In April 2005, Ajedi-Ka and the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict began work on a pilot project using cellular phones and internet technology to facilitate the VCCPs’ reporting of child rights violations.
Through this project, Ajedi-Ka distributed 15 cell phones – one to each VCCPs – and two phones to Ajedi-Ka staff in Uvira. These cellular phones are used to relay information on CAC violations from the VCCPs to Ajedi-Ka staff. Once this information is relayed, it is securely stored, and decisions are quickly made about whether further verification is needed in order to reliably document the case. The cellular technology has allowed the VCCPs to quickly report violations and make decisions about verification while avoiding dangerous and cumbersome bicycle travel.
As a result of this project, 22 new cases of violations against children were reported to Ajedi-Ka and 15 were fully verified from May to November 2005. In addition, Ajedi-Ka was able to quickly refer each of the verified cases to the appropriate local authorities and to provide practical recommendations for timely responses that should be taken to remedy the violations. Finally, Ajedi-Ka shared detailed information about each of the fully verified cases with Watchlist headquarters in New York often within days of the violation. In New York, Watchlist safely maintains a small database with the detailed information about each of the verified cases. This information is easily available for Watchlist to inform international policy-makers, especially the UN Security Council, about on-going violations against children in the context of armed conflict in eastern DRC.
References / Past Projects
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