By: Darin Reeves

At the Rwandan Peace Academy in Musanze, Rwanda, another trained cadre of military professionals join the growing ranks of security sector actors trained to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers around the world. Following completion of the one week “Basic” course, delivered by the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative and in partnership with the Government of Rwanda and the Rwandan Defence Force, these newly trained and educated men and women are now better prepared to interact with child soldiers, and to protect children in areas of conflict.

Dallaire Initiative and the RDF begin interaction training today, so of course it’s raining! pic.twitter.com/X4XACHL1QM

— ChildSoldiers.org (@ChildSoldiers) March 23, 2023

Speaking on behalf of RDF leadership, Colonel J. Rutaremara stressed the importance of this training, “This initial course is very important because it marks the beginning of the operationalization of the joint framework of cooperation between RDF and the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative”, referring to the training partnership formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Rwanda and the Dallaire Initiaitve in May 2016.

Graduates of this program have achieved a a significant milestone in equipping the RDF to plan, organize and conduct its own training on preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and now provide the RDF a unique opportunity to build a better, common understanding in dealing with children and child soldiers in a proactive, not reactive way.

https://mod.gov.rw/news-detail/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3404&cHash=369b9c2cd3663dbe27dda5fef6bbfca1#.WNTlzWWZkYk

http://rwandaeye.com/dallaire-foundation-trains-rdf-on-non-recruitment-of-child-soldiers/