MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA, 12 October 2018– UNICEF welcomes the release of 833 children from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, as part of its commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children.
This is the first formal release of children from the CJTF since September 2017 when the group signed an action plan committing to put measures in place to end and prevent child recruitment following a listing in the annexes of the UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report for Children and Armed Conflict for the recruitment and use of children.
“The release of these children from CJTF shows commitment to implement the provisions of the Action Plan and to uphold international humanitarian law, human rights laws as well as other regional and national legislations, protecting children’s rights,” said Pernille Ironside, Deputy Representative of UNICEF Nigeria and the Co-chair of United Nations Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting on grave child rights violations (CTFMR).
“This is a significant milestone in ending the recruitment and use of children, but many more children remain in the ranks of other armed groups in either combat or support roles. We call on all parties to stop recruiting children and let children be children.”
Since the Action Plan was signed, members of the CTFMR initiated a joint field verification exercise to ascertain the presence and association of children within the command structures and ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force. As of today, a total of 1,469 children (1,175 boys and 294 girls), associated with the Civilian Joint Task Force have been identified within the city of Maiduguri.
UNICEF continues to work closely with state authorities to support the implementation of reintegration programmes for the children released today as well as others affected by the ongoing conflict.
Since 2017, UNICEF has supported the social and economic reintegration of more than 8,700 children released from armed groups, helping trace their families, returning them to their communities, and offering them psychosocial support, education, vocational training and informal apprenticeships, and opportunities to improve livelihoods.
Notes to Editors:
The UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict lists parties to conflict who commit grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict, including recruitment and use of children.
In 2016, the CJTF was listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s Annual Report for Children and Armed Conflict for the recruitment and use of children. Following the listing, UNICEF, in its role as Co-chair of the United Nations Country Task Force for the Monitoring and Reporting on grave violations against children, has been working with the group and Nigerian authorities to develop an Action Plan which was signed in September 2017. Through the Action Plan, the CJTF commits to put in place a number of measures to end and prevent child recruitment and use. Identifying and releasing all children within the group’s ranks and instructing its members not to recruit or use children in the future are examples of such measures.
UN Security Council resolutions 1539 (2004), 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011) and 2225 (2015) on Children and Armed Conflict established measures and tools to end grave violations against children, through the creation of a monitoring and reporting mechanism, and the development of action plans to end violations by parties listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.
An action plan is a signed commitment that allows the United Nations to support a party to conflict listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict by laying out concrete and time-bound measures it must take to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children, as well as other grave violations.
Measures requested in the action plans usually include, but are not limited to, the issuance of military orders prohibiting the recruitment and use of children, criminalization of the recruitment and use of children, the release of all children in the ranks of security forces and the establishment of programmes to support their reintegration into civilian life, as well as the inclusion of age-verification mechanisms in recruitment procedures and the strengthening of birth registration systems.
For more information, visit: www.childrenandarmedconflict.un.org
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org.
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For more information, please contact:
Kusali Nellie Kubwalo, UNICEF Maiduguri, +234 8035351853 knkubwalo@unicef.org
Eva Hinds, UNICEF Abuja, Tel: +234 9062222216, ehinds@unicef.org
Thierry Delvigne-Jean, UNICEF Regional Office in Dakar, +221 77 819 2300, tdelvignejean@unicef.org
Christopher Tidey, UNICEF New York, +1 917 340 3017, ctidey@unicef.org
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