Child Soldiers Legal Responses

Child Soldiers Legal Responses

The campaign ended at the end of 2016, but the desired consensus is now a reality, and thousands of child soldiers have been released and reintegrated with the support of UNICEF, peacekeeping and political missions, and other UN partners and NGOs on the ground. All governments affected by the campaign are engaged in an action plan process with the United Nations. Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have taken all necessary measures to end and prevent the recruitment of children into their armed forces and are no longer on the list. There are six “grave violations” of children`s rights verified by the United Nations in conflicts. Being recruited and deployed as a child soldier is one of them. [i] Children are part of an armed force or group for a variety of reasons. Some are abducted, threatened, coerced or manipulated by armed actors. Others are driven by poverty and forced to generate income for their families. Still others unite to survive or protect their communities.

Regardless of their involvement, the recruitment and use of children by the armed forces constitutes a serious violation of children`s rights and international humanitarian law. Regardless of how children are recruited and the role they play, child soldiers are victims whose participation in conflict has a serious impact on their physical and emotional well-being. They are frequently victims of abuse and most of them witness death, murder and sexual violence. Many are forced to commit acts of violence, and some suffer serious long-term psychological consequences. The reintegration of these children into civilian life is an essential part of the work to help child soldiers rebuild their lives. In some cases, these waivers amount to millions of dollars in military support. This year, Somalia could receive more than $115 million in sanctionable aid that would otherwise be prohibited by the APSC. Yemen could have access to at least $26 million, which would also be prohibited under the terms of the law. These offers of assistance contrast with conditions on the ground, where the recruitment of children by state-backed armed groups in Yemen has increased and where 200 children were reportedly recruited by the Somali National Army and allied militias in 2013 alone.

When living among armed actors, children experience unscrupulous forms of violence. You may be encouraged to participate in challenging training or induction ceremonies, undergo hazardous work, or engage in combat – at high risk of death, chronic injury, and disability. They may also witness, suffer or be forced to participate in torture and murder. Girls in particular can be exposed to gender-based violence. Pressure to provide resources for COVID-19 prevention and response in the same countries has in some cases led to prioritization of child reintegration and child protection programs, even though the socio-economic impact of the pandemic has made recruitment and use for girls and boys even more vulnerable. To learn more about the impact of COVID-19 on the release and reintegration of child soldiers, click here. Nearly 20 years later, global efforts to end the recruitment, use and prevention of children continue to be guided by powerful laws, policies and international instruments. Whatever the existence of the practice, it persists. If we are to see a world without child soldiers in two decades, we must address the emerging issues that enable the recruitment and use of children. World Vision will continue to work to end the use of children in armed conflict and demands: Their tasks can vary, from combatants and cooks to spies, messengers and sex slaves. In addition, the use of children for acts of terrorism, including as suicide bombers, has become a phenomenon of modern warfare.

Every year, the United Nations receives reports from children aged 8 or 9 associated with armed groups. 32 children expelled from opposition groups in South Sudan Nearly 20 years ago, the world united to end a terrible violation of children`s rights – the use of boys and girls in armed conflict. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which entered into force on 12 February 2002, prohibits the participation of children under the age of 18 in hostilities, marking an important step in the fight against the cessation of the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ms. Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin, is currently preparing a report on the impact of counter-terrorism measures on the rights of children and their families. Dr. Aoláin called this problem of criminalization a process of “childbirth” – or the process by which children involved in armed conflict in counterterrorism spaces are progressively deprived of their status as children and the most basic rights that this status has granted in decades. Whether or not children readmit to society depends on a variety of factors, including why they connect with armed actors and the perception of their families and communities. Some children who try to reintegrate are viewed with suspicion or categorically rejected, while others have difficulty adjusting. Psychological stress can make it difficult for children to process and verbalize their experiences, especially if they are afraid of stigma or how people will react.

In other parts of the world, explicit actions such as CSPA are even rarer. Belgium, for example, has laws prohibiting the export and transit of weapons to countries that use child soldiers in their national armies. However, most States have not yet developed regulations that address the link between arms transfers and the use of child soldiers. The new Arms Trade Treaty could be a tool that governments could use to fill this gap. Given that children are at risk of being recruited and used by government forces, paramilitaries and other armed groups, efforts to condition arms transfers must be broader. Although each child`s story is different, children who were associated with armed forces or groups face many immediate and ongoing challenges. Those who survive have certainly been deprived of their innocence, of their childhood. Learn more about child soldiers and how World Vision is working to prevent and respond to children who were previously associated with armed forces and groups, and how you can support these efforts through Childhood Rescue. The warring parties also deprive children of their food and healthy living conditions or expose them to drug abuse, with significant consequences for their physical and mental well-being. Within the United Nations system, UNICEF is responsible for the reintegration of former child soldiers and its top priority is to prepare them for a return to civilian life. Psychosocial support, education and/or training are important aspects of reintegration programmes.

It is also essential to try to reunite children with their families and communities, but awareness-raising and reconciliation efforts are sometimes needed before a child is taken into the home. Armed groups often use gender-specific recruitment tactics, including hypermascular ideology and imagery that equates power with violence, promises of sexual rewards, and “wives” for soldiers. Child soldiers, boys and girls from the age of 8, are recruited and used not only for struggle, but also for sexual exploitation and even more so in the conflicts raging around the world. This is not only a serious violation of children`s fundamental human rights, but also the tragic end of childhood. The children of the world deserve so much better. We must end the war against children. Globally, measures such as the APCS could be used to mitigate and ultimately end the use of child soldiers in national armed forces and government-backed armed groups. Alongside similar measures, it should be seen in a broader and coordinated context to support sustainable security institutions and apparatuses in emerging democracies.

The implementation of arms and support bans should complement the promotion of democracy and security sector reform. Prohibitions can and should be linked to the signing and implementation of national action plans focused on demobilizing and stopping the recruitment of child soldiers. In short, these measures can be used to promote changes in governance and promote democratic norms within the military structure that are not based on the use of child soldiers. While non-state armed groups are responsible for the majority of these violations, the United Nations verified 10 states that committed this serious violation of children`s rights in 2019. Nine of the 10 States that still commit these devastating acts have themselves signed and ratified OPAC. It remains essential to continue to call for the implementation of international law and to hold all actors to account. Otherwise, the stakes are at stake and discourage political and operational changes on the ground. Ending and preventing the use of child soldiers depends not only on the actions of the parties to the conflict, but also on the efforts of the international community and civil society to demand accountability. A child associated with an armed force or group means any person under the age of 18 who has been recruited or used by an armed force or group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls used as combatants, cooks, porters, spies or for sexual purposes.

(Source: Paris Principles on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict 2007) From the child at war to the renowned author, human rights activist and goodwill ambassador Whatever their role, child soldiers face acute violence – as witnesses, direct victims and forced participants.

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