Africa

Faced with an increasing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) created by the conflict with Boko Haram, Nigeria has been taking measures to ensure satisfactory conditions to IDPs. This was made possible thanks to the cooperation with UNHCR and other agencies.

According to the Ministry for the Families of Martyrs and the Missing (MFMM), about 10,000 persons were reported missing in Libya by 2017. In 2012, the Libyan government signed an agreement with the ICMP (the International Commission for the Missing Persons) and realized a series of measures to facilitate search for and collection of dead bodies.

The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement in 1999 included the commitment to release prisoners of war (POWs). Thanks to the support of the Security Council and the cooperation of different agencies and organizations, numerous POWs were eventually released by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In 2011, the Libyan Ministry of Defence mandated the Libyan Mine Action Centre (LMAC) to manage demining. In 2013 the first ammunition shelter was built in Misrata, under the Libyan and UN supervision, thanks to the funding of the Swiss government, coupled with further actions.

In 2013, the government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement signed a ceasefire agreement including obligations towards the protection of children. In 2016, Sudan signed an Action Plan with the United Nations to prevent the recruitment of children by its armed forces. If the measures agreed to in the Action Plan are completed, the Sudanese Government Security Forces will be removed from the annexes of the Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict.

In the city of Gao, a force Commander of the French military decides to use 30 mm shells instead of a helicopter armed with HOT (High Subsonic Optical Remote-Guided, Tube-Launched) missiles to destroy a police station under the control of the enemy, judging that using HOT missiles in an urban area was too great of a risk to harm civilians.

At the 2015 Bangui Forum, facilitated by UNICEF and MINUSCA, it was agreed that 10,000 children would be released from armed groups. This was followed by several actual releases and public ceremonies.

In Central African Republic (CAR), the cooperation between an armed group and the national authorities has led to the release of 18 detainees. Subsequently, the government of CAR acted on several occasions as a mediator for disarmament and repatriation of members of armed groups.

In 2012 the UN and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army signed an agreement to stop child recruitment; in 2015 the South Sudan Democratic Army handed over children to UNICEF as part of deal between the group and the State, heralded as “one of the largest ever demobilisations of children” (UNICEF).