§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her work with(a) serving and (b) former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [16074]
§ Clare ShortWe continue to work for the disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation of the negative forces in the DRC in line with the Lusaka peace accord and are closely monitoring the situation.
During the period June 2000—April 2001 we provided a grant of £150,000 to Save the Children for their demobilisation project in the provinces of North and South Kivu. This aimed to provide child soldiers with the social and economic support they required in reintegration into their families and respective communities. We have also provided £400,000 to Rwanda to assist with the DDR programmes for fighters recently from the DRC. This DDR programme includes a special component to provide immediate care for 500 former child soldiers captured in poor physical condition and re-integrate them with their families and communities.