CHILD SOLDIERS BY: ALICIA MONTANO Concordia University Chicago

Thesis Children that are forced to fight in armed conflicts is a global issue that needs to be taken into consideration! Children who are forced to fight suffer from consequences of trauma, and current measures that have been created to assist are inadequate and need to be updated.

What is Child Soldiers? “ A person under the age of 18 who directly or indirectly participates in an armed conflict as part of an armed force or group”

Who Are Child Soldiers? Although many children are directly involved as a soldier, others are used in combat support The roles include: Messengers Spies Cooks Mine Clearers Porters Sexual slaves

Who Are Child Soldiers? Teenagers are frequently targets of recruitment because they have advantages over young children in regards to size, strength, and cognitive ability (Wessels 2006:7). Both boys and girls are subject to child soldiering, although girls are more likely to be used as sexual slaves Teenagers are regarded in many societies as adults whose role is to work and help provide for their families (Wessels 2006:7)

Who Are Child Soldiers? Most child soldiers are aged between 14 and 18 However, many countries recruit children as young as 7 to 9 years old Most soldiers under 15 are from non-governmental military organization “The number of children under the age of 18 who have been or induced to take up arms as child soldiers is generally thought to be in the range of 300,000 (The United Nations) ( Felton 2009)

Why Children? Impressionable Easy to brainwash Uneducated Obedient Given Drugs There is No Other Alternatives No Family Needs Protection Needs money to support themselves or loved ones Sense of order

Why Children? Cost Effective Children eat less Children occupy less space More Children are available Children don’t get pay Children are small cheaper, easier to use, lighter, faster, and more available

Recruitment Recruitment is either through ABDUCTION or VOLUNTARY Recruitment is rapidly followed by cruel, but straight forward methods of training and conversation (Singer 2005:57) Brutality and abuses of the worst kind underscore each stage, but these lie in part behind the overall program’s usual effectiveness (Singer 2005:57) The ultimate aim of the process is to transform a child’s dependency on an armed organization and inhibit escape (Singer 2005:57).

Forced Recruitment Children are particularly susceptible to forced recruitment due to their size and the ease with which they can be intimidated (Wessells 2006:37). The most commonly used methods of forced recruitment: -Abduction -Press ganging -The quota method

Voluntarily Recruitment The War Comes Home Personal and Situational Influences Push and Pull Factors Family Matters Revenge Power, Excitement, and Glamour Poverty

Turning a Child into a Soldier The act of joining an armed group is only the first step in a child’s path to war (Singer 2005:70). Becoming a soldier: Involving Indoctrination Training Battle

Training The typical training pattern is that children are given short instruction in the most basic infantry skills: how to fire and clean their weapons, lay land mines, set an ambush, ect. Training can range from a day to up to eleven months. The training might either take place all at the start or in some cases, with a period of brief training, then deployment and return for more advanced training after gaining combat experience. State’s training of child soldiers is typically highly institutionalized, consisting of running them through formal training programs that mimic those given to adults. Children in state units are also often supplied with uniforms, regular rations, and even. (Singer 2005:77).

Training Harsh discipline and the threat of death continue to underscore the training programs of almost all child soldiers groups (Singer 2005:87). Drugs are given to all child soldiers this is because children become more inured to violence and become dependent to it (Singer 2005:88). To control new child recruits, armed groups isolate children from their familiar surroundings and supports, shrinking their world and sealing them off from public view (Wessell 2006:62) Commanders frequently use behavior modification methods of reward and punishment to change children’s behavior and sculpt new attitudes and values (Wessell 2006:70).

Boy Soldiers Although there are no exact figures, hundreds of thousands of children under the age of 18 serve in government forces or armed rebel groups. Some are as young as eight years old. 60% of child soldiers are boys (Felton 2009)

Girl Soldiers Girls make up an estimated 10 to 40 percent of child soldiers used for fighting and other purposes. They are especially vulnerable when it comes to sexual violence. Girls as young as 9 years old have been recruited or abducted into armed conflicts and spend months or years involved with armed groups Many girls that have been taken or recruited during times or conflict are children that had limited access to education and vocational possibilities (Brooks )

Statistics “Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. These boys and girls, some as young as 8 years old, serve in government forces and armed opposition groups. They may fight on the front lines, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts. Girls may be forced into sexual slavery. Many are abducted or recruited by force, while others join out of desperation, believing that armed groups offer their best chance for survival.”

Child Soldiers Returning to a Civil Life When returning from armed groups, child soldiers often encounter difficulties reintegrating into their community and familial context, in particular social process of stigmatization, discriminations and expulsion (Derluyn, Vindevogel, and De Haene 2012:869). Often children cannot go back to their families and communities because they were forced to kill family members or neighbors. The armies often do this intentionally so that children will not be able to run away and return home. Girls often become pregnant and mother the children of rebels who will not be accepted by their families ( Felton 2009).

Laws and Resolutions Dealing with Child Soldiers Several United Nations treaties make it illegal under international law governments or rebel groups to recruit and use children in warfare Additional Protocols to the Geneva Convention (1977) Establishes age 15 as the minimum for participation in armed combat by government forces or nongovernmental groups; applies both to international and domestic conflicts. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) Prohibits the recruitment and use of children under 15 by armed groups; a compromise is reached after objection by the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands to an 18 year old standard The United States and Somalia are the only countries that have not ratified it ( Felton 2009)

How is Child Soldiers a Global Issue???

Why Should We Care???? Armed conflicts largely effects individuals, families, and societies. Although particular groups, such as child soldiers, are targeted very ostensibly and directly, we need to acknowledge, both in humanitarian approaches and in research (Derluyn, Vindevogel, and De Haene 2012:88). Important gaps remain in or knowledge base about child soldier’s long term evolutions, which could help us to better understand how their trajectories can be supported in the best way (Derluyn, Vindevogel, and De Haene 2012:881). Children everywhere should not loose their childhood, why if that child was you or better yet your brother, your sister, your cousin, son or daughter? What would you do? Worldwide, about 250,000 children are employed in armed conflicts, their time in the army or rebel group charges them with a range of difficult and possibly traumatizing experiences (Derluyn, Vindevogel, and De Haene 2012:869). Between 2008 and 2009, Unicef helped to reintegrate more than 24,000 former child soldiers, showing what can be achieved.

What Is Gotten Done? In 2000, the United Nations adopted an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The protocol prohibits the forced recruitment of children under the age of 18 or their use in hostilities. To date, it has been ratified by more than 110 countries. The ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labor prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under the age of 18 for use in armed conflict. It has been ratified by over 150 countries. In some countries, former child soldiers have access to rehabilitation programs to help them locate their families, get back into school, receive vocational training, and re-enter civilian life. However, many children have no access to such programs. They may have no way to support themselves and are at risk of re-recruitment

“They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children”

Reference: Brooks, Joy. “The Struggle of Girl Soldiers Returning Home.” Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Dallaire, Romeo “They Fight Like Soldiers They Die Like Children.” Walker & Company, New York. Derlyn, Ilse., Vindevogel, Sofier., and De Haene, Lucia “Toward The Future: Implications of Research and Intervention with Traumatized Former Child Soldiers.” Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Felton, John “Child Soldiers.” CQ Global Researcher,

Reference: Human Rights Watch Retrieve from: Singer, P.W “Children at War.” Pantheon Books, New York. Tyne, Robert., and Early, Bryan R “Government, Rebels, and the Use of Child Soldiers in Internal Armed Conflicts: A Global Analysis, ” Wallace, Michael “Child Soldiers From Violence to Protection.” Harvard University Press.