Recruitment, exploitation and reintegration of children associated with terrorist groups
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) released a study entitled ‘Targeted by Terrorists: Child Recruitment, Exploitation, and Reintegration in Indonesia, Iraq, and Nigeria’. With the support of the European Commission through the project #STRIVEJuvenile, this study highlights children’s protection challenges before, during, and after association with terrorist groups. It also presents recommendations for promoting the reintegration of children formerly associated with such groups.
Further, the study stresses the vitality of obtaining legal identity documents as part of the child’s reintegration process. In many cases, the identity documents of formally recruited children have been confiscated by terrorist groups, lost while fleeing, or confiscated by security forces on suspicion of terrorist group association, etc.
The process of securing new or replacement documentation is arduous. However, Child Identity Protection (CHIP) welcomes the efforts made to ensure that children associated with terrorist groups can successfully reintegrate into their communities.
