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What does international law say about child soldiers?

According to UN’s convention on the right of the child of 1989, the age of 15 is the minimum limit for recruitment for military and other participation in armed conflicts. This is also current even when children volunteer.

Where are child soldiers used?

The use of child soldiers is rising internationally, even though international law is becoming still stricter on the area. This development has several reasons.

Photographer: Thomas Yde

- Children are recruited when the adult force is no longer strong enough.

- The conflicts have changed, wars are no longer primarily fought between different nations, they are fought as internal conflicts between different etnical or political groups, who are closer to the civilian population.

- The recruitment process in civil war is different than that of ordinary war - guerilla forces usually have less structure and economic resources, so they often have to take what they can get, this often includes children

- As a result of the development of new light-weight weapons, such as the Russian AK-47 and the American M-16, that are light to carry and easy to operate, it has become easier to arm children without experience and training in army techniques.
- Children are regarded as loyal and easy to control. Army leaders can make child do things that adult soldiers would never do.

- Child soldiers rarely demand payment and finally child soldiers are usually less likely to dessert than their adult colleagues.

"Children are sometimes forced to commit terrible crimes, a 13-year-old boy tells that he was forces to cut the fetus out of the stomach of a pregnant woman with his bayonet. Another child was forced to drown people in latrines. Still another was forced to cut off the hands of a prisoner, because he had lost the keys to the handcuffs."

(Former child soldiers at the Children Assistance Programs Center in Liberia)

The age of child soldiers

Most child soldiers are between 15 and 18 years old, but in many cases recruitment starts at the age of 10. The youngest soldiers are often about 7 years old. Most of the soldiers younger than 15 are recruited in non-governmental forces, while most of the soldiers between 15 and 18 are enrolled in national military.

Photographer: Thomas Yde

Who are recruited and why?

There are several reasons why children become soldiers. Some children are forced to enroll and some volunteer. Some children enroll in order to survive. In a place where schools are closed, fields are destroyed, villages burned and family members arrested or killed, a gun might mean food and survival. Children that are left without a family are very likely to be recruited, just as street children are.

Some children join military groups after having experienced assaults by one of the parts in the conflict. They might join the military for protection or to get revenge.

How are child soldiers used?

Once children are enrolled, they usually receive military training as the adult soldiers get.

Children often perform risky and dangerous tasks. Many children become carriers, they often have to carry as much as 100 pounds of ammunition or wounded soldiers. Children who are too weak to perform the tasks are often beaten or even shot. Children are also often used as messengers, spies and guards. In some situations children are used as cannon fodder, as it happened in the war between Iran and Iraq. In this war children where sent in groups through minefields.

The recruited girls usually perform the same tasks as the boys, but sometimes they are also forced to offered sexual sexual services.

What happens to child soldiers in war?

Child soldiers often go through terrible experiences. They are often exposed to extreme risks, and in danger of being shot, mutilated, tortured and of being robbed of every bit of decency. War does not spare the children, who often incur physical as well as psychological handicaps. Child soldiers are often treated more brutally than ordinary soldiers, to harden them and make then into cold and merciless soldiers.

Before battles some children are given amfetamines and other drugs, to reduce their fear and emotional pain.

Child soldiers often suffer from emotional disturbances, such as anxiety, apathy, nightmares, depressions, lack of concentration and hyperactivity.

Which countries use child soldiers?

You can see which countries use child soldiers on:

http://www.child-soldiers.org/Overview.htm

What does UN's declaration on the rights of the child says about use of children as soldiers?

Article 38 in the Convention on the Rights of the Child says:

- The government must take all possible measures to make sure that no persons under the age of 15 directly participate in conflicts.
- Nations must not recruit any person under the age of 15 in their armed forces. In cases where it is necessary to recruit persons between the age of 15 and 18, the government must try to chose the oldest.

? - Questions

What is a child soldier?
What are child soldiers used for?
What happens to child soldiers?
How old are child soldiers usually?
What is the minimum age according to international law?
What does the Convention on the Rights of the Child say about child soldiers?