In the absence of rehabilitation measures, Comeback routes almost sealed for child soldiers
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 11 2014 :
Of the many unlawful activities com-mitted by juveniles in Chura- chandpur district, donning the role of child soldier is the most common.
The issue has been compounded by the absence of any State funded rehabilitation and social re-integration programmes.
Members of the Manipur Alliance for Child Rights (MACR) and some media persons from Imphal visited Churachandpur district headquarters today to take stock of Government initiatives on rehabilitation of child soldiers, if there is any.
The team visited the district's observation home and met the Superintendent and Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
From 2007 till date, there were/are 287 children in the observation home funded by the Health Integrated Ministry of the Ministry of Women and Child.
Of the 287 children, 90 per cent were kept in the observation home after their stints as child soldiers, said Superintendent Nicky Thanga.
The children were kept in the observation home awaiting confirmation whether they are guilty or not after they are produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
If any of them is found guilty, they should be transferred to a special home.
Most of the child soldiers who have come back joined different UG groups driven by their fascination for guns and a wrong notion that wielding a gun is more respectable in the society.
As such, they were sent back from the home after giving proper counselling.
Many of these children joined UG groups because of family problems.
As of now, no Government measures could be seen in Churachandpur for rehabilitation and social re-integration of former child soldiers.
Because of these lapses, there is a big drawback in all the efforts to bring back the former child soldiers to mainstream., said Nicky Thanga.
CWC Chairperson Daniel Gangte noted that former child soldiers are one of the many groups of children who need protection and guidance.
Altogether 17 UG groups affiliated to KNO operate in Churachandpur while two groups affiliated to UPF are also present in the district.
When the CWC reached out to these SoO signatory UG groups, many children were found serving as child soldiers, Nicky Thanga said.
However, neither UPF nor KNO has officially accepted presence of child soldiers in their midst.
The number of child soldiers arrested by security forces and referred to the CWC is only three so far.
Most of the child soldiers after counselling wish to return to the mainstream.
But the Government has no arrangements for their rehabili- tation.
If the children's conditions who have left UG groups could not be improv-ed, there is strong possibility of the children taking up arms again.
But the CWC has no capacity to rehabilitate such former child soldiers thereby landing tyhe the CWC in a fix.
However, children homes of Churachandpur district have been benefited from the Integrated Child Protection Scheme but the provision of sponsorship guaranteed by the scheme is yet to be implemented.
MACR convenor Pradip said that the issue of child soldier is not unique to Churachandpur district but common to all the districts of Manipur.
Again, whatever provisions the Government made for cadres of SoO signatory UG groups are not inclusive of the child soldiers, he added.
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