Justice and Equality Movement
www.Sudanjem.com
Justice and Equality Movement- (JEM)
Date:
In July 2012, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) held consultations with the United Nations /UNAMID in Stadtschlaining – Austria, hosted by the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR) during which JEM agreed to the establishment of an Operational Mechanism to identify any children that may be associated with its forces for demobilisation and reintegration. JEM also committed to reissue a Command Order prohibiting recruitment and use of child soldiers by its members.
Command Order
To: All Field Commanders of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)
Subject: Recruitment and use of child soldiers
The Leadership of JEM reaffirms its commitment to the international norms and standards governing the protection of children and fully adheres to the Security Council Resolutions on Children in armed conflict in particular resolutions 1612(2005) and 1882(2009) prohibiting grave violations against children including recruitment and use of child soldiers.
Definition of a child soldier
“A child soldier is: any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers, and those accompanying such groups, other than purely as family members. It includes Girls recruited for sexual purposes and forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms.”
Order
All members of JEM are instructed to fully adhere to the international and local laws governing the protection of children in armed conflict and not to recruit or use child soldiers as defined above.
Field Commanders are herewith instructed to extensively disseminate this Order and follow up on its full implementation. Recruitment and use of child soldiers is a serious crime prohibited by international law and the Sudan Child Act of 2010 (Para 44)
Any commander that defies this order will be liable to punishment in accordance under JEM military code article 3 // 1 or article 54 // 5.
JEM Chairman
Name: …………………
Signature: ……………
Stamp/ Date: …