Argumentative Essay On Child Soldiers

Around the globe, in the past and present, children are being recruited to fight as soldiers in wars sometimes as young as 5 and up until they are 18 or older. These children soldiers should not be given amnesty because giving them amnesty could give others encouragement to keep using them, everyone has the same rights which means everyone has the same consequences, and some child soldiers have committed the most violent and harsh acts in wartime, and they can be dangerous to keep in our country.

Child soldiers are victims to an unfortunate outcome when viciously stolen from reality and their childhoods. Drugged, brainwashed,and armed these kids are taught at an impressionable age that in war it's kill or be killed. They are given no other option than to participate in this war, so child soldiers should be granted amnesty.

One topic that has been debated recently is whether child soldiers from other countries are victims or perpetrators, and whether they should be given amnesty or not. Many believe that child soldiers are the victims, since they have no choice but to join or else they would be killed, and should also be given amnesty since they don’t know what they are doing because they are filled up with drugs. However, those child soldiers should be mentally sane to be given amnesty and earn their citizenship the way immigrants earn their citizenship.

Many child soldiers have done very bad things to innocent people.Child soldiers are responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. Many may argue that drugs and alcohol influenced the children to make the decisions that they should not have made. It takes too many resources to figure out if they are still a threat to our society. Even after intense counseling and therapy, we will never know for sure that they are cured unless we let them into the public's eye. Child soldiers should not deserve amnesty.

Imagine looking around you and seeing children your age and younger falling to their knees in pain, imagine hearing guns and screams all around you, now just imagine you are one of those children falling to their knees in pain and you had no choice to join into this gruesome reality that children 5-15 and older have to participate in without a choice. This is just an example of what most children have to go through for weeks or maybe months at a time. This is exactly why I'm against the prosecution of child soldiers. The deeds that they perform are because they have either been manipulated, have no choice, or they just don't know right from wrong. Prosecuting a child soldier is probably the worst decision ever and here is why.

Picture this, you’re a nine year old boy fighting against men and other young boys your age. You are stationed in the philippines, where you were also abandoned by your parents, as they fled to a safer place. You are brainwashed, taught how to clean, and reload guns in the first few weeks you are there. How would this make you feel? Kids as young as eight, are dealing with this problem, they are getting drugged and used to fight for their country. Everywhere they look violence is near and cannot be escaped. Child soldiers are threatened, brainwashed, and bribed in order to fight and they are used to get money, meaning the young kids are being sold. These children are also illegally forced to become child soldiers. The things these kids go through are horrifying to even

Although not everyone knows it, there is a huge tragedy that is, and has been, going on even at this exact moment. That tragedy is children being taken out of their ordinary lives, whether by force or not, away from their families and into battle. Despite how much these children went through in the wars, the question still remains: once the war is over, should they be granted amnesty, or be prosecuted? The answer to this comes from thorough research. Child soldiers should be granted amnesty because they are unaware of what they are doing, they need help rather than prosecution, and many are forced to fight.

Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by a state or non-state armed group and used as fighters, cooks, suicide bombers, human shields, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes. In the opinion of many people including parents, children, and political figures, the use of children in wars or for the purpose of being soldiers is unfair and wrong. Therefore, based on all of the cruelties the children face such as their lives being threatened, their being taken from their families and forced to commit these heinous acts, and not being treated fairly while they are serving, it is in many’s opinion that these children be given amnesty, and are forgiven for their acts.

Most importantly, child soldiers shouldn’t be granted amnesty because they slaughtered people. A particularly compelling example of this is when a military commander said “If you tell them to kill, they kill.” in an article written by Jeffrey Gettleman (Packet page 6). This

Children have been forced to fight in the army, in the middle of a war. Ages 9-13 are given deadly weapons in a innocent hand for war matters. Whatever the general says, they do. Most of these children are threatened with their lives, or threatened with their loved ones lives. No matter what, they have to listen to the generals command. Even though these children committed horrible acts during their time in war they should be given amnesty or legally forgiven by the United Nations. Others may have their own opinion on this situation but these child soldiers should be given amnesty.

If child soldiers should not be held accountable for their actions, then neither should adults. Which, could be a reason why society continues, time and time again, to charge children as adults in times of war. So that they can punish both parties without looking like the bad guy. Is that just, to punish children for fighting in a war? These children have already gone through very, very hard times. Most of their parents have died, and then they were threatened to either join the war efforts or die. Once the children join the war, they are forced to do drugs and kill people. Unlike most adult soldiers who join for a “cause.” Therefore, the reason why we shouldn’t punish children for wars they can’t control, is because they never willingly went to war, they’ve gone through sufferable trauma, and it’d be more helpful if people listened to them instead of punishing them automatically.

Child soldiers should be given amnesty because they were drugged under the influence to shoot. “Thousands of boys, some as young as 10 are purchased, kidnapped or terrorized into joining the country’s army.”(Gentlemen) Children aren’t at the age to be responsible when drugged. Children have the choice to live and kill or be killed. The people who use the child soldiers are drugging them to kill with little thought. Child soldiers should be given amnesty because they are influenced.

One question that is going around is that are child soldiers criminals or victims? Have you ever imagined that you get your childhood taken away because your military needs you more and then they put you in like a ‘camp’ type area because the military needs you to serve for them. They brainwash you to serve in the war. This has been happening in the middle east and some people do not even know about it that's why I think these innocent children that get brainwashed and don’t even know what’s right are very much victims.

Many countries have ongoing wars that are affecting families and citizens, but most importantly the children. Terrorist and rebel groups are recruiting and drugging young children to force them to fight on their side of the war. The debate is whether or not Child soldiers should be granted amnesty after they are rescued from these devastating situations. Many children are forced into fighting and should be granted amnesty in order to help them recover. Theses kids were too young to truly understand what they are doing.

Child soldiers, each of them are unique individuals each with their own backstory, believes, and level of participation in the war; therefore, they should be treated as so. A ‘one size fits all’ policy would not be fair, and so we should have each child soldier go through a recovery process that includes psychological evaluation, therapy, medical treatment, and an assimilation into a new life. This would help them heal, but from that we can also find those who still strongly believe in their terrorist’s group message and those who have completely moved on from it. For justice to be done, we will give freedom for those who deserve it and prosecute those who deserve it.