The Marginalization of Girls Associated with Armed Groups

This working paper examines the challenges in the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) intervention in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in reintegrating children formerly associated with armed groups into civilian life. The main objective of the research is to investigate factors contributing to the lack of inclusion of girls in DDR. In fact, MONUSCO’s statistics reveal that girls make up 40% of all child soldiers in the DRC, yet represent only 7% of the officially demobilized children.

The present study is based on a two-month research stay in North Kivu (July to September 2017). The principal objective of that stay was to gather local perceptions and opinions related to the phenomenon of the use of child soldiers and child DDR intervention. Narratives from participants are analyzed using sociological discourse analysis. The research therefore embraces an emic approach to better understand local perceptions and viewpoints. Priority has been given to local actor’s voices, and to children in particular, with a strong emphasis on reintegrated girls, as their voices are often absent from academic literature.

The analysis of the field research, together with a literature review, shows that the DDR intervention in North Kivu faces significant challenges in sustainably reintegrating children who have been part of armed groups into their local communities. In fact, this study suggests that the security-oriented approach of the DDR intervention leads to a lack of emphasis on the reintegration and development phase of the program and to a lack of a gender-sensitive, community-based approach. As a result, the security-oriented approach unintentionally contributes to the risk of re-recruitment of demobilized children, which consequently and paradoxically compromises peacebuilding efforts in the eastern DRC.

Key words: Child DDR intervention, Children associated with armed groups, Girls associated with armed groups, Democratic Republic of Congo, North Kivu, Peacebuilding, Community-based development, Localization, Resilience, Nexus.

Sevrin, A. (2019). The Marginalization of Girls Associated with Armed Groups. A Qualitative Field Study of the Gender-Based Challenges in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Intervention in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. IFHV Working Paper, 9(1).