Child Soldiers Research Paper

For years the use of children in both conflict between states and civil war has been evident, children are being forced by bad people and throughout their false promises. Even this getting too far people don’t know what to do they’re afraid to defend themselves because they know what the commanders could do to them. They think they don’t have a way out. And even the parents are giving out their own children because they

Recently, two million children have died over the past ten years due to becoming a child soldier. A huge deplorable development that has extended recently is the increase of child soldiers. Children are constantly being used as soldiers for various reasons. In some countries, there are more child soldiers than they are adults because children are more compliant. Children have been exploited as soldiers because they are being recruited to do a violent action, it is difficult for them to, later on, assimilate back to their lives, and child soldiers are regularly used in developing countries.

What are child soldiers? Child soldiers are people under eighteen who partake in either a regular or irregular armed group in any way. According to Warchild there are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world and often as a part of their recruitment they are forced to either kill or maim a loved one so that they cannot go back home. In Ishmael Beah’s novel A Long Way Gone (Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) the author recounts his life as a child soldier fighting on the government side in Sierra Leone from age thirteen to sixteen. This paper will be attempting to answer the questions of why certain armed groups use children, why it is wrong to do so, and how people are taking a stand to stop it.

These are the words of a 15-year-old girl in Uganda. Like her, there are an estimated 300,000 children under the age of eighteen who are serving as child soldiers in about thirty-six conflict zones (Shaikh). Life on the front lines often brings children face to face with the horrors of war. Too many children have personally experienced or witnessed physical violence, including executions, death squad killings, disappearances, torture, arrest, sexual abuse, bombings, forced displacement, destruction of home, and massacres. Over the past ten years,

The case of Thomas Lubango Dyilo 2006, further exemplifies the breaches of the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child (1989) (CROC) and the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Thomas became the first person ever arrested under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He was accused of conscripting child soldiers under the age of 15 in armed conflicts during 2002 and 2003. It breached one of the most important international human rights treaties, CROC, as Article 38 clearly states the minimum age of recruitment as 15 and creates responsibilities to prevent and reduce harm to all children partaking in these armed conflicts. In addition, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), it is estimated that approximately 300 000 children today are involved in more than 30 conflicts as child soldiers worldwide in countries such as Sudan and Uganda either through force or sexual exploitation. This effectively breaches the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999), which prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under the age of 18 as it is one of the worst forms of child labour. Hence, there are both domestic and international laws that have been breached in relation to child

When you picture a child, do you picture a once innocent but now traumatized, once caring but now bloodthirsty child carrying a gun taller than himself. This is what a child soldier would look like. These kids are As of 2013, there are approximately 300,000 children serving in militaries or in radical groups around the world. They are either volunteered or have been taken by force into these militias, but most who volunteer have lost their family to the tragedies of war. These children are victims. Victims of abuse and victims of violence. They have been abandoned on the streets with nowhere to go but the military, the children are exposed to terrible things, and some of the girls who are in these fighting groups are being abused and harassed.

The issue of child soldiery is a social issue that plagues society on a global scale. For instance, The Global Report 2008 which was edited by UNICEF and Child Soldiers Global Institution reported that 19 countries and territories employed children in government forces as well as non-state armed groups. Some countries include Iraq, Sudan, Uganda, and Somalia (Deak, 2013, p. 1). It is impossible to state the exact number of child soldiers around the world; however, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations estimate that that there are about 250,000 to 300,000 child soldiers (Szijj, 2010, p.4) It is evident that that child soldiery is an epidemic thus, I will investigate what social and political factors are responsible

It is common for child soldiers had no choice in joining war efforts. Often child are kidnapped and forced into the war: “It is estimated that over the last 15 years 10,000 children have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) around Gula in northern Uganda, alone” (Children in Conflict). In places where poverty is high parents may send their children into the war in exchange for food or monetary value (Children as Soldiers). During Hitler’s reign, young boys were forced to attend Hitler Youth: “Membership in the State Youth becomes mandatory. The boys in Werner’s kameradschaften are taught parade maneuvers and quizzed on fitness standards and required to run sixty meters in twelve seconds. Everything is glory and country and competition and sacrifice” (Doerr 62). Children in wars are also subjected to sexual abuse from adult soldiers around them. The emotional impact from the sexual abuse and the highly dangerous situations they are placed in may last for the rest of their lives (Child Soldier 46). The use of child soldiers has been banned since 2000 when the United Nations adopted a protocol stating that the forced recruitment of children under 18 for armed conflict is illegal. More than 110 countries have ratified this protocol, but it continues to be an issue around the world (Facts About Child

Children are one of the many victims of conflicts especially in places like Syria and Sudan where there is a constant exchange of combat. Many children lose their families or are abducted by one side and are left with nothing. These children have no choice but to join with which ever side will accept them, “Bosco was six years old when he was handed a machete by Ugandan rebels led by Joseph Kony. They demanded he kill his little sister (Juli)... Juli was five. She had to die because she couldn 't keep up with the rebels ' pace as they moved to the next location.” (Christina Ruta, 2013). The children that are pushed into military forces often are intimidated into following orders through means like

Secondly, Childrens are easier to be controlled than an adult. The reason why is because when you tell a child that you will give them something in return of a favor the child will agree to do it , but for an adult it is harder to convince them. Many groups tend to have more child soldiers because of this reason. An example of this would be Al Shabaab. When children join organizations like these there are several effects. Many children can get mental illnesses because when they are in war their brains captures the horrible moments, a type of illness that may occur is Anxiety Disorder. Another issue that faces many child soldiers is the requirements that they have to accomplish. For example, their commander might tell them that they have to

In our society, we have many issues, but there is one issue that I will be discussing it is child soldiers.Child soldiers are children who are under the age of 18 who are recruited by a state or non-state armed groups and used as fighters, cooks, suicide bombers, human shields, messengers, spies.Found in many countries, for example, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen.These are some of the countries that have child soldiers.All these countries 40% and above of their population are 15-year-olds which forces them to have child soldiers.Because their population for adults is way too low.Since 1998 there have been armed events including child soldiers in at least 36 district

The practice of conscripting children forcefully to soldiers is one of the most nefarious forms of slavery in the modern world. In the late 20th and early 21st century it was a rising conflict and a common occurrence in places such as Iran, Liberia, and Uganda. Human rights activists recognized that the use of child soldiers will increase in the near future, as well as involving the conflict of HIV/AIDS in these areas and the increase of the youth population. Children are enslaved, captured, and abused under the hired gun. They are forced to do certain tasks requested by whoever recruited them. Children are vulnerable and they can be manipulated easily. According to the article Background and History of Child soldiers “In Asia, the key recruiters

Around 120,000 adolescent children are now engaged in conflicts throughout Africa (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 4). In Sudan, for instance, thousands of children, some as young as 12, were recruited against their will into separatist and government groups (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 5). Thousands more children have been enlisted into the armed forces throughout Asia and the Pacific. The most significant numbers are in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and recently, Cambodia. Myanmar, a country in Asia, has some of the most child soldiers throughout the world, with children being recruited into both non-government and government armed forces (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 6). The number of child soldiers has been decreasing annually, but these children are still being taken against their will.

The day is muggy with not a cloud in the sky. A loose Militia of young children march across a forest floor, each one carrying a massive assault rifle like a normal soldier would. The enemies are spotted and the air fills with fire and lightning while copper bullets pile up on the ground. For years, countries have been using children as soldiers to aid themselves in war. Children are taken from their families are are quickly taught to carry a gun and kill whoever the recruiter said was evil. Since these murder machines are children, people wonder if they should be given Amnesty. These children should not be given Amnesty unless under certain circumstances. In order for children to fight, they must be brainwashed. Child soldiers are aggressively

There is an estimated 300,000 active child soldiers today, not including the nearly half a million children who serve in armies not in active war. 40% of the world’s armed organizations have children in their ranks. (1) According to the 2004 Global Report of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, between the years 2001 to 2004 Burundi, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Myanmar, and Uganda were the sources to the majority abundance of child soldiers in the world. (2)