Achieving rehabilitation and reintegration of children associated with armed groups

Achieving rehabilitation and reintegration of children associated with armed groups (child soldiers) is a challenging task. However, the success of such efforts aids the children and the entire societies caught in the process. The aim of this thesis is to critically reflect on the implementation feasibility of guidelines recently developed by the UN and its affiliated programs and funds, and their ability to provide long-term solutions for rehabilitation and reintegration of children associated with armed groups. Building on Jareg’s reintegration theory, the thesis claims that solutions toward rehabilitation and reintegration can be initiated through the application of international guidelines and recommendations designed to help programs strengthen relationships with the family and the community, provide education, health and gender initiatives as part of psychosocial healing.

To validate the claim, thesis sets up the analysis method by identifying five main documents (Machel Report, Cape Town Principles, Paris Principles, Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards and the Machel +10 Report) which specifically provide guidance and recommendations to address rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers. By extracting and grouping their recommendations, the thesis develops a RR guidelines working list, which is applied in the individual and comparative analysis of the two case studies, Give me a Chance (GMAC) in northern Uganda and Communauté des Eglises de Pentecôte en Afrique Centrale (CEPAC) in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). With the help of the RR guidelines working list, thesis conducts validation of Jareg’s reintegration theory. In addition, the comparative analysis leads to recognition of recommendations’ specific strengths and weaknesses, confirming their applicability to assist rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers. It further confirms that the working list, if adjusted and further developed by international organs, has a great potential to contribute in a more systematic and structured approach to identifying the rehabilitation and reintegration needs that programs should consider when designing and implementing their activities. Finally, the thesis suggests that further research should be conducted to evaluate the working list’s generalizebility.