411: Child Soldiers
Author: Youth Advocate Program International / Whatsthe411
More than 300,000 children participate in more than 30 ongoing conflicts around the world.
- Child soldiers range in age from 5 - 17.6 years old
- In Burma, there are approximately 70,000 children in Myanmar’s (Burmese) government armed forces.
- In Uganda, more than 20,000 children have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) since May 2002
- Between 1986 and 1996 alone, 2 million children were killed in armed conflict and over 6 million children were injured.
- In past conflicts, 80% to 90% of casualties were adult soldiers; today, 80% to 90% of casualties are women and children.
Child Soldier: “Any child – girl or boy – under the age of 18, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group, including but not limited to combatants, cooks, porters, messengers, and anyone accompanying such groups other than as family members. This includes girls recruited and/or forced marriage.” - UNICEF
DEFINITIONS
Disarmament: Removing all weapons from child soldiers.
Demobilization: The point at which the child leaves military life
Rehabilitation & Reintegration: Prepares the child for life without war.
WHY ARE THERE CHILD SOLDIERS?
Child soldiers increase the number of fighters. They are more easily manipulated and controlled. They follow orders readily and are less likely to question or refuse a command. Their physical frames are small, allowing them to hide in tight quarters. People do not typically suspect children so they slip through many security checks unexamined. In addition, the advancement in weaponry technology has created lighter weapons that children are able to carry, like the AK-47 and M-16, which are light and easily handled by children. These weapons are also cheap, selling for as little as $6 each in some African countries.
WHO IS USED AND WHICH CHILDREN ARE AFFECTED?
The children most susceptible to conscription by government and rebel forces are the marginalized children in society. Children in extreme poverty may volunteer out of desperation for food and shelter, and are often less able to refuse conscription. Children without identification papers are vulnerable because it would be hard for them to be found by their family. Orphans and children with weak family structures may seek out protection from military groups. Children living in conflict zones are susceptible to kidnapping (such as the LRA in Northern Uganda). Children living in refugee camps tend to be extremely militarized and are much more vulnerable to falling under the control of rebel or government armies. Sometimes children are forced to join under threat to their family or community.
HOW ARE THEY AFFECTED?
Children are affected by war physically, emotionally, and socially. They often suffer higher casualties than adults because of their lack of experience and immaturity to handle the situations they are forced to live in. Because of their immaturity and/or drug use, they can be less cautious and often unaware of their own mortality. Sometimes, children become physically disabled. The violence they experience often scars them emotionally and psychologically. Children complain of nightmares, sleeplessness, bedwetting, eating disorders, and inability to concentrate. Children familiar with the life of a soldier tend to be unable to cope in a peaceful society. They do not know what is right or wrong because they never received social instruction within civil society. Child soldiers often suffer from drug and alcohol addictions they may have developed while fighting. Even if the child is rehabilitated into society, he or she often finds it difficult to adjust: hands used to holding AK-47s are unable to grasp a pencil and write a name; and children used to walking on patrol for years, do not remember how to sit still.
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO STOP THE USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS?
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), whose principles and aims are included within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (CCRF), was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989. Article 38 of the CRC protects children under the age of 15 from recruitment and participation in armed military forces. Article 7 of the CRC mandates the provision of an official birth certificate from the State, which helps to prevent underage recruitment and conscription. The CRC has been ratified by every country aside from Somalia and the United States. On May 25, 2000, the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Protocol raised the age of direct participation in conflict and compulsory recruitment by governments from 15 to 18. The Protocol also prohibits non-governmental armed groups from recruiting soldiers under the age of 18, or using them in hostilities.
