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II. RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Government of Angola

· Ensure that demobilization and rehabilitation programs do not discriminate against children on the basis of age. Programs should be tailored to meet the appropriate needs of children while not exposing them to stigmatization in their communities and should include vocational training and psychosocial counseling.
· All programs should emphasize the inclusion of girls and provide for their specific needs and rights including, but not limited to, reproductive health care, health care for their children, HIV/AIDS counseling, testing and treatment, counseling for victims of sexual violence, and educational and vocational training. The programs should also provide an opportunity and the means for girls to leave their "husbands" [many girls were forced into sexual relations during the war] if so desired.
· Enact national legislation that creates an exemption for all children who fought in the conflict from future recruitment in the army, a measure already pledged by government representatives at child protection meetings in early 2003.
· Make certain that there are no more children serving in the armed forces of Angola (FAA) and demobilize any found in the ranks.
· Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and issue a binding declaration setting a minimum age for voluntary recruitment of at least eighteen.
· As a matter of priority, ensure the rights of children to free elementary education and the highest attainable standard of health.
· Ensure that no child is denied enrollment in primary education programs on the basis of age. Create classes where necessary for war-affected children who missed educational opportunities.
· Submit overdue reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child highlighting protection issues and rehabilitation efforts underway in Angola.
· Fully disclose the amount budgeted for child-related programs and provide an audited and publicly available account of actual expenditures in a regular and timely manner.
· Make available a detailed list of all programs pertaining to children that are funded by multilateral agencies, non-government organizations, and all other humanitarian agencies and private sector actors.

To Donor Countries to Angola

· Provide technical and financial assistance to the Angolan government in creating demobilization and rehabilitation programs that are appropriate to children. Donors should be sure to examine past experience in Angola and examples from other countries in Africa when seeking to improve the functioning of programs, and should ensure that girls are included in the process.
· Use diplomatic and all appropriate means to pressure the government to ensure that no children under eighteen years serve in the Angolan armed forces.
· Continue to assist humanitarian agencies working in Angola to protect and care for children affected by the conflict. Where appropriate, insist that funding for programs that assist former child soldiers provide for their specific psychosocial and rehabilitation needs.
· As a requirement for further assistance, donors should insist that the government publish all sources of revenues with details of incoming revenues and outgoing expenditures and a budget that contains no substantial unexplained discrepancies. In particular, these provisions should be stringently adhered to for programs related to children.

To the United Nations Children's Fund

· Work with the government to draft applicable exemptions for children who fought in the conflict to ensure that they are not conscripted in the future.
· Ensure that existing plans for community-based rehabilitation include provisions for former child soldiers appropriate to their needs. Offer continued assistance to Angola in the drafting, planning, and implementing of demobilization and rehabilitation programs that target former child combatants with emphasis on girls who were used in the conflict. Identify child soldiers in the camps and transit centers and follow their movements to ensure that these children will be included in future programs. When structuring programs, use the criteria defined in the Cape Town Principles so that all children involved in the war will benefit.
· Draw from past experience in Angola and examples from other countries in Africa when seeking to improve the functioning of demobilization programs for children and ensure that girls are included in the process.
· Continue to work with the government to release any children still serving with the FAA and enlarge the programs to include military bases in the countryside.
· Expand operations to additional provinces and strengthen existing field offices to work with children affected by the conflict.

To the World Bank

· Modify existing plans under the Angola - Emergency Demobilization and Reintegration Project (ADRP) to provide additional financial assistance to underage ex-combatants. Ensure that programs correctly identify child soldiers and include them in community rehabilitation, educational and technical training, and psychosocial counseling for former combatants. Draw on experience from other child demobilization projects funded by the World Bank in Africa. Include girls in all aspects of the project.
· Use leverage with the government in the funding and implementation of the ADRP so that former child soldiers will be prioritized.

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