24 April 2015 - More than 280 children have been released from the Cobra Faction, an armed group in South Sudan, the UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF) announced today.

The release of 282 boys and one girl in Labrab, a village in a remote corner of Jonglei State, marked the last chapter in a series of releases that have taken place since January, following a peace agreement between the faction and the Government of South Sudan.

“We are very pleased to have seen this process through and that the final group of children has been released from the Cobra Faction,” said Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF South Sudan Representative. “But the work is far from over – these children must be reunited with their families and they must begin the long and difficult road towards rebuilding their lives.”

Mr. Veitch however described the release of children from the Cobra Faction as “a small piece of good news in what is otherwise a terrible situation for children in other parts of South Sudan”.

“Many hundreds of children have been abducted and forcibly recruited in Unity and Upper Nile states,” he said. “UNICEF is extremely concerned about the welfare of children recently recruited around Malakal in Upper Nile State, given the recent upsurge in fighting in the area. We again call for the immediate release of these children and we continue to stand ready to provide all necessary support for their demobilization.”

A total of 1,757 children have been released from the Cobra Faction since January, UNICEF said, adding that prior to each release, the UN agency and the National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (NDDRC) conducted an intensive and detailed screening and verification process with each child.

“During the release ceremony, the children handed in their weapons and uniforms in exchange for civilian clothes,” the media note added. “They will stay at the interim care centre where they will receive food, shelter, medical and psychosocial support until their families are traced and they can return home.”

The press release noted that since January, 1,104 children have been reunited with their families, more are going home each day and most of the children are already enrolled in learning programmes.

The announcement also explained that the reintegration programme follows the Paris Principles which stipulate a one-plus-one approach, whereby support for each released and reunified child will also be provided to one vulnerable child in the same community. As such, the programme invests in infrastructure and services that will benefit the whole community.

The two-year reintegration process, which includes ongoing psychosocial support, costs an estimated US $2,580 per child. UNICEF faces a funding shortfall of US $11 million for the programme.