Should Child Soldiers Be Prosecuted For Children's Crimes

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.

They include messengers, porters, spies, and sex slaves. So great is the diversity of tasks that many advocates now prefer the less punchy but more accurate term, children associated with fighting forces.” (Gates para 5) Why should an undereducated child who hasn’t committed any crimes besides being involved in a war that they didn’t want to fight be prosecuted for anything. Another example of how some child soldiers aren’t killers comes from an article titled “Prosecuting Child Soldiers For Their Own Safety.” this article says that not all child soldiers murder but some cook or as said in the article “Most girls are forcibly abducted and given roles as cooks, porters, spies, “wives”, and in combat, says Susan McKay of the University of Wyoming, who has interviewed girl soldiers throughout central Africa.” (Leahy para 10) clearly not all children in combat have committed crimes but are rather victims and shouldn’t be prosecuted for being in the military but should be helped and given a second chance at their

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.

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

One topic that has been debated recently is whether child soldiers from other countries are victims or perpetrators, and whether they should be given amnesty or not. Many believe that child soldiers are the victims, since they have no choice but to join or else they would be killed, and should also be given amnesty since they don’t know what they are doing because they are filled up with drugs. However, those child soldiers should be mentally sane to be given amnesty and earn their citizenship the way immigrants earn their citizenship.

* Men yelling in your face. Women screaming for their children’s lives. Imagine all of a sudden you are brainwashed and turned into a killing machine. How would you feel if you were made a slave to a cause you didn't even understand. This sounds like it's straight from a movie, right? Well, the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) and Revolutionary United Front (RUF) used tactics like these towards children in order to indoctrinate them. In 1991, the start of the Sierra Leonean civil war, many children were drafted and forced into the RUF and SLA armies. The armies brainwashed the children and aimed them at the opposing force. By indoctrinating children it is stripping them from their necessary human rights and harm is put on these children. Tactics used by the militaries are against moral standards in every way shape and form. *

Children who were once soft-hearted, and full of innocence, are now transformed into horrifying killers, and crime committers. Some children that are old as seven commit inconceivable violations, such as killing parents and siblings, striking neighbors, torching the villages they once called home. Their vulnerability was the key to warlords to create them into coldhearted killers. Around 70% of an estimated, 11,000 child soldiers are serving with rebel groups, including the notorious white Army known for sending thousands of children into battle.

For several years the use of children are being used in both civil and state wars. Over 300,000 children are being used and hundreds of thousands are being sent to war in 36 different armed conflicts global (Children of war). These children are as young as 8 years old they have committed some of the most violent acts of crime such as rape, mutilation and mass murders of innocent civilians but some of this children are forced and drugged but also some have volunteered so real questions is should the Child Solders be prosecuted for their crime or can they be rehabilitated?

People brainwash the children at a very young age into think that it is an honor to fight in the military. Imagine you growing up and seeing videos in the center of the town about joining and seeing people get terrorized for not joining. According to an article, “The Challenges of the African Criminal Court in Prosecuting Child Soldiers”, “Kids are brainwashed.” This evidence tells you that they make the kids think that what they are doing is right but it’s really not. They use many mechanisms to brainwash the children. They often drug them using types of alcohol, and a mix of gunpowder and cocain. The next step is to bring them into a small area packed with children. They then show the innocent kids videos of live or

Child soldiers have killed too many people to just let them go in the open world, whether it is America, London, etc. Child soldiers are no different from child and even adult criminals. According to Child Soldiers, Prosecution, child soldiers are responsible for acts of rape, mutilation and mass killings of civilians. Some people never fully heal from traumatic experiences like mass killings and just individual child soldiers killing dozens of people during war. Therefor, even child soldiers can and should be responsible for the worst of crimes.

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

In the article, “Analysis: Should Child Soldiers Be Prosecuted For Their Crimes?” it said the child soldiers were, “Pushed by their commanders to do perpetrating atrocities.” This just goes to show that the children did these horrible things because they were told that it was okay, and that is what they were instructed to do. Also, In the CBS interview with Ishmael Beah, referring to his commanders and fellow child soldiers said, “you develop a strong sense of attachment to these groups and at this time these people are the only type of structure you have in any way.” and also, “you want to please them.” This proves that the children look up to the commanders as a role model, and they think of the other soldiers almost as family. Lastly, in the CBS interview with Ishmael Beah he said, “The sergeants begin to look like older brothers,” and, “The commanders begin to look like your father figure.” This just illustrates that the child soldiers have no body other than the commanders and sergeants to look up to, so they do look up to them, but they are not very good role models. Furthermore, the commanders are not good people for these children to be looking up to, so naturally they learn that doing bad things is okay, and that is all they

The only exception being that child criminals are prosecuted. Unlike the child criminals who were not forced into killing, most child soldiers were. These children also lack mental knowledge and maturity to make crucial decisions. “They lack the mental development and judgement to express consent or to fully understand the implications of their actions… and are pushed by their adult commanders into perpetrating atrocities.” There is also a lot of research that proves children's minds are not fully developed until adulthood. “The section of the brain known as the frontal lobes controls decision making and only fully develops well into your 20’s.” Children simply lack the ability to think of the long term effect of their

“Compelled to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed, child soldiers are forced to give violent expression to the hatreds of adults” (“Child Soldiers” 1). This quotation by Olara Otunnu explains that children are forced into becoming weapons of war. Children under 18 years old are being recruited into the army because of poverty issues, multiple economic problems, and the qualities of children, however, many organizations are trying to implement ways to stop the human rights violation.

Throughout history, many children have found themselves caught up in warfare. Sometimes, these children intentionally put themselves into war, like when up to 250,000 boys signed up to join the British Army during World War I (James). However, more often than not, these children are forced into combat. This is especially true when you consider how terrorist groups have been using children to their advantage in recent years. During the last decade alone, UNICEF estimates that around 2 million children were killed due to war (“Children in War”).