: MONUSCO, through its child protection section, organized on 30 September an extraordinary meeting of the joint technical working group DRC Government/United Nations with a view to exploring the means and ways to withdraw child soldiers from armed forces and groups in Ituri.

The meeting helped participants to come up with a better approach based on eight priority activities to be implemented by the working group between now and 31December 2015. They also drafted and adopted, upon debates, a temporary road map for the former Eastern province with seven priority activities.

Discussions focused on the key steps to lead to the official establishment of the working group in the new Ituri province which will definitely take place during a visit to be made by the Group members at national level early November 2015.

The objective of the working group is to develop a joint action plan DRC Government/UN with a view to stopping the recruitment and use of children by armed groups. Seventeen people attended the meeting including the Unique Division chief in Ituri, the head of MONUSCO Office in Ituri and the Provincial Minister for Gender, Family and Children.

Laurent Sam OUSSOU