Child Soldiers: A Handbook for Security Sector Actors First Edition Child Soldiers: A Handbook for Security Sector Actors First Edition © First edition copyright October 2012 The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative Centre for Foreign Policy Studies Dalhousie University Halifax, Canada Cover photo credit: UN Photo/Tim McKulka/SPLA HQ Written and Edited by: Dr. Shelly Whitman Tanya Zayed Carl Conradi Julie Breau Designed and Edited by: Aeneas Campbell Founded by retired lieutenant-general and celebrated humanitarian Roméo Dallaire, we are a global partnership committed to ending the use and recruitment of child soldiers worldwide, through ground-breaking research, advocacy, and security-sector training. This publication is available free for download at: http://www.childsoldiers.org/training-manual For more information please contact: [email protected] Table of Contents Acknowledgements 1 Acronyms 2 Note from the Founder 4 Part I: Introduction About the Initiative 7 Part II: Concepts and Strategies A Unique Approach 10 The Minimum Standards for Security Sector Training on Child Soldiers 16 The Importance of Situational Awareness 17 Standard Operating Procedures and Rules of Engagement 23 The Multi-Disciplinary Approach 32 Part III: The Operational Framework About Child Soldiers 36 Child Soldiers and Security Sector Actors 42 Fighting Child Soldiers: A Moral Dilemma 47 Part IV: The Tactical Response Improving Interactions with Child Soldiers 52 Psychological Operations 71 Part V: Other Considerations Cross-Cutting Issues 77 Part VI: The Annexes Annex 1: The Lexicon 85 Annex 2: International Law 91 Annex 3: Sample Interrogation Questions 95 Annex 4: UN DPKO’s Code of Personal Conduct 98 Annex 5: Selected Readings 100 Annex 6: Selected Websites 106 Notes 107 Endnotes 109 Biographies 114 Feedback Form 117 CHILD SOLDIERS: A HANDBOOK FOR SECURITY SECTOR ACTORS         Acknowledgements   The research and creation of this training manual was made possible by the generous support of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the International Development and Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Dalhousie University. The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative would also like to thank the Compton Foundation, the Power Corporation, Air Canada, the Humanity United Fund and the numerous private donors in both Canada and the United States of America, without whom the goal of eradicating the recruitment and use of child soldiers worldwide would not be achievable. The Initiative is also grateful for the committed support of many prominent researchers; representatives of various United Nations (UN) agencies – including the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, UNICEF, UN DPKO and UNITAR – non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Search for Common Ground and Association de Soutien aux Opprimés; countless individual representatives from the Canadian Forces and DMTC Camp Aldershot; the RCMP and local police departments; the Network of Young People Affected by War (NYPAW); and the University of Botswana. “For soldiers with any sense of honour at all, fighting children offers a no-win situation. To be defeated by children would almost certainly bring death, derision and disgrace, while to win would carry the taint of having killed mere children.” —LGen Roméo Dallaire (Ret’d) 1 | The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative THE ROMEO DALLAIRE CHILD SOLDIERS INITIATIVE         Acronyms AAR After Action Review AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome AU African Union CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child (also, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child) CRC Op. Pro. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict DDR Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration DPKO Department of Peacekeeping Operations DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo EU European Union FARDC Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HRA Human Rights Abuse HRO Human Rights Officer HRW Human Rights Watch ICC Interim Care Centre IDDRS Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards IDP Internally Displaced Persons INGO International Non-Governmental Organization MRM Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms 2 CHILD SOLDIERS: A HANDBOOK FOR SECURITY SECTOR ACTORS         NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NGO Non-Governmental Organization PRT Provincial Reconstruction Team RCMP Royal Canadian Mounted Police RUF Revolutionary United Front SRSG Special Representative to the Secretary-General SSR Security Sector Reform UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research 3 | The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative