Every year, tens of thousands of boys and girls are recruited and used by armed groups worldwide. This is happening despite international agreements to end the use of children under the age of 18 in armed conflicts. The issue was highlighted further through Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 in Agenda 2030 that among other things calls for immediate and effective measures to eradicate the worst forms of child labour, including the recruitment and use of childsoldiers. Despite these commitments, children are used in armed conflicts and countries are experiencing enormous challenges in convincing fighting parties to release children and find ways to reintegrate them into society. Children who are released have often gone through traumatic experiences and are sometimes imprisoned or stigmatized by communities who see them as a continued threat. UNICEF works closely with its partners to avoid that children are separated from their families and has, through advocacy with armed groups since 2016, assisted with the release of 22 500 children out of which 11 300 children have been reintegrated with their communities. Among the activities are psychosocial support, support to continued education and activities that increase social cohesion and peacebuilding. In situations of protracted conflicts, there are often gaps in financing when emergency aid through humanitarian assistance often needs to focus on more urgent needs and where development cooperation yet has not been established. Support to the release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed groups needs extended funding to be sustainable. In order to build resilience against re-recruitment and strengthen young boys’ and girls’ engagement and participation in peacebuilding in support of social cohesion, the gaps that occur between humanitarian and development aid need to be bridged. UNICEF works to bridge this gap through ‘The New Way of Working’ and has identified the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Somalia as three countries where more than 50% of the children that have been released from armed groups yet are to receive support to socio-economic reintegration programmes. Sida’s support therefore aims at bridging this gap within the three country contexts in order to assist UNICEF in its work to release and reintegrate children in a more sustainable way. The long-term goal of the intervention is “To contribute to ending and preventing grave violations committed against children in armed conflict, including the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups, and to supporting the release and reintegration of these children”.

Tiotusentals pojkar och flickor rekryteras och används årligen av väpnade grupper runt om i världen. Detta trots att det internationella samfundet gått samman och enats kring resolutioner som vänder sig mot användandet av barn under 18 år inom väpnad konflikt. Förnyat fokus lades vid frågan genom det globala målet 8.7 i Agenda 2030 som uppmanar om att vidta omedelbara och effektiva åtgärder för att bland annat avskaffa de värsta formerna av barnarbete, inklusive rekrytering och användning av barnsoldater. Trots dessa överenskommelser används barn i väpnade konflikter och länder erfar enorma utmaningar med att övertala stridande parter att släppa dessa barn och finna möjligheter att återintegrera dem i samhället. Barn som frisläpps har oftast genomgått traumatiserande upplevelser och hamnar ibland i fängelse eller stigmatiseras då samhället ser dem som ett fortsatt hot. UNICEF arbetar hårt med sina partners för att undvika att barn separeras från sina familjer och har genom påverkansarbete med väpnade grupper under 2016 lyckats frisläppa 22 500 barn varav 11 300 barn återintegrerats i sina samhällen. Bland aktiviteterna ingår psykosocialt stöd, stöd till fortsatt utbildning samt aktiviteter som främjar social sammanhållning och fredsbyggande. Vid utdragna konflikter bildas ofta gap i finansiering då katastrofbistånd från humanitära insatser behöver fokusera på mer akuta behov och utvecklingssamarbete ännu inte hunnit etableras. Stöd för frisläppande och återintegrering av barn som varit inblandade i väpnade grupper behöver en långsiktig finansiering för att vara hållbart. För att skapa resiliens mot återrekrytering och stärka unga pojkar och flickors engagemang och deltagande inom fredsbyggande till förmån för social sammanhållning behöver man brygga det gap som uppstår mellan humanitärt och utvecklingsbistånd. UNICEF arbetar för att brygga detta gap genom 'The New Way of Working' och har identifierat Centralafrikanska Republiken, Syd Sudan och Somalia som tre länder där mer än 50% av barn som släppts fria från beväpnade grupper ännu inte fått ta del av stöd till social och ekonomisk återintegrering. Sidas bidrag riktar sig således till att täcka de gap som uppstår i de tre länderna för att UNICEFs arbete med frisläppande och återintegrering ska kunna fortsätta vara hållbart. Insatsens långsiktiga mål är att bidra till att få slut på och förhindra grova kränkningar mot barn i väpnad konflikt, inklusive rekrytering och användande av barn i väpnade arméer och grupper.

The objective of the intervention is to strengthen the national technical and institutional capacity in South Sudan, Somalia and the Central African Republic (CAR) to address the needs of children associated with armed forces and armed groups. SIDA’s investment also supports the scaling up of preparedness and implementation of action plans to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict by armed forces and armed groups. In the three countries, UNICEF and partners are implementing programmes that will break the cycles of violence and aid prevention efforts. They are also working towards establishing long-term, multi-year mechanisms for the reintegration of boys and girls dissociated or separated from armed forces and armed groups, including other children at-risk of recruitment in communities. This will be achieved by, inter alia, placing a specific focus on girls, and on provision of psychosocial and education programmes and vocational training. Two key results are foreseen: (i) child protection institutions and actors in the three countries provide social and economic reintegration assistance to 10,000 children and youth formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups, and other conflict-affected children; and (ii) an increased number of children and youth formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups and other conflict-affected children in CAR, Somalia and South Sudan have access to social and economic reintegration assistance. Outputs 1.1 and 1.2 of the programme are specifically aimed at strengthening the institutional and technical capacities of policymakers and child protection actors, including at the community level, to prevent recruitment and enable socio-economic reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups. Output 2.1 focuses on improving the access of children and other programme participants to social and economic reintegration.