A Duty To Protect: Justice for Child Soldiers in the D.R.C.
By: WITNESS Media Archive
Posted: Jun 2 08
Witnessed: 1845 times
Africa, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Armed conflict, Child soldiers, Sexual exploitation
abuse, child rights, justice
[RT 14:10]
A DUTY TO PROTECT tells the stories of Mafille and January, two girls who were recruited into the military at thirteen and ten years of age respectively. Mafille is a demobilized girl soldier whose experience of violence and sexual exploitation cause her deep psychological scars. In addition to having suffered during the year and a half she spent in the military, Mafille also recounts the stigma she has faced upon returning to civilian life and the constraints in seeking medical attention due to a lack of financial resources. January is a girl soldier whose bravado veils her suffering and whose character and perceptions personify the complexity of the conflict and local perceptions. In this unique portrayal of child soldiers, A DUTY TO PROTECT also looks at the effects of the recruitment and use of child soldiers on their families and the broader community, concluding that the people of Eastern DRC wish for peace and justice in their region.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C) children make up the majority of combatants in a war that has claimed over four million lives. Through the voices of child soldiers, A DUTY TO PROTECT explores the complexity of the war, the issues confronted by girl soldiers including rape and sexual exploitation, and the importance of the International Criminal Court to end the rampant impunity reigning in Eastern DRC. The video gives specific recommendations to strengthen the work of the ICC and calls for the international community’s engagement to stop the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
©2005, Ajedi-KA/ WITNESS
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--
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comment on the video
By mbugua kibera on Dec 8 08
this is very nice work, shocking!!!!
it goes further to make us ask ourselves, who benefits
from all the natural resources that congo owns???
who supplies the 'perenial rebels' in DRC with all types of mordern weapons??
the answer lies in the multinational companies that would like to see africans kill each other while they ( western countries and also the east( read china etc) benefit with our( africans) God given wealth!!!
africans wake up
see what is happening to our continent!!!
mbugua kibera
afrocentric youth
with no apology
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