as a successful method of changing certain contradictions. It would involve changing those factors that lead children to being recruited in the first place. Reintegration procedures must assist exchild soldiers in creating a new groundwork for their lives. Providing ways in which children can restore relationships with their families and communities is vital. This is because child soldiers have been raised far from their parents and have been denied the opportunity for physical, emotional and intellectual development. New reintegrationprogramsmustbe setup andexistingonesmustbe strengthened topromotehealthandnutrition,aswellaspsychosocialwellnessandeducation. Such programsmusttake into accountthe unique circumstances generated by violent conflict. These include children and their families forced to flee their homes, being displaced within their countries or traveling across borders as refugees. Special attention must be given to those who are most at risk in a conflict, yet oftenforgotten. Children and women aremost likelyto be sexually humiliated, raped and forced into prostitution. Therefore, demobilization and reintegration programs must be sensitively designed so as to appropriately respond to the needs of vulnerable populations, particularly girl soldiers. The specialrequirementsofadolescentswhoareintheprocessofformingidentities and ideologiesmust also be attendedto.In 2004,WorldVision set up a Child Mothers Centre in Uganda. The institute is aimed at fulfilling the physical and emotionalneedsofyoungwomenandgirlswhohavebeenimpregnatedbyLRA rebel leaders. It assists girls who are still pregnant as well as those who have already givenbirth andarefacingthe challenges ofmotherhood.Atthe centre, thegirlsaretaughtvitalskillsforsupportingandcaringfortheirchildren.(World Vision, 2006) More establishments such as this one are required in nations wherefemalesarelikelytoberecruitedintoarmedforces. An important aspect of assistance programs is providing returning soldierswith educational and vocational opportunities. This can prove useful, not only in helping them readapt to civilian life and increasing their families’ economic security, but also in preventing children from rejoining armed units. Education andskillstrainingrenderschildrenmoreequippedforfindingemployment,which also contributes to making them feel more accepted and included in their communities.Educationalopportunities canalsoassistinnormalizing children’s lives and giving them the chance to create an identity apart from that of the soldier. One challenge to reintegrating soldiers into schools is that many have fallenbehindintheireducationduringmilitaryserviceandmay,thus,windupin classes with students far younger than themselves. To address this concern, special classes could be setupforformer child combatants,which could serve as atransitionfor reenteringthe regular schoolsystem.Oncethey are caught up,theycanreentertheregularschoolsystemandattendclassesappropriateto their age.Within education programs, exsoldiers should be encouragedto use their energies, ideas and experiences in positiveways when contributingtothe renewal of postviolence societies. The emphasis should be placed on channelling children’s energies into positive actions. This is because their graduallyincreasinginvolvementinatrocitiesdesensitizesthemtoafflictionand, consequently,makesthemmorepronetobeingviolentthemselves.Asaresult, childrenadopttheideathatviolenceisanacceptablemethodofreachingone’s goals. Governments and civil society, thus, have an important role to play in altering this ideology and helping children transform their negative values into constructiveones. The processesofdemobilizationand reintegrationarelongand complex.While they are being carried out, concrete practical steps must be taken towards slowing down the recruitment of children for war. Otherwise stated, immediate steps must be taken to prevent violent behaviour from continuing to run its course.Sincetheproliferationoflightweightweaponsisenablingmilitaryleaders toarmchildren,theUNandotherinternationalbodiesshouldmakeitapriorityto draft stricter global standards for limiting the small arms trade. Also, countries producing small weapons should immediately stop exporting them to areas wherethe use of child soldiers is prevalent.Withoutthe supply ofmanageable arms,rebelgroupsandarmedgovernmentforceswillnotbeabletoprovidetheir young combatants with the equipment they need for killing. The sooner arms manufacturingcountrieswillceasetoexporttheirweapons,thequickertheuse ofchildsoldierswillbecomeathingofthepast.Assuch,itistheresponsibilityof many European and other technologically advanced countries to help stop the exploitationofchildreninsomeofthemostremoteareasoftheworld. /;" %&!" Waraffectseveryone.Unfortunately,toooftenitisthemostvulnerable,innocent, and weak members of society that are most severely affected by violence. Thosemembershappentobechildren.Theyreaptheconsequencesofwar,and yet havenothingto dowithitsbeginnings:they arenotintheleast responsible for its eruption. Because of their low status in society, children are forced to suffer the consequences of the most destructive of actions carried out by authorities and governments. Not only do children undergo physical and emotionaltormentbecauseofarmedconflict,buttheyarealsofrequentlydirectly involvedinbattleassoldiers,messengers,spies,and“wives”ofarmedleaders. Regardless of the type of involvement, taking advantage of children in such a wayis completelyunacceptable and goesagainsttheir rightsasoutlinedinthe Convention on the Rights of the Child.Whether they be forced or persuaded, recruitingchildrenintojoiningarmedfactionsdestroystheirinnocence,senseof love,andeven senseof self.Ittearsthemapartfromtheirfamiliesand causes themto commit one ofthemost barbaric acts knowntoman:murder.In other words,itcrudelystripsthemoftheirchildhoodandturnsthemintoperpetratorsof violence.Thismust be stopped .Awarenessmust be raised about the atrocities that are carried out against children by involving them in armed conflicts.Morethan ever before, attentionmust be giventothe subjectof child soldiers, especially withthe increase in small armstrade.NGOs, governments, civil society as well as the international community need to coordinate their efforts to prevent the recruitment of children as soldiers, secure their demobilisationandensuretheirproperreintegrationintosociety.Asevidencedin this chapter, one way to do this is by applyingthe basic concepts of the ABC triangle.Byaddressingpeople’sattitudesandbehavioursandtendingtotheroot causes of the conflict, significant changes can be made in creating a more peaceful environment for children involved in war. Through the use of such peacebuilding tools as the ABC model, there remains hope for waraffected childrenwhofindthemselvesinthebleakestofsituations. !)%!+

- AmnestyInternationalUSAwebsite.May2,2006: http://www.amnestyusa.org/children/crnsummary.html Brett,RachelandStohl,Rachel.YouthAdvocateProgramInternational,2004. March15,2005:http://www.yapi.org/conflict/ Cohn,IleneandGoodwinGill.Guy.ChildSoldiers:TheRoleofChildrenin ArmedConflicts:AStudyonBehalfoftheHenryDunantInstitute.Oxford: ClarendonPress,1994. CoalitiontoStoptheUseofChildSoldiersWebsite,2004.March15,2005: www.childsoldiers.org ChildSoldierUse2003:ABriefingforthe4thUNSecurityCouncilOpenDebate onChildrenandArmedConflict.CoalitiontoStoptheUseofChildSoldiers, 2004.March13,2005:http://www.childsoldiers.org/document_get.php?id=691 Galtung,Johan.TranscendandTransform:AnIntroductiontoConflictWork. London:PlutoPress,2004. HumanRightsWatch.“StoptheUseofChildSoldiers”.NewYork:HumanRights Watch,2004(Updated:2006).March20,2005: http://hrw.org/campaigns/crp/index.htm HumanRightsWatchWebsite:Children'sRights,StoptheUseofChildSoldiers. March17,2005:http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/crp/index.htm iEARN.March14,2005:http://www.childsoldiers.org/ourwritings/03Brima.asp Lejtenyi,Patrick.“ExodusbyNight”.ChildView:WorldVisionCanadaSpring 2006: 1621. UNACanadaWebsite:MonitoringtheUNSoldiers.March22,2005: http://www.unac.org/en/link_learn/monitoring/Childrights_solders.asp ! !% Tuschl,RonaldH.(ProjectCoordinator&Editor);Sabiiti,Stella(Supervisor); Czyz,Magdalena(Author):EPUResearchPapers,Issue02/08,©European UniversityCenterforPeaceStudies(EPU),Stadtschlaining,Austria,2008.