Child soldiers and women are among the most vulnerable victims of Congo’s war. Attending to their needs for reintegration, counseling, and medical attention are critical components for consolidating peace. The two groups face somewhat different problems. Whereas women often do not have sufficient resources to heal the social and physical wounds they have endured, child soldiers face greater difficulties in reintegrating with their families and communities.

On June 4, 2007, Jimmie Briggs, author of Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War, and Bukeni T. Waruzi, executive director of Ajedi-Ka, addressed a meeting of the Congo Peacebuilding Forum of the United States Institute of Peace to discuss the factors inhibiting an effective treatment of the victims of Congo’s war. Participants at the meeting considered the ways in which the government, civil society, and the international community can assist Congo’s reintegration and reconciliation processes. This USIPeace Briefing summarizes the discussion of this forum.

Child Soldiers: Heroes, Victims, and Perpetrators

The meeting began with a screening of “On the Front Lines,” a documentary produced by Ajedi-Ka, in partnership with Witness, as a tool to generate dialogue and increase awareness about the experiences of child soldiers in Congo. The documentary not only gave voice to child soldiers and their families, but also visually confirmed the harsh realities of life faced by child fighters and their status as victims in the war. Perhaps more surprisingly, the documentary revealed that although some child soldiers are abducted into armed groups, many of the children join voluntarily—and often with their parent’s consent. Fearing that the Congolese national army could not protect them, parents encouraged their children—both boys and girls—to join militia to protect their villages against incursions by Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers. Therefore, to many villagers, child soldiers are heroes. Indeed, the children have been praised and held up as liberators by national figures, such as the late Congolese President Laurent Kabila.

The simultaneous characterization of child soldiers as heroes and, to lesser degrees, victims and perpetrators, has hindered the reintegration process. As a result, many demobilized soldiers do not receive the treatment and counseling they need. Moreover, many families are reluctant to take back their children; they are particularly concerned about the added financial burden the demobilized soldiers will bring to the family and whether the child will physically harm other family members.

Women and Girls: Victims of Gender-Based Violence

One panelist reported that hundreds of thousands of women were raped during the war.¹ Many of these crimes have not been prosecuted. Many women, fearing social shunning and lacking support, do not come forward to report the abuses endured during the war. For girl soldiers, reconciliation is even more challenging. As sexual violence is a common experience for girl soldiers, they suffer from a “double trauma”: the trauma of death and life-threatening danger and that of gender-based violence. However, because no distinction is made between male and female combatants in the reintegration process, girls do not have the opportunity or support mechanisms to report the abuses they experienced as soldiers or as “wives” of the commanders. In addition, there is little testing for and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and the women and girls may pass on these diseases to future partners.

Local and International Efforts for Justice and Treatment

Armed groups, communities, and local organizations must begin to understand and address the social and legal consequences of recruiting child soldiers and the effect of gender-based violence. To some extent, perceptions of child soldiers are beginning to change. For example, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) 2006 arrest of Thomas Lubanga, the alleged founder and leader of the Union des Patriotes Congolais and alleged founder and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo, for the recruitment and use of child soldiers,² has increased people’s perception of child soldiers as victims. The ICC’s actions have underscored the illegality of the practice. Showing films such as “On the Front Lines” in the villages of eastern Congo, where the fighting continues, also stimulates discussion about child soldiers and sheds light on the struggles these children face, both in combat and upon returning. Unfortunately, one grim consequence of this increased awareness is that more children are now abducted into armed groups, rather than encouraged to join by their parents.

Some progress has also been made by national and international institutions in addressing gender-based violence. The panelists noted that the United Nations Mission in Congo is beginning to track down peacekeeping officers who engage in gender-based violence and the European Community Humanitarian Aid Department is encouraging the Congolese military to be more aggressive in prosecuting gender-based violence. Last year, the Congolese parliament adopted a law against gender-based violence; local police are increasing investigations of sexual violence and some trials have taken place.

Despite these positive developments, more remains to be done to increase the availability of mental and physical health treatment and to end impunity for war crimes. Providing treatment for mental health is crucial to reintegration and reconciliation, but rarely available. While some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) attempt to offer mental health services to children, this informal training cannot fully replace the benefits derived from professional psychologists and psychiatrists. Moreover, despite some opportunities for child soldiers to receive counseling during the reintegration process, this counseling is almost always gender-neutral. Yet, because so many girl soldiers and women have been victims of sexual violence, it is imperative that they receive treatment targeted specifically at their experience. However, the reluctance of girls and women to come forward to share their experiences makes reconciliation and reintegration particularly difficult.

Continued impunity for gender-based violence and the recruitment of child soldiers also impedes reconciliation and reintegration. Indeed, according to one panelist, only one trial on the recruitment of child soldiers has taken place. Even when a commander is brought to trial, many child soldiers refuse to testify against him for fear of retribution later. In other instances, cases cannot be prosecuted because documentation of the crime is poor; certificates bearing the ages of the soldiers do not exist; or lawyers and judges feel politically pressured not to prosecute. The impunity for these crimes has only encouraged the continued recruitment of child soldiers.

The Way Forward for Healing and Reintegration

The discussion at the meeting revealed two facets central to the healing and subsequent reintegration of the victims of Congo’s war. First, changing popular perceptions of these victims’ experiences can help prevent future abuses. Second, ensuring the availability of treatment is essential for reintegration and reconciliation. Specifically, Congolese citizens and government officials must start to treat child soldiers as victims, rather than perpetrators of violence or heroes of war, and women and girl soldiers must receive specific physical and psychosocial treatment for gender-based violence in order to fully recover. The panelists’ recommendations included the following:

Increase the Capacity of Congolese Organizations

While many international organizations have expertise with child soldiers and victims of gender-based violence, Congolese organizations must improve their ability to address these groups. Partnerships between local NGOs and U.S-based mental health institutions, for example, could increase the professional capacity of mental health providers and counselors in Congo.

End Impunity and Reform Institutions

Recruitment of child soldiers and gender-based violence continues because the perpetrators are not systematically punished. The legal system suffers from political pressure and corruption, as well as a dearth of documentation. To overcome these obstacles, Congolese judges must be protected from political pressures and lawyers must find ways to work effectively in the absence of reliable records.

Increase Medical Treatment and Counseling for War Victims

There must be more systematic, sustainable, and affordable treatment of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The cost of anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS has decreased dramatically. Yet, even at $1 a day, it is still out of reach for many Congolese. By delaying treatment, victims compromise their health and that of others. Equally important, counseling of former child soldiers should not be gender-neutral; many former girl soldiers have been subjected to gender-based violence, which requires special attention.

Notes

1. The precise number is difficult to ascertain. However a number of reports do place the figure at hundreds of thousands. See for example: UNICEF, "Even where fighting has ended, sexual violence scars children and women in DR Congo," Information by Country, August 4, 2006. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/drcongo_35223.html; and Mary Kimani, "Congolese women confront legacy of rape," Africa Renewal, United Nations, January 2007, http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol20no4/204-congolese-women.html.

2. International Criminal Court, “ICC Newsletter,” No. 10, November 2006, p. 2 (http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/about/newsletter/10/index.html).

This USIPeace Briefing was written by Dorina Bekoe, a senior program officer in the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, and Christina Parajon, a program assistant in the Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, at the United States Institute of Peace. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the Institute, which does not advocate specific policies.

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peacebuilding efforts around the globe.