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NEWS STORY
United Nations Development Programme  March 17, 2006 New York — The Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today signed a US$2 million agreement to support an African Union plan to demobilize, disarm, rehabilitate and reintegrate young ex-combatants in the war-torn Great Lakes region of Africa. Signed by Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Africa, and Toshiro Ozawa, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, at the African Union's office here, the new programme will target Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, countries emerging from conflict and transitioning towards sustained peace and democratic governance. With special focus on girls, it will provide strategic, financial and technical assistance to government and non-governmental organizations offering education; training in carpentry, mechanics, refrigeration, electronics and other income-generating activities; and support for former child soldiers. The initiative will help these organizations better implement, monitor and evaluate activities in the four countries. Also, under the new programme an information, education, and communication strategy will be crafted to enable participating countries to better coordinate national implementation strategies with African Union policy and programme priorities. "The Great Lakes region is home to more former child soldiers than any other region in Africa", said Mr. Houngbo. "These young people lack the skills needed to farm successfully, to find a job or to begin a trade and, ultimately, have no way to find their way back to mainstream society. It is an urgent problem and we are pleased that the Japanese Government is bolstering the efforts of the African Union to deepen peace and foster stability in these countries." The new programme is part of a broader package of assistance – "Support for the Implementation of the Peace and Security Agenda of the African Union" – which aims to boost the organization’s conflict prevention and peace building capacity by strengthening the African Union Commission, its Peace and Security Council and related institutions. The peace and security programme is led and financed by UNDP and other development partners. With the new accord, Japan joins the other donors by committing to back the African Union peace and security priorities and contributing to a common resource basket, with UNDP managing the funds and coordinating partners. "Japan has been accelerating its support for Africa," said H.E. Mr. Ozawa. "The project which will be signed into effect today is another example of the Government of Japan’s commitment to Africa. Japan hopes that this project will help the ex-child soldiers who were left to fend for themselves to share in the dividends of peace, and also that the project will further support the African Union’s efforts to advance peace and security in Africa." URL: story url
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