by the war as both active combatants and victims (Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone, 2013). Girls and boys were recruited, were subjected to horrific acts of torture, physical, mental and sexual abuse and exploitation, and were separated from their families. 191. Upon cessation of the civil war, the GoSL, together with development partners and civil society started the work of re-building its child protection system which initially focused on identifying and ensuring the immediate protection, recovery and reintegration of children affected by the war. The lead Ministry for Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA), together with partners undertook, within the framework of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Programme, a number of steps to register, trace, provide protection, therapeutic and other basic services, reunify and reintegrate unaccompanied children and children associated with the fighting forces with their families and communities. 192. The National Commission for Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (now called the National Commission for Social Action) and a Child Protection Network (CPN) were established under the chair of the MSWGCA to coordinate the planning and delivery of services for children underpinning the DDR programme. The MSGCWA, with support of its development partners, also established the Gross Child Rights Violations Monitoring Network (GRIVMON). The GRIVMON monitored and reported cases of torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, child labour and other forms of cruel treatment of children to the Child Welfare Secretariat within the Ministry. 193. Initial steps included the reception of children into demobilization centres and their placement in Interim Care Centres which served as a bridge to children’s reintegration. Through the demobilization process children received services such as health care, psychosocial support for trauma management, family tracing and reintegration services, as well as skills training. 194. Special programmes were established to provide support to girls who were victims of sexual abuse. These provided medical screening, services and counselling. In addition, specialised centres were established to provide support for victims of sexual abuse with infants, including the provision of antenatal care and skills training for the mothers. 195. A number of technical and vocational training institutions were established across the country and a Youth Employment Scheme (YES) was established to provide job opportunities for unemployed youth affected by the war. 196. Between 2002 and 2005/6 a number of further programmes and activities similar to the above-mentioned continued through the active support and participation of the Child Protection Network (CPN) partners of the Ministry for Social Welfare. Several child-to-child education/counselling activities were conducted, and a resource centre was established to boost research. On the Day of the African Child in 2003 (16 June), the Ministry and its partners, including the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and the Department of Births and Deaths, launched a programme for the registration of 900,000 children across the nation. Individuals, families, community heads and social workers were fully engaged in the exercise and wide-scale success was reported. The 54  Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone Initial Report on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 2002-2014