According to a report published yesterday, almost 1,000 cases of child recruitment by armed groups were verified by the mission – known by its French acronym MONUSCO – between 1 January 2012 and 31 August 2013, predominantly in the eastern province of North Kivu.

“Despite awareness raising campaigns and attempts to pacify armed groups, recruitment of children remains endemic in the country, with high numbers of children recruited in the past two years as a result of renewed hostilities in the east of the country,” states the report, the first of its kind by the UN mission.

The armed groups Nyatura, Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and the 23 March Movement (M23) were identified as having recruited 190, 137 and 124 children, respectively, into their groups during the reporting period.

Children who were victim of recruitment within the ranks of these armed groups were also victims and witnesses of other grave child rights violations, such as rape, abduction, killing and maiming.

“This situation is unacceptable and has been going on for much too long with impunity. Recruiting children into armed groups is a crime, and destroys the lives of the victims who are forced to do things that no child should be involved in,” said Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for DRC and head of MONUSCO. “We need to stop this now. One case of child recruitment is one case to many,” he added.

In the majority of cases, children were abducted and forced to join the groups. Others joined voluntarily after having been promised money, education, jobs and other benefits by recruiters. Children were used as porters, cooks, spies, sex slaves, guards and combatants.

Minors formerly associated with the M23 described how they were tasked with burying bodies of adults and children who lost their lives during clashes with the DRC national army (FARDC) and other armed groups.

MONUSCO called on the commanders of all armed groups to immediately stop grave violations perpetrated against children and to unconditionally release all children still held within their ranks.

National authorities are encouraged to ensure full and effective implementation of the Action Plan signed between the Government and the UN to end and prevent child recruitment; hold perpetrators of grave child rights violations accountable; support MONUSCO in gaining access to negotiate for the release of children from armed groups; and ensure that armed groups who wish to integrate into the FARDC are screened for the presence of minors who must be handed-over to MONUSCO or child protection partners.

The mission also recommended that the Government, the international community, donors and all child protection actors ensure all efforts are made to prevent child recruitment and to ensure long-term, sustainable reintegration programmes for the victims.

According to the office of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, armed groups that are part of an alliance of rebel groups known as ‘Séléka’, including the Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix (CPJP) and the Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement (UFDR), have been re-recruiting children to their ranks in recent days.

“The reports of child recruitment are a flagrant violation of commitments made by the CPJP and UFDR and must stop now,” Ms. Zerrougui said.

In November 2011, the CPJP signed an action plan with the UN to end the recruitment and use of children in line with Security Council resolution 1612. For its part, the UFDR had committed to releasing children in its ranks to the UN in 2007 and 2011.

The latest reports follow a separate breach of the CPJP Action Plan, when the armed group refused to release two girls in an incident in Aigbando on 7 December.

“The same actors have been violating child rights with impunity for too long. We will continue to monitor the situation and if no progress is made, we will engage the Security Council on this matter,” Ms. Zerrougui said.

According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), even before the latest round of violence in CAR erupted in December last year, about 2,500 children – both girls and boys – were associated with multiple armed groups, including self-defence groups, in CAR.

Ms. Zerrougui also expressed concern about the Government’s commitment to protect children after security forces broke into a reception centre for children in the capital, Bangui, last month and detained 64 former child soldiers alleging that they were rebels. The children were subsequently released and placed in a transit centre. However, they did not receive protection and their security continues to be at risk.

Separately, the Government has reportedly called on youth in Bangui to mobilize and arm themselves to counter the armed groups alongside militias.

“These developments are unacceptable,” Ms. Zerrougui stated. “Child recruitment is a grave violation. Children separated from armed forces and groups are victims, not perpetrators, and have to be treated as such. Going forward, I urge the Government to take its responsibility to protect children seriously, and to refrain from inciting violence.”

“A number of rebel groups and various pro-government militias have become more active in recent weeks in the capital city of Bangui and across the country,” said the UNICEF Representative for CAR, Souleymane Diabate. “Reliable sources have informed us that children are newly being recruited among their ranks. These reports are of serious concern.”

“Our team on the ground is working with partners to monitor, verify, and respond to grave violations of child rights, including recruitment into armed groups – those at greater risk are children who have lost their homes, are separated from their families or were formerly associated with armed groups,” Mr. Diabate added.

According to UNICEF, even before the latest round of violence in CAR erupted in December last year, about 2,500 children – both girls and boys – were associated with multiple armed groups, including self-defence groups, in CAR. The UN agency estimates that this number will rise because of the recent conflict.

Over the past weeks, widespread looting and violence occurred in the country as an alliance of rebel groups known as ‘Séléka’ attacked several towns in the northeast and threatened to march on Bangui. This week, the group reportedly halted their advance on the capital and agreed to start peace talks in Gabon.

CAR has a history of political instability and recurring armed conflict. State authority is weak in many parts of the country, which are largely controlled by rebel groups and criminal armed groups, according to the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA).

Coupled with ethnic tensions in the north, frequent armed incursions by rebel elements from neighbouring countries and the presence of members of the armed Ugandan group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), have added to insecurity and instability in CAR, which also has 170,000 people displaced internally.

UNICEF said more than 300,000 children have already been affected by the violence in CAR and its consequences, including through recruitment, family separation, sexual violence, forced displacement and having limited access to education and health facilities.

In particular, the agency is highly concerned about the involvement of youth under 18 years of age who may be forced to fight, carry supplies, perform other support roles and be abused as sex slaves by armed groups.

“Recent commitments under international law by the Government and some rebel groups to keep children out of the fighting must be respected,” said Mr. Diabate. “All violations must stop. It is critical that everything is done to protect these children and keep their families safe.”

UNICEF has worked in CAR since 2007 with both the Government and rebel factions to secure the release of more than 1,000 girls and boys from armed groups and self-defence groups and support their reintegration into families and communities.

However, the volatile security situation has hampered the delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected communities and has led UNICEF to relocate 14 international staff and consultants last week. The agency has established an operational crisis centre for CAR in the city of Yaounde, Cameroon, where it said it will continue to work with partners to conduct emergency activities.

In relation to the latest violence, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council have condemned the attacks involving ‘Seleka’ and called for a halt hostilities. They have also called on both the Government and the rebels to resolve the current crisis through dialogue, and to abide by the 2008 Libreville Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was signed by the Government and the three main rebel groups and which helped bring an end to conflicts inside CAR.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in CAR (BINUCA), Margaret Vogt, has remained in close dialogue with the key parties and has offered support to political negotiations.