African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies ACJPS | المركز الافريقي لدراسات العدالة و السلام
(22 November 2023) African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) strongly condemns the violations against children by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militia in Sudan. In this release, ACJPS has documented an incident where 66 children were arrested in West Darfur by the RSF amidst allegations of recruitment of child soldiers into the armed conflict.
The children, aged between 14 to 16-years-old were arrested on 6,7 and 8 November 2023 following the seizure of the SAF military base (15th Division) in West Darfur after the RSF launched an attack on it. They were arrested from the neighboring areas of Ardmata IDP camp, Alezaa and Aljazeera neighborhoods. The children were taken to the former joint Sudanese-Chadian Forces base which was seized by RSF on 15 April 2023 where they remain detained.
On 15 November 2023, the RSF published a videoclip on social media showing several children “testifying” that they had been recruited by the Sudanese Army as soldiers. Mr. Abdul Monim Alrabi, an RSF blogger (originally from South Darfur and a former National Congress Party affiliate) also appears in the video questioning the children and asking them to name the SAF soldier(s) who recruited them. The children named Mr. Waleed Gism Alsayed, as the chief recruiter. Earlier, on 5 November 2023, in another video, Mr. Waleed Gism is seen in handcuffs walking towards a land cruiser vehicle being led by two RSF members. When he was asked about how he is being treated by RSF, his answer was ” It will be okay”.
A reliable source informed ACJPS that the children were arrested for the purposes of filming the above-mentioned video after they were coerced and manipulated into accusing SAF of recruiting them. The source also accused RSF of paying some of the children a sum of 500,000 Sudanese Pounds (approximately 450 US Dollars) for them to make the false accusations. Another reliable source informed ACJPS that at least nine of the children were released after the video had been published and that they had been cautioned and threatened not to disclose what had happened. However, the remaining children are still in RSF’s custody.
In non-related development, the Sudanese Armed Forces in Elfashir, North Darfur allegedly rejected over 60 children who had volunteered to join the army. A reliable source (human rights defender from Elfashir) informed ACJPS that the children who were at a SAF training center were sent back home because they were below 18 years of age.
Sudan has obligations under different international human rights and humanitarian treaties it ratified to protect children from being recruited in an armed conflict. Human rights law declares 18 as the minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities. Recruiting and using children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited under international humanitarian treaty and custom and is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court.
Since the war erupted, hundreds of children have been recruited in the conflict by both parties thus exposing them to both physical and psychological harm. Although the RSF and its allied militia account for most of these violations, government forces have also been accused of the same. This is a clear violation of Sudan’s international obligations.
Therefore, we call on both the SAF and RSF leadership to order the immediate and unconditional release of all children from its ranks. Additionally, they should make commitments and establish action plans to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in the armed conflict.
On the other hand, Sudanese authorities should fulfill Sudan’s treaty obligations on the care and protection of children by ensuring that former RSF child soldiers are not reintegrated into SAF, but disarmed, demobilized and properly reintegrated into the community.
The international community must continue to call for all perpetrators to be held to account and invest in engagement with parties to armed conflicts to end the use of child soldiers.
