A/HRC/6/19 page 57 Response of the Government of the Sudan on Recommendation 1.3.3 Written information submitted to the group of experts on Darfur on 21 August 2007 A workshop on the demobilization of child soldiers was planned for September 2007 by the Advisory Council for Human Rights in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence, the Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-Integration Commission and the National Council for Child Welfare and with the participation and support of UNICEF. The event was aimed at 30 members of the regular forces and 30 members of the joint forces. The Advisory Council, in cooperation with the accredited office in the Karari district of the governorate of Omduran, investigated the situation of children who have been displaced; the city has some 30,000 families. It also looked at the provision of basic services. Information orally submitted to the group of experts on 18 September 2007 The Government informed the group of experts orally that it had identified 857 child soldiers in eastern Jebel Marra/ Sharia areas. The Sudan Task Force on Children and Armed Conflict did not receive any report confirming this information. With regard to the plan of action, the Government responded that several workshops in short term work plan were conducted: one workshop on the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment was held in September 2007. Another workshop was held jointly with UNMIS on 5 and 6 September 2007, which focused on the right to fair trial. The workshop targeted officials that might be deployed to Darfur and its aim was to improve the skills of judges and prosecutors. Information orally submitted to the group of experts on 15 November 2007 Two DDR commissions have been set up in North and South Darfur to address issues relating to children. SLA/MM has envisaged the implementation of a plan with UNICEF; however, funds have been lacking to bring these plans to fruition. Information Received from Other Sources on Recommendation 1.3.3 Outposts of the Northern Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-Integration Commission (supported by UNICEF) have been established in the three Darfur States but have not been functioning effectively. The Northern Commission and UNICEF started a project to raise awareness on child recruitment and Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-Integration for children among armed groups. The Commission further took initiatives to run workshops with ministries to ensure coordination, and was actively collaborating with the Ministries of Social Welfare and Education in particular. A concern was that there were still issues related to the ‘competent authority’ for child Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-Integration in Darfur, in that the DPA established the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority to manage rehabilitation and reintegration services identified in the DPA.