Republic of Guinea-Bissau

Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.

Population: 1.4 million (0.8 million under 18)
Government armed forces: 9,250 (estimate)
Compulsory recruitment age: 18
Voluntary recruitment age: 16; younger with parental consent
Voting age: 18
Optional Protocol: signed 8 September 2000
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, GC AP I and II

There were no reports of child soldiers in government forces although by law children aged under 16 years could enlist with parental consent. Of the children who participated in the 1998-9 armed conflict, only 301 had been officially demobilized.

Context

In September 2003 President Kumba Ialá was ousted in a bloodless coup by General Verissimo Correia Seabra, the head of the armed forces and a former child solder who at the age of 16 had joined the Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC), Africa Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.1 The coup followed months of political tension as President Ialá repeatedly delayed parliamentary elections, interfered with the judiciary and repressed political dissent in a mounting economic crisis.2 Although condemned internationally, the coup appeared well received in Guinea-Bissau. General Seabra handed power to a civilian transitional government headed by President Henrique Rosa two weeks later.

Unpaid government salaries, including within the armed forces, prompted continuing fears of further unrest.3 In March 2004 student protests against a teachers' strike over pay arrears turned violent.4 In early March 2004 President Ialá, who had been under house arrest since the coup, was released.5 Legislative elections held in March 2004 were won by the PAIGC. Presidential elections were scheduled for a year later.6

Government

National recruitment legislation and practice

Decree 20/83 of 9 July 1983 provides for compulsory military service for any individual aged between 18 and 25 years. However, it also allows for boys under the age of 16 to do military service if they have the support of their parents or guardians. Criminal responsibility is established at 16 years.7

In June 2002 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its observations on Guinea-Bissau's initial report, expressed concern that boys under the age of 16 were allowed to join the armed forces with parental consent, and that children well under the age of 16 were recruited into the armed forces during the 1998-9 armed conflict. It recommended that the age limit be raised to comply, at a minimum, with the standards set in the Optional Protocol.8 However, no legislative changes were known to have been made.

Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR)

The Committee also expressed concern that children involved in the armed conflict might have suffered psychological trauma, and that child soldiers might not have received support towards demobilization and family and social integration. It urged the government to ensure that all underage soldiers were demobilized and assisted with reintegration, including psychological care. The Committee further expressed concern that landmines were placing children at risk.9 By March 2003 more than 2,400 of the estimated 4,000 mines buried during the armed conflict had been destroyed.10

During the Committee's examination of Guinea-Bissau's report, the government acknowledged that the number of child soldiers who participated in the 1998-9 conflict was not known, and that only 119 children had been demobilized and registered as former combatants. The government said that Guinea-Bissau had requested UNICEF support for an anti-trauma program for former child soldiers, and that fathers of former child soldiers had been receiving some financial assistance.11 According to UNICEF, 301 child soldiers had been officially registered as former combatants and demobilized as of March 2003. UNICEF and other partners were working on the DDR program for these children, conducted by the government.12

All child soldiers involved in the armed conflict were reported to have been demobilized in 2002.13 They were reportedly demobilized as part of a broader DDR program. In November 2003 there were peaceful protests at the program's shortage of funding by former combatants who had been excluded from the reintegration phase. There were 4,372 former combatants, identified as the most vulnerable out of a total of 11,300, who benefited from the program.14 Previously, 6,000 former combatants had been identified as beneficiaries.15

* see glossary for information about internet sources

1 IRIN, "Guinea-Bissau, The child soldier who became president", 17 September 2003, http://www.irinnews.org.

2 IRIN, "Guinea-Bissau: Army ousts president who kept delaying elections", 14 September 2003.

3 Report of the UN Secretary-General on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of the UN Peace-building Support Office, UN Doc. S/2003/1157, 5 December 2003, http://www.un.org/documents.

4 IRIN, "Guinea-Bissau: Students go on the rampage after police break up demo", 5 March 2004.

5 IRIN, "Guinea-Bissau: Ousted president freed ahead of end-of-March polls", 9 March 2004.

6 IRIN, "Guinea-Bissau: International observers generally satisfied with polls", 30 March 2004.

7 Initial report of Guinea-Bissau to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/3/Add.63, 26 July 2001, http://www.ohchr.org.

8 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations: Guinea-Bissau, UN Doc. CRC/C/15/Add.177, 13 June 2002.

9 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations: Guinea-Bissau, op. cit.

10 PANA, "Guinea-Bissau destroys 2,400 mines in 2 years", 26 March 2003.

11 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of initial report of Guinea-Bissau, 22 May 2002, reported on http://www.reliefweb. int.

12 Information from UNICEF in Guinea Bissau, March 2004.

13 US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2002, March 2003, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/hr/c1470.htm.

14 Report of the UN Secretary-General on developments in Guinea-Bissau, 5 December 2003, op. cit.

15 Report of the UN Secretary-General on developments in Guinea-Bissau and the activities of the UN Peace-building Support Office, UN Doc. S/2003/621, 9 June 2003.

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