UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday that the central African country of Chad will need assistance in reintegrating into society the child soldiers that are being demobilized under an agreement signed with the UN last week.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said while visiting the country that she was "very happy to have gotten the commitment" from the Chadian government, but "the children will need help to integrate back into their communities."

Coomaraswamy added that more than 1,000 children had been let go by Chadian military units since January, and said that the UN intends to follow them to their villages to make sure they are not re-conscripted. The UN also plans to offer educational programmes, concentrating on vocational schools to help in the children's reintegration.

The complete withdrawal and reintegration of children into their communities will remove the Chadian government from the Secretary-General's "list of shame," which includes governments using child soldiers. The list includes Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia and Sudan.

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