propositions destinées à la société civile :SMSI

[BAUDOUIN SCHOMBE <sam_bj2000@yahoo.fr>]

Chers amis,
 je vous transmets quelques propositions faites par
une certaine couche de la population dans ces tristes
zones occupées par les factions rebelles et des
groupes armés d'intérêts économiques.
Coupé du reste du monde, interdit et  sans aucune
possibilté de communiquer, ces braves personnes m'ont
demandées de vous transmettre leurs préoccupations
tells qu'elles.

1.la mise en application des mesures repréhensives à
l'endroit des Etats qui soutiennent des factions
rebelles au détriment de la population autochtone et
qui diffusent des fausses informations pour couvrir
les graves violations des droits de l'Homme dont ils
sont auteurs ou complices;
2.la définition des règles précises de collaboration
entre les systèmes des nations Unies et la société
civile, les ONG en particulier,dans les zones des
conflits armés;
3.l'appui matériel,logistique,technique ete financier
aux ONG qui luttent pour la paix,la démocratie , la
promotion et la défense des droits et libertés
fondamentaux, plus particulièrement dans les zones en
conflits;
4.la révision ou la revulgarisation de la convention
en matière de protection des civils pendant la guerre
et les conflits armés;
5.la levée de l'immunité des chefs d'Etats et/ou
membres des gouvernements en exercice coupables de
crimes de guerre et des violations graves des droits
de l'Homme;
6.la non validation des élections truquées sources des
soulevements et des conflits sociaux;
la mise en place d'une plate forme de concertation
entre les multinationales et la société civile , plus
particulièrement les ONG, sous le, parrainage des
Nations Unies;
7.la mise en place d'un système de suivi évaluation
des conférences,des conventions, des chartes et pactes
issus des Nations Unies et ses corollaires;
8.l'application rigoureuse de toutes formes de
violations graves à l'égard des femmes et des enfants;
9.la rediscussion du contenu de la conférence de
Berlin de 1885 en matière des délimitations des
frontières dans les pays d'Afrique;
10.l'organisation d'une conférence internationale sur
les conflits ethniques en Afrique;
11.le respect des frontières nationales quelque soit
la forme des conflits; 
12.le rôle de l'armée, de la police et la définition
des termes de collaboration entre les armées des
différents pays pour éviter les soutiens à toute
rebellio;
13.l'implication et la participation des ONG dans la
gestion des conflits sous l'égide des Nations Unies;
14.la décentralisation des systèmes des Nations Unies;
15.la mise en place d'un mécanisme préventif et
curatif pour la culture de la paix.
 
les propositions recueillies ci-dessus n'ont pas fait
l'objet d'un traitement ou d'une analyse quelconque de
notre part mais nous avons repondu aux voeux de la
population qui ont voulu que ces préoccupations soient
analysées par toute la société civile réunie au
Prepcom 2.





Ce document ci-dessous est une enquête faite par une
des ONG locale(PAIX et DROITS DE L'HOMME) avec
laquelle nous travaillons étroitement.
Cet enfant,que je chéri beaucoup,a suivi avec beaucoup
d'attentions notre campagne sur le TIC et ses avantges
sur le plan éducatif,économique et communicationnel.
Il nous a demandé d'annexer cet interview à ces
propositions. 

Congo's child soldiers: big uniforms and AK-47s 

By Lambert Wathum
BUNIA, Congo  -
 Eddie Ndichu is short, skinny and a soldier. 
He is also 12 years old. 

For two years, Eddie, in army fatigues which are too
large for him 
and a rifle slung over his fragile shoulderblades, has
been fighting 
alongside rebels whose war has ripped Congo apart. 

"I prefer my life in the army," Eddie said, but he
could scarcely 
hold back his tears as he recalled how tribal militias
killed his 
parents during clashes in 2000. 

"I hid under the bed and saw every moment of their
death," he said, 
although he remembers little of the detail except the
sound of rain 
and the darkness of the night outside. 

After months sleeping on the streets of Bunia, in the
northeast of 
the vast central African country, Eddie joined the
rebel forces. The 
only remnant of his past life is the silver-plated
watch that 
belonged to his father. 

Bunia lies in Ituri, a region of dense forests east of
the Ugandan 
border torn between rival rebel forces and rag-tag
militias, fighting 
for control of land and the lucrative minerals hidden
in the rich red 
soil. 

Fighting between the Hema and Lendu tribes has often
troubled the 
region. Thousands have been killed by combatants
wielding machetes, 
spears and arrows. 

Tensions between numerous rebel groups in the area
have added to the 
chaos, bringing guns, rapes, looting and even
cannibalism to the 
fray. 

Child soldiers have been drafted into the conflict all
over the east 
of the Democratic Republic of Congo, but aid workers
say Ituri is the 
worst affected region. 

Children as young as six have reportedly been dragged
onto the 
battlefield, humanitarian workers say. 

BAGGY UNIFORMS 

There are dozens of child soldiers wandering around
Bunia's dusty 
streets, army fatigues sagging round their ankles and
rifles or sub-
machine guns weighing on their little arms. 

Most seem brainwashed, happy and proud of their new
status. 

"I enjoy being with the Afandes (rebel commander),"
said one 15-year-
old who works as an escort to one of the rebel
leaders. 

Though the rebels deny they are forcibly recruiting
children, one 
U.N. official in Bunia told Reuters that as much as 70
percent of the 
rebel forces were below the age of 18. 

"This is the most affected province in the Democratic
Republic of 
Congo," a social worker in Bunia said. "Figures show
that the average 
age of the soldiers here is 16 years old." 

Djuma Baudoin, a coordinator for the SOS humanitarian
organisation in 
Bunia, said the rebels like the malleability of their
youngest 
recruits. 

"They have no other interests, they never disobey
their commanders," 
he said. "Many of them die on the battlefields,
because they are sent 
ahead. Others are traumatised by what they see during
clashes." 

ETHNIC TENSIONS 

The ethnic tensions between Hemas, who live primarily
from crops, and 
Lendus who rely on both cattle and cultivation, have
worsened the 
situation, with some parents forcing their children to
take up arms 
and fight for their tribe. 

"Some parents find it a tribal obligation for children
to become 
tribal warriors," Baudoin said. "There are thousands
of children 
within these tribes who are also armed." 

The Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) rebel group that
controls parts 
of Bunia blames non-governmental organisations for
failing to take 
care of the many orphans in the region. 

UPC President Thomas Lubanga said the loss of parents
pushes many 
young children to join his forces. 

"I asked Save the Children to assist us but little has
been done," he 
said. 

Despite peace deals aiming to try to end the war that
has ravaged 
Congo since 1998, the conflict in Ituri is far from
over. Fighting 
intensified in the last months of 2002, and about
150,000 civilians 
have fled their homes. 

The United Nations has accused both Rwanda and Uganda
-- two of many 
foreign armies sucked into Congo's war -- of building
up troops in 
mineral-rich Ituri, despite promises to withdraw. 

Uganda has promised to leave by March 20. Rwanda
denies its soldiers 
have returned. 

Aid workers say the rampant poverty in the region will
continue to 
push children to arms as long as there is a war to be
fought. 

Having dropped out of school, their parents too poor
to put food on 
their tables, a life in rebel ranks is understandably
attractive. 
Many will contract sexually transmitted diseases, most
will be 
traumatised. 

"Life here is a catastrophe," Baudoin said. "We cannot
do much in 
terms of helping these child soldiers. We can only
hope the security 
situation will improve before we can help in
demobilising them." 





=====
SCHOMBE BAUDOUIN
PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATEUR GENERAL 
PROMO-CULTURE/CENTRE AFICAIN D'ECHANGE CULTUREL
              CULTRAL EXCHANGE AFRICAN CENTER

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