Geneva Call€¦  · Web viewDR Congo: child soldiers leave armed actors following Geneva Call’s awareness-raising efforts. More than 40 children have recently left armed movements

DR Congo: child soldiers leave armed actors following Geneva Call’s awareness-raising efforts

More than 40 children have recently left armed movements operating in North Kivu in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Most of them come from three armed actors that Geneva Call has been engaging on the ban of child soldiers for more than a year.

After their release, the children sought protection from a Congolese organization specializing in the protection and demobilization of children. MONUSCO, the United Nations force in DRC, has since evacuated those kids who wished to participate in the government’s demobilization program to Goma. Over the nextthree months they will follow a professional course to prepare for their reintegration into society.

« I joined the group voluntarily, but it’s tough to live in the jungle and I suffered a lot. Now I would like to become a moto-taxi driver » said one of the children to Geneva Call’s partner organization. « Our commanders heard Geneva Call’s messages and helped us to leave » said another former child soldier.

« The recruitment of child soldiers – forced or on a voluntarily basis - is very common in North Kivu where dozens of armed actors operate. These releases are a positive sign and we hope that other groups will follow. » declared Marie Lequin Coutin Geneva Call’s acting Head of Africa region.

According to the United Nations monitoring mechanism, the number of child soldiers recruited by armed non-State actors has decreased over the last few years.

The achievement of a two-year process with the APCLS

In November 2017, the APLCS made a public undertaking to totally ban the use of child soldiers

by signing the Deed of Commitment protecting children in armed conflict in the Alabama room with Geneva Call and the Canton and Republic of Geneva.

This commitment comes after two years of continuous dialogue with the APCLS on the issue of child soldiers and child protection. Earlier in 2016, the APCLS had modified its code of conduct to raise the minimum age of recruitment to 18. Geneva Call also conducted several trainings sessions in APCLS-controlled areas to explain to combatants and officers what such an undertaking means in practice and what measures should be taken to implement the Deed of Commitment.

While in Geneva, the APCLS participated in a meeting organized by Geneva Call on the protection of education in armed conflict. Together with 21 other armed movements from eleven war torn countries, they benefited from the advice of international organizations such as UNICEF and the positive efforts of other armed movements on the topic of child soldier demobilization. “This conference has enhanced our capacities and reinforced our determination to protect children in armed conflict” said a leader of the APCLS after the meeting.

A small but important step

Geneva Call is in dialogue on the same topics with other armed groups in the region, in particular the Nduma Defense of Congo – Rénové (NDC-R) for which it conducted several training sessions, as well as the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and the Forces de Défense Congolaises (FDC).

“We hope that this small step will pave the way to a North Kivu free of child soldiers. Children are the future of DRC and this future has to be protected. Geneva Call will continue its work with armed groups not only on the ban of child recruitment but also on the law of war and the protection of civilians in general” declared Marie Coutin Lequin.

Iraq: overview of Geneva Call’s programme in 2016

Kurdish region: amidst concerns about child recruitment and use in hostilities, Geneva Call launches a media campaign on the protection of the civilian population

On 1st February 2017 , Geneva Call is launching a 10-day video campaign on social media – mainly Facebook and Twitter - to raise awareness on the issue of recruitment and use of children during armed conflict and the protection of children during hostilities, but also on humanitarian norms as a whole.

Using its 12 “Fighter not Killer” videos, Geneva Call seeks to reach fighters and leaders of armed actors active in the Kurdish region of Turkey, but also the population at large to inform them about their own rights and the responsibilities of the conflict actors. « This campaign will also support the direct dialogue we are having with some of the armed non-State actors on this issue » declared Anki Sjoeberg, Geneva Call’s Programme Director.

Numerous allegations of child recruitment by several armed actors have been recently reported including allegations concerning a signatory of Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment protecting children in armed conflict, the People’s Defences Forces/Kurdistan Worker’s Party (HPG/PKK).

Since their official pledge to stop recruiting and using children in hostilities in 2013, and despite restricted access, Geneva Call has been monitoring the situation closely and investigated the reported allegations through a constant dialogue with HPG/PKK but also through direct information from actors on the ground. “The tense political situation in Turkey has made our monitoring activities more difficult than before, families of the kids who may have been involved with HPG/PKK might not dare to contact us any more” according to Ms Sjoeberg.

In a recent report about child soldiers in Iraq, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented several cases of recruitments by HPG/PKK and by the YBS a Kurdish Yezidi armed force active in the Sinjar area in Iraq. “Despite the rare participation of underage youths in our ranks without our approval, our movement has [...] made efforts to fulfill the convention we are a party to. There are no fighters aged under 16 in our ranks. Those youths aged 16-17 […] are not involved in the battle by our movement, and these are receiving training in areas outside the battle field." » stated HPG’s leaders in a public statement.

“We were aware at the time of the signature that a lot of work would need to be done. HPG/PKK reaffirmed recently their commitment not to use under-18 children for combat-related activities and we are encouraging them to take further measures to ensure compliance” said A. Sjoeberg.

Many of the cases documented by HRW are related to YBŞ, which is an organization close to HPG with whom Geneva Call has recently established contacts. Geneva Call is investigating these allegations and maintaining a close communication with the HPG/PKK on these issues.

As HPG/PKK has presence in the area in which YBS is operating and there are joint actions, HPG/PKK should take all feasible measures to prevent the use of children during military operations even by organizations that would not be directly under their control, as stipulated in the Deed of Commitment.

Enhancing the protection of population exposed to war: interview with Katherine Kramer, Geneva Call’s new « impact monitoring » adviser

While mechanisms have been established in the past to monitor Geneva Call’s actions, the organization is taking a new step change to also include accountability and learning in these processes. Katherine Kramer is the new Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Adviser at Geneva Call.

Katherine, can you tell us more about this change? For the first time Geneva Call has decided to a dedicate a full-time staff member - within the operations department – to create a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) unit. By establishing this unit, as part of its 2017-2019 Strategy, Geneva Call is reinforcing its current

systems, responding to the growing needs of the organization and adopting global sector trends towards greater accountability and learning amongst humanitarian organizations.

Why is it important to do that move for the organization and its beneficiaries?Reviewing Geneva Call’s current planning and monitoring tools, it has become clear that while they enable the collection of data that respond to donor requirements, they have not met the management needs of staff. This is especially problematic as we are opening local offices to get closer to our beneficiaries. There is also a lot that Geneva Call could improve in terms of learning from its experience and being accountable to its beneficiaries, donors and other stakeholders.

What does it involve in the way the organization works?A more concerted effort will be made to ensure that all activities are leading to the desired impact, and the best activities to achieve this are chosen with the limited resources available. Of course, we will need to consult partners and target audiences in order to best determine this.

How can we measure impact in an organization that does ‘prevention work’?Monitoring changes in policy, dissemination of the same, and practices can indicate some level of success in terms of prevention work.

Of course, Geneva Call’s interventions do not happen in a vacuum. Armed non-State actors are extremely responsive to their environment, of which Geneva Call is a part. Geneva Call therefore needs to carefully monitor developments in the contexts in which it works, while closely monitoring and consulting with stakeholders to determine the impact of its specific actions within the context.

Geneva Call ranks 85th best NGO in the world

In the 2017 edition of its Top 500 NGOs wold list, NGO Advisor has named Geneva Call as the 85th best NGO in the world. In 2016, Geneva Call ranked 89th and in 2015, 91th best NGO in the world.

Every year, NGO advisor researches, evaluates and ranks non-governmental organisations from around the world, highlighting the best in their annual Top 500 NGOs World list. They use a list of 165 criterias to evaluate the work of nominees, rating them according to criterias such as impact, innovation, transparency and accountability.

« This ranking is a recognition for the work we are doing to enhance the protection of populations caugth in armed conflict » declared Elisabeth Decrey Warner, Geneva Call’s President. « We will continue to work tirelessly to promote the respect of international law among armed actors»