Thank you, Chair. Thank you both very much for being here.
General Dallaire, thank you very much for your contributions to the UN and to Canada. We salute you for that.
In regard to my question, I'm reading an article here entitled, “Children 'voluntarily join' armed groups in DR Congo”. There is a quote in it that says:
The recruitment of children, even if not forced, nonetheless appears to arise less out of a desire (to join) than a choice made within a limited set of socio-economic options.
Further down it says:
Poverty, unemployment, hunger, and violence are some of the main issues driving children to join militia groups in those regions.
There was a study conducted that this article talks about.
As you know, the Congo is Africa's biggest producer of copper, the largest source of cobalt and other minerals such as coltan, and so on, and we don't see any of those minerals and resources going to its people. We're seeing the use of child soldiers in this conflict. It's the biggest conflict since World War II. Where can we see an end to this?
Where can we see some of these very rich resources going to its population, to its civilians, so that we can decrease or eliminate child soldiers in this region that is vastly rich with resources?