A friendly football match is how Malakal raised its red hand against the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, marked on the 12^th of February.

“Playing with my brothers at the PoC today encourages me and brings us closer as children on our day. It changes our attitudes toward each other,” said 12-year-old Aban Akech Awan, whose team from Malakal town had just finished playing a youth team from the United Nations protection site.

“Sports means a lot to me and playing together encourages me and revives hope for a better South Sudan within me,” said Aban.

The friendly match was organized by the Child Protection Unit of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to mark the International Day against the use of Child Soldiers.

Hazel De Wet, the head of UNMISS field office in Malakal iterated her call on discontinuing the use of children by armed forces and groups, while emphasizing the need to create more opportunities for children through sports and access to education.

“We have seen how children are supposed to play and enjoy all their rights, especially access to education, like the rest of the citizens in this country,” she said. “But most importantly, we should stop the recruitment and use of children in the armed forces starting from today onwards,” stressed the lead UN official in Malakal, with a rallying call.

“It is our obligation as the United Nations, partners, and government to work hand in hand in order to free all children from the armed forces,” she said.

Acting governor of Central Upper Nile, John Odhong Adiang applauded the role of UNMISS and its partners in supporting the government to end the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups in his area.

“It is time to stop all forms of recruitment and use of children in armed forces in our state,” noted the governor, adding, “And I would like to extend my appreciation to UNMISS and partners for their unwavering support to the government on this issue which has been disturbing us for years in this country.”

Earlier in the day, Malakal town had been livened up by a peaceful march that started at the office of the Mayor, snaking through the town to the stadium where the friendly match was played.

The procession saw townsfolk marching with peacekeepers from Rwanda, the UK and India, together with UN agencies and funds, including the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).