On
Child Soldiers
Next to UK
Forces in
Somalia, UK
Responds to
ICP's Qs
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
25 -- The
issue of child
soldiers came
onto the UN
Security
Council agenda
under the
rubic of
"Children and
Armed
Conflict"
and Western
countries like
France, the UK
and Germany
are the
loudest on it,
with India,
Pakistan and
Colombia on
the
skeptic side.
So
when Inner
City Press,
which covers
the Council
and the issue,
was
sent a set
of captioned
photographs
featuring UK
special forces
and Somali
children with
guns
midday on July
25, they were
immediately
turned
into questions
directed to
the UK Mission
to the UN by
Inner City
Press.
The
UK Mission
spokesman, to
his credit,
turned around
with fast
answers,
marked below
in bold:
I
must ask you
for UK
response to this
in Dissident
Nation
ICP
question:
are
these UK
special
forces?
UK
answer: The
UK Ministry of
Defence has
deployed a
small military
support team
to Mogadishu
in support of
the African
Union Mission
in
Somalia
(AMISOM). The
team is
working to
provide
support and
advice
in specific
areas agreed
with AMISOM
and the
activity that
the team
conducts is
developed in
conjunction
with the
African Union
and
AMISOM. The
team is acting
in an advisory
rather than
combat role,
on functions
such as
assistance
with
stabilisation,
strategic
communications
and medical
support.
However, they
wear uniform
and
carry weapons
for personal
protection
reasons. As
part of this
collaborative
process with
AMISOM, an
element of the
UK team was
asked to
accompany an
AMISOM
spokesman to
the recently
liberated area
of Afgooye.
ICP
question:
what is the
protocol for
UK forces if
they come upon
child
soldiers? In
Somalia,
specifically,
and anywhere
else the UK
forces may
have
witnessed
child
soldiers.
UK
answer:
Occasionally,
in
some areas of
the world
during the
course of
trying to
assist
foreign
governments to
improve
security,
British
soldiers may
inadvertently
encounter
young people
carrying
weapons. The
UK
condemns the
use of child
soldiers.
The
UK Mission
spokesman also
told Inner
City Press,
about the
captions
to the photos:
“…they
show British
special forces
working
alongside
Somali child
soldiers
and troops of
the African
Union
Peacekeeping
Mission in
Somalia
(AMISOM) in
Afgoye, just
outside the
Somali
capital.”
UK
answer:
Not
true. Several
show a British
soldier in a
village. In
one picture,
he is talking
to a child
carrying a
gun, but
nothing
suggests that
he
is “working”
with that
individual.
That same
child is seen
in a
different
photograph
taken
elsewhere,
apparently
walking away
from
AMISOM
soldiers near
an AMISOM
defensive
position.
There are no
British
soldiers in
that
photograph. So
there is no
indication
from
any of the
pictures that
British forces
are “working
alongside
Somali child
soldiers”.
“While
some of the
photos show
British troops
playing with
the local
children,
other photos
clearly show
them working
in the
vicinity of
child soldiers
serving the
army they were
sent to
support.”
UK
answer:
See
above. No they
don’t.
“The
United Kingdom
is violating
its own laws
by sending its
soldiers to
fight
alongside an
army that has
no issue with
recruiting
children
for combat.”
UK
answer:
Not
the case. Our
position is
unchanged - we
condemn the
use of child
soldiers. And
to be clear,
no British
soldiers are
fighting
alongside
anyone in
Somalia. Not
alongside the
Somali armed
forces,
nor alongside
AMISOM.
It
is still
somehow
unseemly to
see UK special
forces in
Somalia right
next to
children
holding
weapons. What
new Children
and Armed
Conflict
representative
Leila
Zerrougui will
say or not say
about it
will be
interesting to
see. Watch
this site.
, 
