SILENCE THE GUNS 3

Problem Statement and justification

United Nations have adopted in 2015 an ambitious agenda for the development of countries by 2030, through sustainable development goals. The SDG16 aims to achieving peace, justice and strong institutions. Today we are still recording several wars across the world that may prevent the achievement of the 2030 agenda.  In Africa, the socio-political context is characterized by an escalation of violence and insecurity perpetrated by terrorist groups like Al Shabaab and the various affiliations of Al-Qaeda which are relatively well known both regionally and globally. 

Ongoing conflicts in Africa, include the Boko Haram threat in Lake Chad Basin Countries ( Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad);  the Central African Republic War with Anti-Balaka and Seleka rebels; the Libya Civil War; the Lord’s Resistance Army Insurgency (ranging between South Sudan, Congo, Uganda, and the Central African Republic); the Northern Mali Conflict (between the Mali government and the northern Taureg ethnic group exploded with the Taureg conquest of northern Mali); The Somali Civil War (between the central government against the al-Qaida affiliated al-Shabaab rebels); the South Sudan-Sudan Border Conflict; the South Sudan Civil War; the Sudan Civil Unrest and anti-government Protest and Military Coup; the Tigrayan War in Ethiopia (between the Tigrayan regional government and the central Ethiopian government); and the Western Sahara War (between the Polisario Front of Western Sahara and the Moroccan government over control of the Western Sahara territory).

Conflicts have consequences on human rights and most particularly on children rights and girls/women rights. In Africa, thousands of children/youths have been involved as combatants, mine testers, messengers and cooks some of them, used as human shields. Girls and women are targeted for horrendous purposes: sex slaves for military leaders and terrorists.

Cameroon is beset with two major violent conflicts: the anglophone crisis in the north and south west Cameroon and Boko Haram in the Far North Cameroon and the rising of ethno-political tensions on-and offline. The conflict, between the government and separatists from the English-speaking minority, started in 2017 and has killed over 6,000 people. It has displaced over 765,000 people. According to the UN, 2.2 million of the Anglophone regions’ four million people need humanitarian. The war with Boko Haram, centred in the Far North, has killed over 3,000 Cameroonians, displaced about 250,000 and triggered the rise of vigilante self-defence groups. Both conflicts have deprived over 900,000 of effective schooling because.

In order to address conflicts, Children for Peace (C4P) mobilizes children in/from complex cultural and religious background and affected areas by war to define and implement actions plans and several local and nation-wide activities. Among those projects, we have the project Silence the Guns. It is an integrated citizen engagement project implemented from December 2019 to March 2020 (first phase of the project) and from February to July 2022 (Second phase), whose overall objective is to contribute to realize a conflict free Africa by engaging children to mobilize all stakeholders to prioritize efforts on peace, children and girls’ rights, effective socio-economic development. In the view to pursue the work started during the phase 1 and 2 of the project, children for Peace launched Silence the Guns phase 3.

Overarching Objective

Silence The Guns is an integrated citizen engagement project led by Children and especially girls whose overall objective is to contribute to realize a conflict free Africa, to make peace a reality for all our people and to rid the continent of wars, civil conflicts, human rights violations, humanitarian disasters and violent conflicts; by engaging children to mobilise all stakeholders to prioritize efforts on peace, children and girls’ rights, effective socio-economic development.

Silence the Guns is in the same line with the Africa Union Agenda 2063 which is the blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future.

Silence the guns is built on five thematic priorities, including Strategic priority, strategic security issues, Small Arms and Light Weapons, threat and risks of illicit chemical, biological and nuclear proliferation and trafficking.