Sola POPOOLA
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF has expressed readiness to partner relevant stakeholders to end the menace of child recruitment into armed groups .
The global organisation also promised to support government’s efforts to invest in the prevention of child recruitment ,use and to also facilitate and scale-up the reintegration of the affected children,
These were contained in a statement made available to journalists by Safiya Yoba Akau, Communications (Advocacy, Media & External Relations),
She disclosed that every 12 February is marked as the annual observance of ‘Red Hand Day’, a day dedicated to raising awareness and strengthening efforts to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts worldwide.
Yoba Akau decried the increasing recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts despite international community’s efforts to eradicate the tendency.
“This moment is also another opportunity for the Federal Government of Nigeria to endorse The Paris commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups and the Paris principles and guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups.
The UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, applauded the Federal Government’s giant strides in ending the menance while calling on them to endorse the Paris commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment by armed forces or armed groups.
Munduate said: “Red Hand Day is an important reminder of the ongoing challenge to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts.
“We applaud the efforts of the Government of Nigeria for the signing of the Handover Protocol for children encountered in the course of armed conflict in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Region.
“This moment is also another opportunity for the Federal Government of Nigeria to endorse The Paris commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups and the Paris principles and guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups.
“UNICEF in partnership with other relevant stakeholders will continue to support the efforts of the Government to invest in the prevention of child recruitment and use, facilitate and scale-up the reintegration of children, especially girls and including women that exit armed groups in the north-east.”
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