By Ismael Beah

Earlier this month, UNICEF Advocate for Children Affected by War and author Ismael Beah attended a regional conference in Chad on ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers in six Central African countries. His op-ed on the topic is re-posted here courtesy of The Huffington Post.

N'DJAMENA, Chad, 28 June 2010 - On the inside walls of one of the centres for former child soldiers in N'Djaména, the capital of Chad, are images that start with the horrors of war and gradually become those of anticipated hopes and dreams.

'N'Djaména Declaration' adopted

By Salma Zulfiqar and Hector Calderon

N'DJAMENA, Chad, 11 June 2010 - At a regional conference here this week, Chad and five other Central African nations signed a declaration on ending the use of child soldiers. In a recorded video address to the participants, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake offered fervent support for the move.

VIDEO: Watch now

Over 150 delegates came together at the

Un engagement à mettre fin au recrutement des enfants soldats dans la région

N'Djamena, Tchad, 9 Juin 2010 - Six pays d'Afrique centrale ont pris l'engagement historique de mettre fin au recrutement des enfants soldats et de soutenir leur réinsertion sociale en signant la Déclaration de N'Djamena lors d'une conférence régionale tenue au Tchad du 7 au 9 juin.

Le Cameroun, le Niger, le Nigeria, la République centrafricaine, le Soudan et le Tchad ont signé cette déclaration lors de la cérémonie de clôture de cette conférence régionale organisée

A regional conference on "Ending Recruitment and Use of Children in Armed Forces and Groups: Contributing to Peace, Justice and Development" is hosted by the Government of Chad and UNICEF in N'Djamena, Chad from 7 to 9 June 2010.

Among the participating countries are Chad, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger.

Promoting peace in Central Africa

The goal of the Conference is to get a commitment by the concerned countries to put an end to the involvement of children in conflicts, including to the recruitment of child soldiers,

IP/08/1842

Bruxelles, le 1er décembre 2008 - La Commission européenne a accordé une enveloppe de 6 millions d'euros, au titre de l'aide humanitaire, en faveur des quelque 200 000 personnes déplacées et autres civils en situation de vulnérabilité dans le nord de la République centrafricaine (RCA). En dépit de quelques avancées politiques récentes, le contexte actuel dans le nord du pays n'a pas permis d'améliorer sensiblement la situation humanitaire au cours de l'année écoulée. Outre les quelque 200 000 personnes déplacées à l'intérieur du pays, 98 000 personnes

GENEVA, February 27, 2008 -A representative in Chad from ACT member, Lutheran World Federation (LWF), says thousands who fled the capital of N'djamena into neighboring Cameroon following the early February fighting between government troops and rebels are afraid to return home citing fears over security, especially under the current state of emergency.

"Churches, houses and hospitals in Kousseri have been filled to capacity trying to cope with the influx," says Mr. Jaap Aantjes, the Chad-based East Africa regional supervisor for

Ceci est un résumé des déclarations du porte-parole du HCR Jennifer Pagonis - à qui toute citation peut être attribuée - lors de la conférence de presse du 15 février 2008 au Palais des Nations à Genève.

Nous sommes très préoccupés par la situation à l'est du Tchad, où nos efforts pour transférer de nouveaux réfugiés traumatisés arrivés de l'ouest du Darfour, vers des camps hors de la région frontalière instable, ont été bloqués par la présence d'individus armés non identifiés. Ces derniers n'ont donné aucune justification de leurs actions mais il

by Francesco Fontemaggi

NDJAMENA, Feb 7, 2008 (AFP) - Chad's government on Thursday slapped a night curfew on Ndjamena and southern provinces as rebels who almost ousted President Idriss Deby Itno regrouped and rearmed after battling for the capital.

Deby claims he controls the whole country, but a military source said the rebel alliance driven out of Ndjamena after a heavy weekend of fighting met up with reinforcements about 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of the city.

The 6:30pm to 6:00am (1730 to 0500 GMT)

By Kari Barber

Dakar, 04 February 2008 -U.N. officials say thousands of Chadians have been fleeing the capital N'Djamena to neighboring Cameroon after two days of heavy fighting between rebel groups and government forces. Kari Barber reports from our West and Central Africa bureau in Dakar that rebels who are on the outskirts of N'Djamena say they are preparing a new offensive.

Humanitarian workers say hundreds of people have been injured in the fighting, while stores and wealthy neighborhoods have been looted and inmates have escaped from the main prison.