Tag: child soldiers

by Jimmie Briggs, Goldin Institute Board of Advisors For nearly three decades starting in the late 1980’s, over 60,000 girls and boys in Northern Uganda were forcibly conscripted into fighting a guerilla war against their government, under the brutal domination of the Lord’s Resistance Army. In war that displaced 1.5 million people mainly of the… Continue reading Former Child Soldiers in Uganda take the Lead

August 27th Update: I am pleased to announce that YOLRED, the first platform for Child soldier reintegration and rehabilitation in Africa that is owned and run by the former combatants themselves, is officially launched and up and running. Our work with the YOLRED team in Uganda ended with a public gathering to celebrate the official… Continue reading Follow Along as Former Child Soldiers Launch Reintegration Organization

Our Executive Director, Travis Rejman recently wrote this editorial in the Huffington Post calling for the right justice to be considered in the case against Dominic Ongwen.  Ongwen has received international attention because of his role as a high-ranking soldier in Joseph Kony’s Lords Resistance Army. To be sure, his crimes against humanity are not… Continue reading A Call for Proper Justice

300K There are more than 300,000 child soldiers in the world today. 40% More than forty percent of child soldiers today are girls. 18 Child soldiers are used in at least 18 countries all across the globe. 100K More than 100,000 child soldiers have demobilized in the last twenty years.

In the discussions about disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of children used as soldiers in the conflict in Northern Uganda, the voices and perspectives of former child soldiers themselves have too often and too long been ignored. To restore these voices to the discussion and to improve the services for former combatants, the Goldin Institute and… Continue reading Alone and Frightened: A Summary of our Report

This week we mark the anniversary of one of the Institute’s defining events: the 2003 Building Social Cohesion in the Midst of Diversity and Migration conference held in Manresa, Spain.   At that Event, community leaders from over 20 cities gathered to explore best practices from their practical experiences building social cohesion. The Conference came… Continue reading This Week in GI History and Building on a Key Past Event

In our own efforts to try and get the word out about the plight of child soldiers, and the progress that is being made towards former young combatants we work with in returning to civil society – we’re always interested in new ways to connect with those who wish to help. Visiting our website, you… Continue reading Poignant Child Soldier Stories Connect with Wider Audience

No amount of cinematic prose or metaphorical ideology can accurately describe the atrocities committed to, and forcibly by, children in conflict zones. It is very easy to gage the situation from a distance,