armed conflict, participating in this kind of dialogue will sensitize ‘ourselves’ of the dangers of such practices.
He said that according to the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, there are about 250 000 child soldiers globally and therefore “… We all need to come together and work tirelessly to avert this abhorable state of affairs”.
Mr Seretse pointed out that the use of children as soldiers leave an indelible mark on the minds of children for many years after the conflict is over. “Not only does it rob our countries of responsible leaders, it catapults them into the states of adulthood while they are still children”. He assured those in attendance that Botswana is committed to defending human rights and democratic development hence mechanisms to ensure that children are not used as soldiers in armed conflict must be built.
Mr Kon Kelei aged 26 from Sudan gave an account of how he was forced to join the army at the age of four. “We were taught that being brutal is manhood and that if we do not kill, we will be killed”. He escaped from combat at the age of 11. Mr Kelei now an advocate for the rights of young people affected by war said what is heart breaking is that he never went for rehabilitation after disserting combat. He is currently working on a master’s degree in International and European Law in Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He is the co-initiator and co-founder of the Network of Young People Affected by War (NYPAW).
Botswana is signatory to a number of International and Regional Conventions, Treaties and Protocols on Human Rights and the Rights of the Child. Conventions on the Rights of the Child such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (March 14, 1995), the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (October 4, 2004) and the African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of the Child (July 10, 2001) to mention a few. As a result, the Parliament of Botswana passed the Children’s Act in 2009 to domesticate the above conventions.
The executive seminar was attended by the executive level staff of national defense forces, directors of staff colleges and representatives of Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs involved in policy-oriented or strategic activities related to defense and security.
The objectives of the seminar were to build on the diverse knowledge, experience and ideas participants may have on the child soldier issue from a variety of contexts. Participants from Ethiopia, Gambia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, South Africa and Mozambique shared and discussed topics on how to plan for and address the child soldier issue and ways to work cohesively with other non-military actors on the child soldier issue.
The Child Soldiers Initiative (CSI) is led and developed by Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, who is conducting academic research, advocacy and training to build the understanding that child soldiering is not only a child protection and human rights issue, but also a serious security threat that has implications for capacity building and the training of national defense forces and police.