300,000 children around the world fight in wars instead of going to school, would you want to be in that situation?Children that have commited war crimes are often the topic for controversy, should they be given amnesty, or should they be prosecuted?Around the world, wars are occuring, and children are taking part in it. In countries like Sierra Leone, kids are joining armies to fight for them, and this can lead them to be involved in war-crimes. Adults that break the laws are usually arrested, but it’s a different story for the children. These children that fight alongside armies should be given amnesty even though they have committed crimes because of their particular situations. One of the main reasons why Child soldiers should be given …show more content…
Evidence that prove this can be found in the article “Child Soldiers Should Be Prosecuted” and it states “They may also be selective because of lack of evidence or an overloaded justice system, so not every child soldier will be prosecuted. It is better to have a comprehensive program of rehabilitation so that all child soldiers can be reintegrated into society and rehabilitated.” The article quotes that other methods might include rehabilitation, that might be better for the kids and the society. Specifically a part in the Article “Child Soldiers:Victims or Perpetrators?” states “In addition to this, many believe, including me, that rehabilitation should be the aim and not punishment.The Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reconciliation program, often abbreviated TTR and DDR, are far better ways of helping children recover and reintegrate back into society and out of war.” The quote clearly explains that the rehabilitation should also be the aim and not a punishment because it is a more effective way to change the life of the kids and also of the society that surrounds
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.
One significant piece of evidence to support the claim that child soldiers are both the victims and be given amnesty is Ishmael who is a former child soldier who has been given amnesty and he tells others about his experience as a child soldier. He was taking refuge in a camp and forced to be a soldier. Before, he and other child soldiers went on missions they were given drugs and he does not remember much of what he had done. This piece of evidence supports the claim that child soldiers are the victims and should be given amnesty, because it shows that they do not have a choice in becoming a soldier and are given drugs so they are not are thinking clearly and they don’t know what they are doing.
First off, child soldiers are often forced to be recruited. “Often they are abducted at school, on the streets or at home.” ("From Cradle to War." Amnesty International. Amnesty International USA, Web. 3 May 2016.) Almost all child soldiers are forced to do things as a soldier that they wouldn’t actually do, such as hurt or kill others. So although some child soldiers want to hurt or kill, most don’t want to. So obviously, most child soldiers are forced to do bad things that they don’t want to do, and wouldn’t do if they hadn’t become a soldier.
The thought of a child behind bars for war crimes is atrocious. People may see it as justified though. Those people see it as fair to have a child that was manipulated and drugged into fighting be faced with the crimes they had contributed to. On one side of the argument, child soldiers should not be granted amnesty because most are fully aware of what their doing when enlisting. On the other side, child soldiers should be granted amnesty. More often than not children have no say in whether they enlist or not and once recruited the children become brainwashed from the usage of drugs and alcohol. Systematic drug taking is especially reported among West African-based militia movements. In fact, some authors consider hallucinatory drug intake
All around the world there are nearly 300,000 child soldiers. Should they all be prosecuted as criminals, or given the chance to change in rehab facilities? This is a very touchy topic for many people, as they may have been personally affected by child soldiers involved in violent conflicts all over the world. There are many ways the children could get into these awful wars. They could be forced into it via poverty, loss of parents, loss of home, or they join the army on their own accord, believing that they are helping the rebel cause. Child soldiers are becoming more and more common in poverty or war stricken countries. Should these children be prosecuted for doing things they have no interest in doing or be treated as victims and be allowed
On average half of the children who are fighting on rebel armies in africa were kidnapped and forced to take drugs, most of these kids are not even 15 years old but they have to fight or they will be killed by the rebel commanders. If any of these children escape the war they may have many years to a life time of PTSD and become scarred for life. From this I believe that child soldiers are victims and should not be punished by what rebels force them to do.
Child soldiers should be given amnesty for what they did in the battlefield. Usually they are all drugged up by their commanders to know what they're doing is wrong.
The kids are too far gone, and too mentally damaged to ever go back to normal. “‘You know, it really is not difficult to turn a child into a killer,’ said Beah. "It requires serious coercion and extreme violence, which in the context of war can happen easily.’” This shows that it is more difficult to rehabilitate a child than it is the turn him into a child soldier. This proves that child soldiers are too deep in to be
Did you know that more than 200,000 children around the world were forced into the brutalities of war and participated in acts of criminality? Many people believe child soldiers should be given amnesty and forgiven for the crimes they have committed. Child soldiers are homeless, kidnapped, and/or parentless children who were manipulated by officials in the military. Kids, as young as the age of 10, go to military bases to seek shelter and then are fed with drugs which disengaged with reality. Brainwashed, these kids are put into war and forced to fight for a certain side. Child soldiers should be given amnesty because they are forced to participate in War, they are taken from the streets or their homes and used because they are easy to manipulate, and they have been robbed from their childhood and have their still progressing brains to grow into a warlike mindset.
So instead of trying to punish them for their actions, should they be given amnesty instead? There are many reasons to why child soldiers even do what they do. According to the article Child Soldiers - Summative Essay, many of them are forced to join out of their own will. This includes them being kidnapped from their family and taken to some military camp to being forcefully recruited into serving a specific fighting group. Children are forced to serve by commanders through false promises, drugs, and other things that are unimaginable.
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.
All around the world more than 10 million children under the age of 18 are fighting in a war. More than half voluntarily, and the other fourth forced. These children are drugged, and taught that it is good to be a slaughterer, a murderer. Yes, some don’t have a choice. But to think of all the things they were mindlessly taught. Do you really think they can change, just like that? Child soldiers have been responsible for some of the most brutal and violent acts in wartime, and many who are released into the real world, end up going back into their old ways. Not prosecuting child soldiers may encourage commanders to use more child soldiers to commit war crimes that would otherwise be punished if an adult did them. Do we really want a bunch of
Child soldiers are struggling with recovering from their unbearable life they lived involving wars and deaths. These are children who become fearless and careless on killing innocent lives such as their own blood, in order to keep themselves alive. These children are either considered victims or perpetrators, but their isn’t a wrong or right answer. Child soldiers live in a terrible place that isn’t required for these children. Throughout society today there has been multiple arguments on how to categorize these children in. Some may argue, Child soldiers are perpetrators because they’re well matured to make their own decision and are well capable of having protection. However, others may argue that these children are victims because they’re
Child soldiers have and still are a big problem in our world. These children suffer everyday from the pain and torture they experienced at war. Most child soldiers are drugged and are not aware of what they are doing. They were involuntarily chosen to commit terrible crimes and were threatened if they did not do otherwise. Many are terrified of these threats. Although many say that child soldiers will never change, they will never change if we never help them. These child soldiers should not be prosecuted or punished and instead be helped for all the trauma they have experienced.They should have the opportunity to be helped after being drugged and scarred, after being raped, and being forced to do things they did not want to do. Should these children be prosecuted for something they did not have a say in?
Child Soldiers Most Americans don’t want war in America, the sad fact is that it is already here. In the sad issue of child soldiers first arose in World War One and has stuck around in many foreign countries. America has fought the war of deciding whether or not the child soldiers should be put on trial for killing American soldiers. The issue of Child soldiers is complicated and there are very plausible point for both arguments.