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| Monday, 28 June 2004 |
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Violates Action Plan for War Affected Children: LTTE child conscription on the rise - UNICEF The Libration Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has stepped up the conscription of children to its ranks, according to UNICEF. The UN agency confirmed that the LTTE has accelerated the recruitment of under age combatants in April and May, especially in the North. Defence sources said the LTTE seemed to be going back on its pledge to release the children in its ranks and stop new recruitment, with the latest round of conscription. In April, the LTTE officially released 269 children and expressed willingness to provide formal release letters for over 1,300 other children. UNICEF has received 159 reports of children being recruited by the LTTE since April, mostly in the North. The East, where factional fighting was reported between cadres loyal to Prabhakaran and Karuna, has also been affected. In Batticaloa and Ampara districts there have been 26 cases of new recruitment and 30 cases of re-recruitment in the past six weeks. However, these are only officially reported cases and the actual number of children taken in by the LTTE may be higher, the defence sources added. "The LTTE has not lived up to its commitment to end once and for all the practice of taking children into its ranks," says Ted Chaiban, the Head of UNICEF in Sri Lanka. "The April returns were a big step forward by the LTTE," Chaiban said. "However, this has been completely undermined by continued recruitment of new children over the past couple of months. This cannot continue any longer. These children must be released immediately and steps taken at the highest levels of the LTTE to ensure children are no longer taken by the organisation." The recruitment of child soldiers, some as young as eight, contravenes the Action Plan for Children Affected by War jointly signed by the Government and the LTTE in June 2003. The Action Plan also seeks to provide development assistance to the North and East aimed at increasing opportunities for children to access education, quality healthcare, and skills training. One of the major commitments made by the LTTE under the Action Plan was that it would stop recruiting children into its ranks, whether voluntarily or through coercion. "UNICEF has repeatedly asked the LTTE to release all the children in its ranks. "We have also asked the LTTE to take a few simple steps such as ensuring that radio and three-wheeler announcements and pamphlets calling for recruitment specifically state that no one under the age of 18 will be accepted into the organisation and that they require proof of age from all youth to ensure that no one under the age of 18 is recruited," Chaiban said. The Action Plan has been successful in reuniting former child soldiers with their families and bringing much needed aid to children affected by the war. Since the Action Plan was signed, 998 children have been formally released by the LTTE. Over 32,000 children, including former child recruits, have enroled in schools in the North-East under UNICEF-supported Catch-Up education programmes, and hundreds more have registered with their Departments of Education and will begin studies soon. Parents and children remain afraid of recruitment, particularly in the East. This has complicated efforts by international organisations to provide services to children, many of whom are reluctant to take part in educational activities or vocational training. |
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