THE ABUSE OF CHILD SOLDIERS IN AFRICA

One of the most shocking facts about child soldiers is that
they will start
shooting at adult soldiers and peacekeeping militia
on or without
command ! It is awesome to think about the
consequences...Soldiers
are trained to defend themselves. They have no other
choice but to return fire
at armed young child soldiers. These are the hard
facts about the never ending
civil wars of some African sates who are
constantly in the news. According
to International Law and the Geneva
Convention as well as the rules of the
International Red Cross, war lords
who train innocent children to become killing
machines,
are War Criminals who should be
brought
to justice. In training peacekeeping militia with United Nations
Peacekeeping Instruction courses, they are sensitised about the breach of
International Laws. Subsequently they can assist to identify the war
lords
and expose them to the international fora. Our idea is to curb
this evil
on the African continent because it becomes a deadly circle where
children grow
up as killing machines. When they are adults they do not
know anything
else but to fight for their immediate existence. They do
not know the
human part of life and peaceful co-existence. They are
ignorant about
civilised morals
and values. The only way to
curb this monstrosity is to educate
them along with peacekeepers how to
resolve conflict without a gun in the
hand. Our answer lies in the
United Nations Institute for Training and
Research Peacekeeping Operations
Correspondence Instruction (UNITAR POCI).
However, it will take years
to achieve some positive outcomes. But if
you want to sit in the shade of a
tree within the
next three years, you have to plant it now !

PEACEKEEPING RESEARCH PROJECT: BACKGROUND

Dear reader

The following two to three months, I will focus on my research over the last 12 years in peacekeeping support operations for our security community, i.e, the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), SA Police Service (SAPS), Correctional Services, Intelligence Agencies and Foreign Affairs. Initially our focus was on the methods of distance education, namely "Correspondence Instruction" and to offer in-service training to peacekeeping militia on the African continent. Eventually the project involved the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva, Switzerland, and its Peacekeeping Operations Correspondence Instruction (POCI).

I paid a research visit to UNITAR in Switzerland to link all the possibilities with my research papers and posters. I also visited the Director for UNITAR POCI at the Dough Hammarskjold United Nations building in New York, Dr Harvey J Langholtz. We agreed on collaboration and since 1995/6 produced multiple research outputs which will be published in my Blog further on.

Our sincerest desire is that UNITAR POCI could only make a one single degree shift towards peace on the African continent...

We admit that UNITAR POCI is not a general panacea for peace. Therefore we took hands with all the willing staff in the SANDF, SAPS, Correctional Services, Foreign Affairs and the War Information Simulator at the Council for Sience and Industrial Research (CSIR) .

Skillsplus Solutions (Pty) Ltd. ( jean@skillsplus.co.za) in Johannesburg is now in the process to record the UNITAR POCI programmes in line with the requirements of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). This will enable learners to obtain academic credits for further study, career development, promotion or new career paths.