Youth at war

Retired Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire.

Every year, the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies at Dalhousie University hosts a series of seminars. On Thursday, March 5, the centre will welcome Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire (Retired), who will discuss how Canada can help end the recruitment of children as soldiers.

Lt.-Gen. Dallaire, now a senator, is best known for his command of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda and was a witness to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. He wrote a book on his experiences in Rwanda, entitled Shake Hands with the Devil: the Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.

For the past several years, Senator Dallaire has devoted himself to the troubling issue of child soldiers and is writing a book on the subject. The need to eliminate child soldiers from conflict is a pressing issue worldwide. There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in combat zones in countries including The Sudan, Congo and Sierra Leone. Most children are recruited between the ages of 14 and 18. However, children as young as nine are participating in armed combat.

Child soldiers are not only witnesses to violence but also participate in horrific acts of killing. As you can imagine, training to kill with a gun can leave lasting psychological and physical scars on children.

In an effort to end the use of children in war, the Child Solider Initiative (CSI) was established by Senator Dallaire with Search for Common Ground, the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, the University of Victoria and the University of Winnipeg. The CSI is a multi-phased and multi-disciplinary project with an overall goal to eradicate the use of child soldiers.

The CSI is in its research phase now. Researchers are developing standard guidelines on how peacekeeping troops should confront child soldiers in combat situations. The CSI will also raise awareness of child soldiers and establish a system of preventing re-entry of child soldiers to various military groups.

Tickets to the March 5 seminar by Senator Dallaire can be found at www.artscentre.dal.ca or by calling 1-800-874-1669. Tickets are $20 for regular admission and $15 for students. The event is being held at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium at 9 a.m. All proceeds will be donated to the Child Soldier Initiative.