"A Duty To Protect" is a documentary produced by Association des Jeunes pour le Développement Intégré Kalundu/ Projet Enfants Soldats (AJEDI-Ka/PES) and WITNESS, an organisation using the power of video to expose human rights abuses. The film, which shares the experience of two girls who were recruited into the military and suffered violence and sexual exploitation, is meant to be a tool to advocate for accountability for crimes committed against children, including the use and recruitment of child soldiers. It is also being used to advocate for an end to the lawlessness that exists in Eastern DRC. The video is directed toward the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is mandated to investigate and prosecute war criminals in the DRC, as well as toward decision makers in the United States and in the international community.
Communication Strategies: 

This advocacy initiative involves use of the video medium to spark awareness among viewers about the effects of conflict on both children and the broader DRC community. Through the voices of child soldiers, "A Duty To Protect" explores the complexity of the war, the issues confronted by girl soldiers (including rape and sexual exploitation), and the importance of the ICC's role in ending the impunity in eastern DRC. The video gives specific recommendations to strengthen the work of the ICC and calls for the international community’s engagement to stop the recruitment and use of child soldiers. It also recommends specific measures to strengthen the work of the ICC by calling for a local presence of the court in Eastern DRC and by endorsing the creation by the court of systematic outreach and communication with the local population before, during, and after prosecutions.

A key strategy involves highlighting personal experiences with violence to generate understanding, empathy, and action. Specifically, the video tells the stories of Mafille and January, two girls who were recruited into the military at 13 and 10 years of age, respectively. Mafille is a demobilised girl soldier whose experience of violence and sexual exploitation cause her deep psychological scars. In addition to having suffered during the year and a half she spent in the military, Mafille also recounts the stigma she has faced upon returning to civilian life and the constraints in seeking medical attention due to a lack of financial resources. January is a girl soldier whose bravado veils her suffering and whose character and perceptions personify the complexity of the conflict and local perceptions. "A Duty To Protect" also looks at the effects of the recruitment and use of child soldiers on their families and the broader community, concluding that the people of Eastern DRC wish for peace and justice in their region. (To watch an excerpt of the video click here.)

The mass media have been engaged in efforts to inform people about "A Duty to Protect". The video was launched in United States in the cities of New York and Washington, D.C in April 2005 to audiences of civil society organisations, United Nations (UN) representatives, and congressional staffers, amongst others. The campaign garnered media attention in this country; it was featured on such programmes as “NOW with David Brancaccio” (PBS), “American Morning” (CNN), “The Leanord Lopate Show” (WNYC). Internationally, it was featured on the German television series “Kulturzeit” (3sat) and Voice of America radio and television programmes broadcast in Africa.

To support advocacy efforts, the film has also been used to stimulate face-to-face events and meetings. In November 2005, the video was screened at a public event in The Hague during the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute and in private meetings between AJEDI-Ka/PES and key personnel at the ICC such as the Office of the Prosecutor, the investigations team for the DRC and the Office of the Registrar.

Development Issues: 

Children, Conflict, Rights.

Key Points: 

WITNESS explains that, since 1996, war has ravaged the DRC. Some 4 million people have died as a result of the armed conflict and over 10,000 children have been used as child soldiers. Today, the country is in fragile transition, with over 10 armed groups still operating in the Eastern region. As of April 2006, insecurity continued in the region, with active fighting causing some 15,000 people to flee their homes since the beginning of that year.

WITNESS claims that all parties have recruited and used child soldiers in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. In 2004, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC announced that the DRC was to be the subject of the Court’s first investigation. Under the Court’s jurisdiction is the recruitment and use of child soldiers as a war crime.

In the context of this insecurity, AJEDI-Ka/PES continues to work to demobilise child soldiers and reintegrate them into their communities. Using "On the Frontlines", the first video produced during the partnership with WITNESS, AJEDI-Ka/PES travels from village to village in an effort to end voluntary recruitment. AJEDI-Ka/PES also focuses on the needs of child soldiers with HIV/AIDS.

Following a major advocacy drive using "A Duty to Protect", in March 2006 Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was arrested by the ICC for his alleged involvement in war crimes - namely, enlisting and conscripting child soldiers.

Partner Text: 

AJEDI-Ka/PES, WITNESS.