Should Child Soldiers be Granted Amnesty or Should they be Prosecuted? 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.
The first reason why child soldiers should be legally forgiven
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When dragged into war, many children and their families are in poverty, because of the effects of the war and, in some countries’ cases, simply because of the life they have always lived. Or, because of the poverty they are in, they choose to join the military in order to be fed, given a place to sleep, and provided with easier access to water. In both cases, once the war is over, they remain in the same poor state they were in when they started, or likely even worse. Also, during the fighting, once the kids were drugged, they continued to rely on their commanders for drugs. And, because of the addiction they gained, they are now facing even more health dangers than just having the drugs alone. Child Soldiers--Victims or Perpetrators? states, ¨...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 article goes on to describe the problems with prosecution. It reveals that the prosecution process can be drawn from a lack of evidence and is sometimes rather selective. Thus, it would be far more effective and a better solution to give child soldiers war relief rather than be …show more content…
The side that argues prosecuting the child soldiers says kids were given the option to stay or leave, and most chose to stay. That is only partly true. It is true that they are given the option. Yet, the children indirectly forced to stay. Because they have become addicted to the drugs the warlords gave them, they are now dependent on them for those drugs and simply cannot leave, as it reads on debatewise.org. Also, Ishmael Beah points out that through the war, they have gained a connection to their commanders and fellow soldiers. For some, including Ishmael, it is the only family they have left. So, they may, indeed, choose to stay, but not for the reason the many believe. Instead of staying for the fighting, the stay for of family. Those who argue that child soldiers should be considered the perpetrators also say that if we grant amnesty to the soldiers, there would be no justice for the victims they killed. This is completely agreeable and understandable. It is agreeable that there should be punishment given in order to fulfill justice for the victims. However, in order for justice to be fully satisfied, the children should not be the ones punished, but rather, the warlords who wish to come to the US from their country of origin. The warlords drug the child soldiers and kill those who do not follow orders. They also force some to join. If child soldiers were
Child soldiers are victims because they were drugged with cocaine and marijuana so then the kids will do what they were told, but i think child soldiers should get amnesty because they had no control of going into war or staying out of war. These kids were drugged and threatened to do all of these things and if the kids didn't do it then they would be shot or most likely killed.
Child soldiers are a problem that not many people think about anymore because people may believe that they are not a relevant issue.Child soldiers are still a very relevant and important issue. With terrorist groups like the infamous ISIS recruiting children.Former Child soldiers deserve amnesty because they don’t have a choice when becoming a soldier, they will make use of their second chance, and not all child soldiers are killers.
Children aren’t mature enough to make life or death decisions. All child soldiers should have a chance to be forgiven. “Others enlist ‘voluntarily’, usually because they see few alternatives.” ("From Cradle to War." Amnesty International. Amnesty International USA, Web. 3 May 2016.) Children aren’t wise enough to make the decision, and deserve a chance to be forgiven, just like an immigrant has a chance to become a citizen. And even though once someone is killed, they are permanently dead, the children who kill don’t really know what they’re
Letting children soldiers receive amnesty would show that the government doesn’t enforce the law for everyone. In the United States, children who have committed a crime can take responsibility for that act at the age of fourteen. Shouldn’t the same law be in place for people who have fought in a war over fourteen? Aren’t they committing a crime too, like killing soldiers. In Child Soldiers it says, “...Many believe that child soldiers are mere replicas of child criminals; child criminals are prosecuted...If a child can be convicted for murder under these domestic laws there should be no exception for child soldiers just because their crimes occurred in wartime.” This shows that children soldiers should not be forgiven because everyone should have equal consequences for equal acts, which means children soldiers should not be given
A lot of people disagree that children should not be prosecutions because they are not responsible for their actions and the only reason they are including young people is because they know that they would not be blamed but the kids are. Prosecution only happen after the war has ended so those who recruit child soldiers will not take this into consideration. Basically it’s saying prosecution only happens when a war it’s finish or about to start. So there’s no reason why the children should be blamed for their actions. Child soldiers often victims of the war
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 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.
Are you aware that right now, at this very moment, there is a group of young boys ages 8-13 who are clenching a gun being ordered to kill against their will? It’s understood that others opinions about the dangers of child soldiers being free are only because they don’t want to risk anything but, isn’t life all about taking risks? You risk your life leaving the house, and breathing. Also, countries should not prosecute child soldiers for the crimes they committed during wartime. There also should not be an international minimum age of criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Here are three reasons why they should not be prosecuted or held responsible. Also that there should not be an age limit. One. Children are afraid, young, and clueless. Two. Children are 99.99% of the time drugged, forced, and brainwashed. “Children are often brainwashed and drugged before they are forced to fight. Their vulnerability can allow warlords to make them into cold-blooded killers” (O'Neill 1 ). Three. Children are independent, lonesome, and they want/need a family. One that gives them love.
Child soldiers should be granted amnesty, because they were forced into their position. They were kidnapped and forced to be apart of a militia. They did not have a choice
As reported by Forbes.com 300,000 child soldiers are active in conflicts around the world. 40% of armed forces (including national armies, militias, gangs, terrorist organizations and resistance forces) in the world use children. They are then scared and change completely. Whether it is attitude or physically, the children are changed because of the horrible impact the grown adults on the little adolescents.These child soldiers should be given amnesty because they are brainwashed and manipulated, forced against their will, and are intimidated more easily than adults.
First, the children should be given amnesty because the soldiers are brainwashed and forced to fight. From the article, What We Can Learn from Child Soldiers, it says, “Child soldiers forced into military service… in the first few weeks of being abducted… they know what they are doing is wrong, but the more they kill people, the more they rape or do other things like that, their brain and moral compass switch off.” This quote shows how the children change from the time they are recruited to when they are in a fight and are killing people. Can you imagine a child as young as the age of ten
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
The number of conflicts involving child soldiers has dropped since 2004. Says there hasn't been many conflicts but they were forced to go into the war and do drugs even when they weren't fighting. They should receive amnesty they didn't even know what was happening half of the time. They were forced to go to the war they had NO say in it, they don't deserve to be prosecuted they they didn't even know what was happening half of the time, plus they couldn't control what they were doing they shouldn’t HAVE to die for someone else's actions.
While some child soldiers may deserve forgiveness and a second chance, the majority do not. Child soldiers are, unfortunately, a good strategic move. Adult soldiers will think twice before shooting one. These kids don’t have the mental maturity to understand that what they did was wrong. They were kidnapped at a very young age. Taxpayers have to pay to find out whether or not a child soldier is innocent. Witnesses are needed as well as psychologists. Unfortunately, it is too expensive to find out whether or not they deserve amnesty.
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.