Chad: Whether the government of Chad conducted forced recruitment in 2005 for the purpose of sending individuals to fight in the conflict between the eastern and northern regions of Chad; if so, the profile of persons recruited; and whether a military training centre exists at Koundoul (2005-2006)

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the President of the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (Association Tchadienne pour la promotion et la défense des droits de l'homme, ATPDH), a member association of the International Federation for Human Rights (Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme, FIDH) (FIDH n.d.), did not provide information on events taking place in 2005 specifically but provided information to the Research Directorate on forced recruitment generally. The President of ATPDH stated that forced recruitment by the government [translation] "is not new with respect to the situation in Chad," and that the youths the government recruits by force are sent to the North (25 Oct. 2006). The President then indicated that such recruitment had taken place in cities such as N'Djamena and Abeche, as well as in refugee camps (ATDPH 25 Oct. 2006). She indicated that forcible recruitment occurs when armed conflicts erupt (ibid.). Regarding the profile of recruits, the President indicated that it was difficult to define a profile and that there appeared to be "no set criteria" (ibid.).

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005 indicates that

in late December [2005], unconfirmed reports of forced recruitment of male youths circulated after the government began enforcing a curfew during the holidays, in particular of forced recruitment in N'Djamena and Abeche. (US 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 5)

An 18 January 2006 Reuters article reports that according to human rights groups and students, "[y]oung men in Chad are being rounded up, given guns and used as little more than human shields as the army battles a growing rebel threat near its eastern border." The article reports that, according to the Chadian Minister for Public Security, Routouang Yoma Golom, the President of Chad had initiated a recruitment drive following "a wave of desertions" from the army in 2005 (Reuters 18 Jan. 2006). The Chadian Minister for Public Security then indicated that 300 persons had been "rounded up" by security forces in N'Djamena in January 2006, but claimed that they were young delinquents and denied they were forcibly recruited into the army (ibid.). The Reuters article also reports that an unspecified number of students were detained and beaten by security forces in January 2006 (ibid.). The article states that one student, who had escaped, had been held by security forces and told that he would be sent to a military installation in the North and "sent to war" (ibid.). In the same article, a 26-year-old man who was detained but later freed also indicated that, in January 2006 young men were being arrested by military personnel and being sent to fight (ibid.).

With respect to the arrest of persons by security forces, Jacqueline Moudeina, a Chadian who has won international human rights awards (Martin Ennals Foundation 11 Apr. 2002) and served as the president of ATDPH (Reuters 18 Jan. 2006) has been quoted as saying "[t]here's absolutely no doubt the young men are being sent to the war zone" (ibid.). The Reuters article also cites Deuzoumbe Daniel Passalet, the president of Human Rights Without Borders (Droits de l'homme sans frontières, DHSF), a Chad-based organization (ibid., RSF 19 May 2006; CRIN 3 Jan. 2003), as stating that "some of those seized by the police had managed to send messages back to their families saying they were being trained at a military barracks ..." in the North (Reuters 18 Jan. 2006). No further reports of forced recruitment of Chadian nationals in 2005 could be found by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published reports in March and May 2006 indicating that forcible recruitment of men and boys took place in mid-March 2006 in refugee camps in eastern Chad (31 Mar. 2006; UN 16 May 2006). In its May report, UNHCR indicates that "thousands of men and boys were forcibly or voluntarily recruited" in the camps in March 2006, and that recruitment is ongoing (ibid.). UNHCR initially indicated in March that it was not "entirely clear who is responsible for this recruitment" but that it saw the recruitment as a sign of "growing insecurity ... along the Chad-Sudan border" (ibid. 31 Mar. 2006). In its May 2006 report, UNHCR states that recruitment in the refugee camps was conducted by Sudanese rebel groups. It then states that: "[s]everal refugee accounts say Chadian authorities facilitated or colluded with rebel groups in recruitment activities ..." (ibid.). In its June 2006 report, Violence Beyond Borders: The Human Rights Crisis in Eastern Chad, Human Rights Watch (HRW) similarly reports the forcible recruitment of refugees from camps in eastern Chad (June 2006, 2, 9, 10, 12-13, 15, 18). According to the report, recruitment attempts in the camps became "overt" in January 2006 (HRW June 2006, 12) and had been conducted by a faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army / Movement (SLA/M) connected to SLA commander Khamis Abdullah (SLA/M) (ibid., 2, 9). HRW indicated that its investigations in camps where recruitment was taking place gathered consistent and compelling evidence that the government of Chad is complicit with the activities of Sudanese rebel groups, both legal and illegal, in the refugee camps it is bound to protect" (ibid., 13). Without identifying sources, the HRW also indicates that

[w]ell placed sources name senior figures in the Déby administration as the architects of the Chadian government policy that condoned Sudanese rebel recruitment activities and instructed local government officials to permit and facilitate those activities. (ibid.)

Several news articles published in late 2005 indicate that a military training facility exists at Koundoul, south of N'djamena (Cameroon Tribune 16 Nov. 2005; Reuters 15 Nov. 2005; Le Messager 24 Nov. 2005). According to news reports and a United States (US) Consular Information Sheet on Chad published in the Hindustan Times, a raid of the facility at Koundoul was carried out by "unidentified attackers" in mid-November 2005 (Hindustan Times 16 Nov. 2005; Cameroon Tribune 16 Nov. 2005; Reuters 15 Nov. 2005).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Cameroon Tribune [Yaoundé, in French]. 16 November 2005. "Frayeurs à N'Djamena." (Factiva)

Child Rights Information Network (CRIN). 3 January 2003. "Human Rights Without Borders (Chad) (DHSF)." [Accessed 24 Oct. 2006]

Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme (FIDH). N.d. "Tchad: Association Tchadienne pour la promotion et la défense des droits de l'homme (ATPDH)." [Accessed 25 Oct. 2006]

Hindustan Times [New Delhi]. 16 November 2005. "State Department Issues Consular Information Sheet on Chad." (Factiva)

Human Rights Watch (HRW). June 2006. Violence Beyond Borders: The Human Rights Crisis in Eastern Chad. [Accessed 24 Oct. 2006]

Martin Ennals Foundation. 11 April 2002. "Press Release: Jacqueline Moudeina." [Accessed 25 Oct. 2006]

Le Messager [Douala, Cameroon, in French]. 24 November 2005. "Affaire Hissene Habré." (Factiva)

Reporters sans frontières (RSF). 19 May 2006. "Journalist Tchanguiz Vatankhah Has Been Released." [Accessed 25 Oct. 2006]

Reuters. 18 January 2006. Stephanie Hancock. "Feature – Youths in Chad Seized, Forced to Fight on Border." (Factiva)
_____. 15 November 2005. "Chad – Rebels Strike Military Bases in Capital." (Factiva)

United Nations (UN). 16 May 2006. Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "UNHCR Expresses Alarm over Continuing Reports of Forced Recruitment in Chad Refugee Camps." [Accessed 24 Oct. 2006]
_____. 31 March 2006. Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "UNHCR Condemns Forced Recruitment of Sudanese Refugees in Chad Camps." [Accessed 24 Oct. 2006]

United States (US). 8 March 2006. Department of State. "Chad." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. [Accessed 24 Oct. 2006]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International (AI); British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers; European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net); International Crisis Group (ICG); Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT); Radio France Internationale (RFI); United Nations (UN) ReliefWeb; UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN); UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).