The Issue Of Child Soldiers

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.

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.

“I would like to give you a message, please do your best to tell the world what is happening to us, the children. So that other children do not have to pass through this violence.”

These Children are being exploited from their families and then taking into custody. Human service reports that children are being brutally recruitment, by being taken away and often being harassed by older people. This is a society impact, this is a big problem, for the global impact, which can work together to reintegrate, child soldiers back to society to make them, a productive individuals. All around the world every child has dream of going to school and learning about everything, but in some states that's not the case they are compelled to become instruments of war kill, and to be killed. Child soldiers are being forced to give violent expression towards adults, they are often thought that adults are the main enemy and they are always thought that they are alone in this

Worldwide, the use of child soldiers is a huge issue. Today, there are over 300,000 child soldiers worldwide. Every one of these soldiers are heavily armed and dangerous. They have been becoming a threat to America and the world. No matter their age, they have done terrible thing in behalf of terrible causes. Even as America continues to bring these kids to back in hope to rescue them, most if not all attempts to civilize them have failed. These kids have been swindled, drugged and brainwashed. There is simply no hope for them to return to their right mind.

Imagine you are woken up one night to find a group kidnappers who are taking you away to serve in the military, and having to watch the killing of your parents right in front of you right after. This is what some young children, who are now soldier, had to experience. Vision.org states that “UNICEF reports that the LRA has abducted children as young as 5 but mostly between the ages of 8 and 16, often after killing their parents in front of them. The young “recruits” are then forced to march to southern Sudan. Those who can’t carry their loads or keep pace with the others are killed. Those who attempt escape are severely punished.” It is obviously not their fault that this is happening, therefore child soldiers should be given amnesty. Their commanders frequently drug them, there are countries funding certain militaries that allow child soldiers. This allows their commanders to keep drafting children. Finally, they are brainwashed during

Human-rights experts estimate around 200,000 children are still being used as child soldiers. Child soldiers should not be prosecuted, it’s just not right. Child soldiers are forced to kill, sometimes at war, and sometimes as terrorists. Child soldiers are usually drawn because they are provided safety and basic needs. They are not at fault, they should be given rehabilitation, and they are very unlike child criminals.

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

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

Child soldiers is a serious issue worldwide, there are about 300,000 children as young as nine years old involved in armed conflicts all around the globe today. This problem is most critical in Africa; however children are also used as soldiers in various Asian countries, parts of Latin America, Europe and Middle East. Children are used as child soldiers mostly by non government armed groups for many different reasons. Conditions are usually very harsh for the child soldiers and discipline is kept by brutal punishment. Life is very dangerous and characterized by a great amount of hard work in an environment that lack food, drinking water and no

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.

Children in military conflict are affected in various ways: they are in trauma, they are disabled physically and mentally or they are injured badly, and killed or tortured to an extent. Nations like Burma/Myanmar and ISIS(which is known as a nation) use child soldiers. Burma has the largest amount of child soldiers. Also, they do not have any human rights records.

Human rights violations are taking place all around the world, but one of the most catastrophic cases is the use of children in war. Even though - work on transition some children join because they feel they have no where else to go and want to belong to something, it doesn't make it alright for them to be exposed to the horrors of death at such a young age. The use of children in war is a human rights violation, a crime against humanity, and has serious physical, emotional, and psychological tolls on children and family members therefore the world should push to put an end to these atrocities.

Eisentager states “the three main reasons why children are good soldiers: ‘they obey orders; they are not concerned with getting back to their wife and family; they don’t know fear’”(3). In recent wars in Liberia the child soldier rate was 59% of their total armed forces (Alcinda and Sheldon 510). Children have become substitutes for adult soldiers. The lack of laws and regulations prohibiting child-soldiering may be a contributing factor to the recruitment and use of child soldiers. There are no international legal standards for the protection of the rights of children, and the existence of laws that prohibit the use of children under the age of 18 is in itself not enough to ensure that the of children in armed conflict is not actually taking place. The high demand of child soldiers is due to cultural factors, the absence of laws to protect the rights of children, and the ideal that children will obey orders better.