Introduction
This document is based on a secondary data matrix compiled by the global Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR) and by the Global Education Cluster using the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and the Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) as an analysis framework. All data points are citations from the secondary data matrix, which have been compared and interpreted, but not triangulated and verified.
Access to information is rendered difficult by a complex security situation and the lack of humanitarian actors established in the area before the crisis to collect and share data. The primary sources of information cited in this report are estimates produced by the few organizations that have long been in the area as well as reports from more recent field missions.
Connections to Care
Standard 10: Psychosocial distress and mental disorders
Many children reported high levels of stress and psychosocial distress, including for reasons of loss or separation of family.
Standard 11: Children associated with armed forces and armed groups
In April 2017, UNICEF estimated that several thousand children had been recruited by the Kamuina Nsapu militia. Some parents have sent their children across the Angolan border due to fear that they would be forcibly recruited by the militias. Children formerly associated with armed groups are experiencing immense challenges when reintegrating into their homes and communities.
Standard 13: Unaccompanied and separated children
By April 2017, UNICEF had registered 4,180 children separated from their families, although the number is likely much higher as the majority of data available is fragmented and largely refers to children identified in the largest reception centers.
Standard 14: Justice for Children
Children under age 14 are being illegally detained for their alleged association with militias; the practice of detaining children under treatment described as "dangerous and degrading" is widespread.
Identified Care-Related Information Gaps
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Existence and nature of human trafficking and international adoption of children;
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Numbers and location of unaccompanied and separated children (requires the establishment of a case management database to better identify and document these children so that an appropriate response can be put in place);
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Community support mechanisms, including existing care options for unaccompanied and separated children;
