Communiqué on the need to keep children at the heart of creating peace and security in Eastern DRC

3 November 2022, Halifax. The Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security (the “Dallaire Institute”), expresses its utmost concern on the security situation and the escalation of violence in Eastern provinces of the DRC.

The Dallaire Institute calls on all the parties to the conflict to respect international law, ensure the full protection of all civilians, and provide proactive measures and protection to the children affected by the armed conflict in the east of the country. All parties to the conflict must comply with commitments made to prevent grave violations against children, which includes the prevention of their recruitment and use as soldiers, sexual violence, and killing and maiming. As endorsers to the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers, we know that the Government of the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda have a common shared commitment to preventing children from one of the worst forms of human rights abuse.

We urge all parties to the conflict to engage in a constructive dialogue that is focused on prioritizing the protection and needs of children and recognizes the criticality of children’s potential as agents for sustainable peace and security in the Great Lakes region. Children that are exposed to witnessing extreme violence have just as great a potential to be impacted by violence as those who actively participate in extreme violence.

We express our full support to the East African Community’s Inter-Congolese peace dialogue, the Luanda Roadmap aimed at advancing peace and reducing friction between the DRC and Rwanda through better political relations, and other international efforts and/or mechanisms to de-escalate rising tensions and promote confidence-building measures with local communities. We are confident that all parties to the conflict, as well as the communities directly and indirectly impacted, believe in the need to protect their own children as well as the future generations to come. There can be no lasting solutions to peace and security in the Great Lakes region without understanding the long-term consequences of our failures to prevent children’s protection.

We encourage the Angolan Head of State, President João Lourenço, in his capacity as the Chairman of International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and facilitator in conflict mediation efforts between the DRC and Rwanda, to consider a new approach that will put a priority on the protection of children from grave violations as central to the attainment of peace and security in the region. We stand ready to support such efforts and provide tangible measures to aid the peace process.

THE DALLAIRE INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN, PEACE AND SECURITY