USG AND FRIENDS SUPPORTS UNICEF'S EFFORTS ON CHILD

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000188 STATE FOR AF/C, S/USSES - SE GRATION LONDON FOR POL - LORD PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA AND KANEDA ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KTIP PREL PGOV PREF SU UN CD SUBJECT: USG AND FRIENDS SUPPORTS UNICEF'S EFFORTS ON CHILD SOLDIERS REF: NDJAMENA 184 ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador Nigro and French Ambassador co-hosted a meeting (held in this Embassy) May 19 for key partners and international NGO representatives to discuss the current situation of children affected by armed conflict in Chad and to explore ways in which Chad's international partners interested in child-soldier issues could help the Government of Chad build its capacity to meet its responsibilities regarding child soldiers in Chad. The two-hour session included participation by the German and Swiss ambassadors, and representatives of the EU Commission, UNICEF, UNHCR, MINURCAT, and CARE. Besides the Ambassador, DCM, and POLECON Officer, visiting DRL officer Rachel Spring attended for the Embassy. ¶2. (SBU) USG and French goals for the meeting were to encourage UNICEF activism as the lead agency in Chad on children affected by armed conflict, building on the organization's May 2007 accord with GOC and its 2006-2007 success in gaining custody over and rehabilitating child soldiers. We also aimed to encourage support for UNICEF among other partners; share information on current international efforts to help Chad deal with this issue; and explore how interested partners could coordinate efforts in future. ¶3. (SBU) We believe that we effectively accomplished our goals. There was a serious and well-informed discussion of the child-soldier phenomenon in its three main dimensions: Chad military, Chad armed rebels, and Sudanese armed rebels. The group also reflected on contributing elements to children's susceptibility, including social conditions, regional instability, and traditional and social norms in parts of the country. Meeting participants reaffirmed support for UNICEF's leadership on the issue of children affected by armed conflicts in Chad. They expressed support for using an existing UNICEF-led "Working Group" (WG) as the core group to organize international efforts to help Chad deal with this issue. They agreed that the working group would share information regularly with interested partners and might invite the wider international community to its meetings as appropriate. Participants also expressed support for the working group's outreach activities and agreed that they would look favorably upon potential WG recommendations for additional concrete measures on the part of the international community. ¶4. (SBU) Most participants indicated that they were already taking positive steps to assist children affected by armed conflict in Chad. The French are in the process of starting a EURO two million project for sensitizing Chad populations targeted for child recruitment; the Swiss have on-going projects to provide education and other vocational alternatives for vulnerable child populations; UNICEF accepts custody of rebel child soldiers captured by the Chadian military and assigns them to centers run by various INGOs for education and rehabilitation, as part of its extensive protection and defense efforts throughout Chad. ¶5. (U) The Embassy intends to remain actively engaged with the GOC and international partners in the effort to help the GOC meet its responsibilities on the issue of child soldiers in Chad. ¶6. (U) Minimize considered. NIGRO