Investigating the usage of child soldiers in military forces
Overview
A child soldier is defined by the UN as a person under the age of 18 who directly or indirectly participates in an armed conflict as a part of an armed force or group. The children are either directly engaged in combat, or are used as spies, servants and sexual salves.
It is estimated that about 300,000 children as young as 8 and 9 year old are being used as soldiers in over 30 areas of conflict around the world. Both girls and boys are used as child soldiers. The problem is most critical in Africa, where over 100,000 children are being used as soldiers, both in governmental and in non-governmental armies and guerrilla militias. In most cases the children were recruited by force, although the recruiters claim that the children volunteered for the service. It is hard to determine if a child volunteered for service or was forced into it since some children tend to become soldiers in order to secure food and personal security. Moreover, in areas of conflict schools tend to close down and children often find an alternative in joining armed forces.
Children are recruited since they are cheap, easily manipulated and obedient and they are often sent to the most dangerous areas to fulfil the most dangerous tasks, such as being human mine detectors and participating in suicide missions.
1949 - The Geneva Convention is convened to protect children and civilians in time of war.
1989 - The Convention on the Rights of the Child sets guidelines for countries at war to protect children and recommends that countries apply the rules of international humanitarian law that are relevant to the children in order to ensure protection and care to children affected by armed conflict.
1998 - The Rome Statute of the International Criminal makes it a war crime to recruit children under 15 and have them serve as soldiers.
1999 Resolution 1261 dealing with Children and Armed Conflict is adopted by the Security Council.
2000 An Optional Protocol is adopted by the General Assembly setting the minimum age for direct participation in combat to 18 years of age, and the minimum age for recruitment to 16 years of age.
Example:
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Since 1998 over 3 million people were killed in civil war in the DRC. Thousands of boys and girls, as young as 10 years old, are serving in the DRC army and in militia groups. Most of the children were forcibly recruited and face daily abuses such as torture, rape and killing.
Many of the children are forced to fight on the front lines and are forced to kill and rape, sometimes their own families.
The number of child soldiers is unknown but it is estimated that there are about 30,000 child soldiers in east DRC alone.
Sources for your use:
http://www.child-soldiers.org/childsoldiers/some-facts
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9331/
