Child Soldiers Persuasive Essay

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

The use of child soldiers have become a normal contribution to armies, especially in countries such as Africa. Although, countries such as Afghanistan, India, and Libya have been using child soldiers since 2011. According to “Children in Conflict: Child Soldiers,” there has been 36 countries involved since 1998. Something needs to be done about this issue due to the fact that thousands of

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.

First, children are recruited into government armies or any private organization because they are acquiescent to people who tend to be older than them.

A lot of the children interviewed within the first chapter of Peter W. Singer’s book Children at War are under the age of 12. They speak of torturing people in the most horrific of ways. Such as when joining the paramilitaries, A., age twelve, states that the first thing they make you do is kill someone. A random person is picked for the recruits to chop off his hands and arms. It is important to realize however, that not all of these child soldiers are as young as 7. Singer explains that a “A ‘child soldier’ is generally defined (under both international law and common practice) as any person under eighteen years of age who is engaged in deadly combat or combat support as part of an armed force or group.” What is most horrendous is

Suicide bombers, rebel groups, minefield clearers, and soldiers are words used to describe these children in a terrible situation. In places like Afghanistan, Iran, and Guantanamo Bay children as young as 5 years old are apprehended from their families, and are taken to army camps to fight against the U.S-backed government. These children are so innocent, but many think that they need to be arrested for what they are doing. Instead of playing on a playground with their families they are brainwashed, drugged, forced to kill, and poisoned with alcoholic beverages.

Children all across world are being exploited as child soldiers. Everyday kids younger the age of 10 are putting their lives on the line mostly by force. ¨Over the last ten years, two million children have been killed in conflict. Over one million have been orphaned, over six million have been seriously injured or permanently disabled and over ten million have been left with serious psychological trauma.¨(Children In Conflict). A child soldier is a child with armed forces; they’re trained to fight, cook, be porters, messengers, informant spies, etc. Countries all across the world have been using children to fight, places like the United Kingdom, Africa, and Asia lean on children to do their dirty work regardless of what laws are put into place for recruitment age.

It’s estimated 300,000 child soldiers are still in the world today in at least twenty countries. Sierra Leone was just one of them. Forcing AK-47’s on children in the midst of war (1991-2002.) Adults once forced to be a child soldiers still have vivid, traumatic memories from their brainwashed childhood. They have their innocent childhoods taken away from being on the front lines of combat & have to grieve for the separation from their family. It’s key for everyone to understand what children are going through in other countries not as fortunate as yours.

In the middle east there is a lot of war, and a lot of fighting. These wars are brutal and part of the reason for that is because of child soldiers. In the sub sahara part of Africa, countries force young children to fight in wars. Some may think that these children are perpetrators, but it is obvious that these children are victims of brutal and unsophisticated crimes. They should be forgiven for their crimes and the people behind the real atrocity of forcing children to fight in wars, should be arrested and punished harshly.

Going back to the topic of the child soldiers getting taken from their families, brainwashed and drugged. Most child soldiers are taken from their homes and are trained to kill people. Although I understand that some of them volunteer to join, they

Greater attention and action against the worldwide use of child soldiers need to be addressed by the world community because children are being forced out of their homes, traumatized by all of the killings and dying surrounding them and they are being starved and beaten. Today, there are thousands of children involved in these armed jobs all around the world. There is an estimated 3,000 children, many under 16, including 500 girls in the army. (“Child Soldiers”)

Because of that, the child soldiers are not morally responsible for the actions they perform. As said before, the children are easily brainwashed through alcohol and mainly drugs, so it’s not like they can say yes or no if they are asked if they are willing to be recruited into the

These kids are truly in danger and need to be given amnesty. It says in the article Should Child Soldiers be Prosecuted for Their War Crimes?, that “Child soldiers are not morally responsible for their actions, children are often forced into fighting and have little choice over whether or not they enlist. After that, they are following orders of adults rather than acting of their own free will. The recruiters of child soldiers also use drugs and alcohol to make children more compliant and to enable them to commit acts they would not ordinarily commit. Child soldiers should therefore not be held responsible for actions they were forced to commit and had little understanding of.”.

These kids need to prove that we can integrate them back into society. These children should be able to prove that they no longer carry or have any violent tendencies. While these kids need to pass these texts they also need to be being helped. ”The truth and reconciliation commissions and disarmament, demobilization and reconciliation, often abbreviated TTR and DDR, are far better ways of helping children recover and reintegrate into society and out of war”(Annan, 1) The child soldiers are coming from a past where they are forced into violence and murder.

Throughout the world children younger than 18 are being enlisted into the armed forces to fight while suffering through multiple abuses from their commanders. Children living in areas and countries that are at war are