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Khadr Child Soldier

Decent Essays

In the 21st century, human rights have come to the forefront of Canada’s international policy issues, with peacekeeping initiatives being sent around the globe. These human rights initiatives are being met with wholly support from the rest of the world, as Canada is regarded “as a beacon for human rights in this troubled world” (Mcleod). With this in mind, it is perplexing that a man whose rights were egregiously violated by both the Canadian and American governments has met such fierce public opposition to a monetary settlement. Omar Khadr was a mere fifteen years of age when he was accused of throwing a grenade, killing U.S. Army Sergeant Christopher Speer after the troop that Sgt. Speer was with attacked an Al-Qaeda compound (Kay). Subsequently, …show more content…

Khadr actually qualifies as a child soldier in the eyes of international law, therefore acquitting him of guilt in the crimes he allegedly committed. In 2007, a human rights treaty called the Paris Principles were passed after being signed by 95 countries, classifying a child soldier as “any person below 18 years of age who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity…” (Logan). According to this definition, Omar Khadr is a clear example of a child soldier. With this in mind, there has been vast precedent set against the prosecution of child soldiers. For example, the infamous child soldiers of Joseph Kony are often forced to commit severe acts of torture. However, once freed, these soldiers are then rehabilitated, involving “the rebuilding of personality by the repetition of one simple message: it wasn’t your fault.” (Storr). In addition, the Paris Principles also state that child soldiers who commit crimes “should be considered primarily as victims of offences” (United Nations). Regardless of this evidence, many maintain that Khadr committed “personal and deliberate actions” (Byrne). However, since Khadr’s father was a prominent member of Al-Qaeda and introduced Omar to working for them at the tender age of 11 (Kay), Omar has significant justification for his actions as a member of Al-Qaeda. Based on the age that Omar was told to work for Al-Qaeda, he likely did not have any choice in the matter of joining arms against Canada and the United States. Most children do not have many choices offered to them at the age of eleven, especially when the choice at hand involves joining a parent’s terrorist group thousands of kilometres away from home. Therefore, Canada cannot assume that Khadr was doing “deliberate” actions with Al-Qaeda, rather it is likely that he was coerced into doing so by his powerful father.

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