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16 June 2000


NEW YORK, 16 June (Office of the Special Representative) -- The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, has welcomed the new law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) banning recruitment of children under 18 into the armed forces and establishing a National Commission on demobilisation.

"I have been very concerned about the persistent reports of thousands of youngsters being recruited by the parties in conflict in the DRC. I am delighted that the new law forbids both the further recruitment of youngsters and the deployment of child soldiers to combat zones", Mr. Otunnu said.

The decree bringing the Commission Nationale de Démobilisation et de Réinsertion into law was signed by President Laurent Kabila in Kinshasa on 9 June. The next stages of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process are to be overseen by an inter-ministerial committee, headed by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Human Rights.

Mr. Otunnu congratulated the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kamal Morjane, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) country team, the recently appointed Child Protection Advisers working under the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), as well as non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations, for their tireless advocacy on behalf of war-affected children in the country.

"Echoing what the Secretary-General said in his report on the DRC last week about assurances being taken at face value, however, I urge both the Government and the rebel factions to begin immediately to disarm under-age combatants, remove them from the front line and send them back to their homes and schools where they belong", Mr. Otunnu added.

For more information, contact: Fergus Nicoll, Office of the Special Representative, New York (212) 963-8460.

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