VZCZCXRO0167
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV
RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNJ #0188 1411513
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211513Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6939
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000188 
 
STATE FOR AF/C, S/USSES - SE GRATION 
LONDON FOR POL - LORD 
PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA AND KANEDA 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR AU 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KTIP PREL PGOV PREF SU UN CD
SUBJECT: USG AND FRIENDS SUPPORTS UNICEF'S EFFORTS ON CHILD 
SOLDIERS 
 
REF: NDJAMENA 184 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Ambassador Nigro and French Ambassador co-hosted a meeting 
(held in this Embassy) May 19 for key partners and international NGO 
representatives to discuss the current situation of children 
affected by armed conflict in Chad and to explore ways in which 
Chad's international partners interested in child-soldier issues 
could help the Government of Chad build its capacity to meet its 
responsibilities regarding child soldiers in Chad.  The two-hour 
session included participation by the German and Swiss ambassadors, 
and representatives of the EU Commission, UNICEF, UNHCR, MINURCAT, 
and CARE.  Besides the Ambassador, DCM, and POLECON Officer, 
visiting DRL officer Rachel Spring attended for the Embassy. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) USG and French goals for the meeting were to encourage 
UNICEF activism as the lead agency in Chad on children affected by 
armed conflict, building on the organization's May 2007 accord with 
GOC and its 2006-2007 success in gaining custody over and 
rehabilitating child soldiers.  We also aimed to encourage support 
for UNICEF among other partners; share information on current 
international efforts to help Chad deal with this issue; and explore 
how interested partners could coordinate efforts in future. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) We believe that we effectively accomplished our goals. 
There was a serious and well-informed discussion of the 
child-soldier phenomenon in its three main dimensions:  Chad 
military, Chad armed rebels, and Sudanese armed rebels.  The group 
also reflected on contributing elements to children's 
susceptibility, including social conditions, regional instability, 
and traditional and social norms in parts of the country.  Meeting 
participants reaffirmed support for UNICEF's leadership on the issue 
of children affected by armed conflicts in Chad.  They expressed 
support for using an existing UNICEF-led "Working Group" (WG) as the 
core group to organize international efforts to help Chad deal with 
this issue.  They agreed that the working group would share 
information regularly with interested partners and might invite the 
wider international community to its meetings as appropriate. 
Participants also expressed support for the working group's outreach 
activities and agreed that they would look favorably upon potential 
WG recommendations for additional concrete measures on the part of 
the international community. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Most participants indicated that they were already taking 
positive steps to assist children affected by armed conflict in 
Chad.  The French are in the process of starting a EURO two million 
project for sensitizing Chad populations targeted for child 
recruitment; the Swiss have on-going projects to provide education 
and other vocational alternatives for vulnerable child populations; 
UNICEF accepts custody of rebel child soldiers captured by the 
Chadian military and assigns them to centers run by various INGOs 
for education and rehabilitation, as part of its extensive 
protection and defense efforts throughout Chad. 
 
¶5.  (U) The Embassy intends to remain actively engaged with the GOC 
and international partners in the effort to help the GOC meet its 
responsibilities on the issue of child soldiers in Chad. 
 
¶6.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
NIGRO