Somali Security Forces Trained On Child Protection In Armed Conflict Situations As Drawdown Nears

MOGADISHU Somalia May 28-The Somali Security Forces have been trained on child protection in armed conflict situations as the African Union mission approaches the drawdown phase of its operations.

The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) Deputy Force Commander Major-General Marius Ngendabanka said protection of children from violence was a critical part of its peace support operations in Somalia.
“Training on child protection is a critical step towards enabling personnel to execute their responsibilities with a child-protection lens,” he said.

Children in Africa bear the brunt of armed conflict, with over 200 million children believed to be caught up directly or indirectly in conflict and facing violations.

Maj. Gen. Ngendabanka said child exploitation was still rampant in Somalia, mainly due to abduction and forced recruitment of children as soldiers by Alshabaab and other armed groups.

The training attracted ATMIS Civilian and Sector Coordinators, Protection Human Rights and Gender (PHRG) and Civilian Casualty Tracking, Analysis and Response (CCTARC) cells staff and Police and Military Gender Focal Points.

Some of the training modules included child protection in peace support operations, the impact of conflicts on children, child protection issues, legal frameworks for child protection, and understanding grave violations against children amongst others.

Anthony Njoroge of Save the Children said the training was part of the organization’s initiative focusing on strengthening the capacity of armed state actors to prevent abuse and violence against children.

“The group we are training right now are supposed to be trainers of trainers and run training elsewhere. We needed to equip them with facilitation skills, how to build training modules, and execute them,” said Njoroge.
The participants will be expected to come up with an action plan on how to share the knowledge acquired with other personnel in their areas of responsibility.

 According to the African Charter on Rights and Welfare of the Child, the situation of most African children remains critical due to the unique factors of their socioeconomic, cultural, traditional and developmental circumstances, natural disasters, armed conflicts, exploitation and hunger.

The 20,000-strong ATMIS force has soldiers drawn from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. Its goal is to hand over security responsibilities to Somalia’s army and police by 2024.

The main mandate is to lead the fight against terrorism while working closely with the Federal Government of Somalia, the Federal Member States and other international partners in securing Somalia against the terror and armed groups.