UNICEF IN CHAD: CHILD SOLDIERS, MALNUTRITION, AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000476 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/C, S/USSES, PRM/AFR NSC FOR GAVIN LONDON FOR POL - LORD PARIS FOR POL - BAIN AND KANEDA ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM SOCI PREL PREF CD SO SUBJECT: UNICEF IN CHAD: CHILD SOLDIERS, MALNUTRITION, AND OTHER CHALLENGES -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) UNICEF's Deputy Executive Director briefed Ambassador October 19 on UNICEF's main challenges in Chad in coming months. Johnson addressed child-soldiers in Chad, saying that UNICEF is working with the GOC ministries of Defense, Interior, and Social Affairs on child soldiers in the Chadian armed forces, in rebel groups operating from Chad, and rebel groups operating against Chad from Sudan. The GOC had turned over for demobilization some 800-1,000 child soldiers - all from rebel groups - in 2009, although few few girls were among them; and UNICEF had not been able to work with non-state actors such as anti-GoC rebel forces still operating in Sudan. She underlined that UNICEF's next focus would be the children within the Chadian armed forces. She emphasized that eastern Chad is moving away from a "conflict-driven crisis" toward a more "sustainable" phase, although resource constraints and criminality would continue to be a part of that equation. She highlighted the emerging problem of persistent malnutrition in western Chad emerging in the next six months, particularly the area of Kanem and polio-eradication efforts. ¶2. (SBU) Embassy officers continue to bring up the issue of child-soldiers in Chadian forces at every opportunity with our GOC interlocutors and other diplomatic missions, urging the GOC to make greater efforts to collaborate with UNICEF and MINURCAT to identify child soldiers in government ranks and to remove them from any role, whether armed or unarmed, in military or police contexts. END SUMMARY. -------------- AFTER THE CRISIS - STILL CHALLENGES -------------- ¶3. (SBU) UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde Frafjord Johnson and Country Representative Marzio Babille briefed Ambassador Oct 19 on the results Johnson's week-long visit to Chad. Johnson had spent the week in western Chad, in the areas of Kanem and Moussoro, the location of a child soldier demobilization center; had toured the Eastern Chad camps for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs); traveled to southern Chad in the area of relatively new population movements around Daha and Haraze; and met with key ministerial partners. She briefed on UNICEF's child protection mandate and her findings in Chad. ¶4. (SBU) Johnson said that UNICEF shared growing sense that eastern Chad had ceased to fall into the "crisis/emergency" category and was now in the "sustainable" situation category. She said UNICEF was discussing strategies to link this transition from crisis to a more developmenmtally-oriented approach to the provision of services in the east, while working on pre-positioning supplies for "the next crisis - which we know is coming" in an area where drought-induced conflict over scarce resources is endemic. She said UNICEF at the same time would be widening focus to ensure other regions of Chad where child survival challenges were cropping up are receiving appropriate investment, especially in the western/Sahelian Kanem region, where rising malnutrition rates threatened to hit children and women hard. She noted very poor rains over the last months, requiring a comprehensive intervention program, with malnutrition as the priority. ¶5. (SBU) Ms. Johnson stated that UNICEF was also focusing on a rise in polio risk in Chad (in partnership with USAID),and would expand its own capacity in Chad, working with the Ministry of Health (MoH). She stressed that these challenges especially needed more investment from the Government of Chad (GoC),and asked that Ambassador help in safeguarding current and future budgetary appropriations for health-related activities. Johnson noted that the newly pointed Minister of Health, while a medical doctor by training, appeared to have no significant experience in management or public administration. She speculated that he may find himself pitted against entrenched interest groups in various MoH departments, based on kinship or geographically-determined NDJAMENA 00000476 002 OF 002 alliances. Johnson said UNICEF is trying to present a unified message to all groups within the ministry, and hoped for USG support in promoting a cohesive response to health needs in Chad. -------------- CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT IN CHAD -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ms. Johnson recalled that UNICEF has worked under child protection mandates of two UNSCRs - 1612, 1882. She noted that child recruitment into armed conflict and the USG-driven UNSCR 1888 on sexual violence against children in conflict are new triggers for UNICEF intervention, with theQdate to conduct the field monitoring work for all aspects of child protection. She noted that, with these additional areas of international focus, the UN SYG had created and would soon name a new SRSG for sexual violence. ¶7. (SBU) According to Johnson, UNICEF is working with Defense, Interior, and Social Affairs on the issue of child soldiers in both the Chadian armed forces and in rebel groups operating from Chad or against Chad. The GOC had turned over for demobilization some 800-1,000 child soldiers - all from rebel groups - in 2009. Unfortunately, few girls were turned over (although many were exploited in rebel and government military forces); and UNICEF had not been able to work with non-state actors such as anti-GoC rebel forces still operating in Sudan. Ms. Johnson noted that demobilized children would require better monitoring after they had graduated from their rehabilitation period and gone home. She said UNICEF's next focus would be the children she believes are present within the Chadian armed forces. -------------- GENDER AND SEXUALLY-BASED VIOLENCE IN CHAD -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Ms. Johnson called attention to the UN's nascent Sexual Violence Reporting Mechanism, stating that the international community needed to be more aggressive in pursuing information on violations, and in publicizing findings. She noted that recent reports on the subject have led some to conclude that refugee camps are the problem, whereas in reality many in the GoC as "in complete denial" about the pervasiveness of gender and sexually-based violence in Chad, regardless of refugee populations. She said concerted effort would be needed to break through the wall of denial. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Embassy officers continue to bring up the issue of child-soldiers in Chadian forces at every opportunity with our GOC interlocutors and other diplomatic missions, urging the GOC to make greater efforts to collaborate with UNICEF and MINURCAT to identify child soldiers in government ranks and to remove them from any role, whether armed or unarmed, in military or police contexts, and urging other diplomatic missions to do the same. NIGRO