As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faces a growing number of conflicts, children are increasingly becoming victims of violence and violations of their rights. The Rhugwasanye Foundation is particularly concerned by the large number of children who are used as fighters, porters, spies, cooks, or sex slaves by armed groups and militias in the central and eastern parts of the country.
The children who have left rebel groups and whom we take into our care tell us of the horrors of violence and war. These children have witnessed killings, and some of them have been forced to kill themselves. According to UNICEF and its partners, between 5,000 and 10,000 children have been associated with militias in the Kasai region alone.
The use of children is not limited to the Kasai region. UNICEF estimates that in the provinces of Tanganyika and South Kivu, where violence has been raging for several months, more than 3,000 children are currently being used by militias. The phenomenon of child soldiers also remains widespread in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, where armed groups are on the increase.
Our Action
We advocate that any form of use of children in armed conflict is illegal. The prohibition on the use of child soldiers, enshrined in the DRC Constitution, derives from instruments ratified by the country, notably the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and the Rome Statute, which stipulates that the use of children under the age of 15 constitutes a war crime, liable to prosecution before the International Criminal Court.
Children who have suffered such problems are enrolled in our school free of charge and receive psychological support.
