Mbandaka , 1 September 2010 - The Child Protection Section has organized a training this week for fifty officers of the 3rd Military Region of the FARDC . The purpose of this training was to help these soldiers understand the laws on child protection in order to integrate the key messages such as the basic concepts and rules for child protection in the exercise of their mandate.

The day of training for FARDC senior and junior officers on the rights of child , held on Aug. 31 at the 3rd Military Region in Mbandaka, was set up in response to a need expressed by the military themselves .

The request for a training came recently after the arrest of rebels from the Liberation Movement Independent and Allied ( MLIA ) movement which had enlisted several minors in its troops. Military and police as well then raised two questions to which they had few answers: the state of legislation on child in armed conflict and the criminal responsibility of children recruited or used for military purposes .

MONUSCO Child Protection Section has therefore proposed to sensitize them on the law regarding Child Protection , the non criminal responsibility of children associated with forces and armed groups, the fundamental rights of the Child, the national and international legislation on child protection in armed conflict and the general notions on minority and Child .

Basically , the training was to enable military officers to learn and integrate key messages, basic concepts and rules for child protection in the exercise of their mandate, but also to reinforce respect from the troops under their command . With this, the FARDC would be therefore able to contribute to a positive behavior change in the implementation of their mandate and enhance the responsibility of the security forces to the children .

As announced by the head office of MONUSCO / Ecuador in his opening remarks : "the relationship between the armed forces and children are at a critical level where the risk of violation of child rights are obvious; therefore "in the exercise of their mandate to defend the territorial integrity, the FARDC must know thoroughly the rules and methods that apply to specific vulnerable groups of population, in this case the children, for which additional precautions must be taken to avoid falling into irregularities and abuses. " Elhacen Ould Mohammed added.

It was also the meaning of the message formulated by the Provincial Minister of Gender, Family and Child who co - chaired the opening ceremony . Rebecca Ebale has challenged each of the officers " as a parent" to do everything so that rape or other forms of violence against children are not hidden by the military hierarchy: " Help me fight this scourge " she said before inviting them to severely punish those who abuse children, in order to preserve the Congo's future .