Child soldiers - Global report 2008

CHILD SOLDIERS

Global Report 2008

COALIT ION TO STOP THE USE OF CHILD SOLDIER S

Girl soldiers and others gathered at a
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) event
in Tila, Rolpa district, Nepal.

Cover photo © Marcus Bleasdale 2005

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers was formed in May 1998 by leading non-
governmental organizations to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, both boys
and girls, to secure their demobilization, and to promote their reintegration into their
communities. It works to achieve this through advocacy and public education, research
and monitoring, and network development and capacity building.

The Coalition’s Steering Committee members are: Amnesty International, Defence for
Children International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation Terre des Hommes,
International Save the Children Alliance, Jesuit Refugee Service, and the Quaker United
Nations Office – Geneva. The Coalition has regional representatives in Africa, the
Americas, Asia and the Middle East and national networks in about 30 countries. The
Coalition unites local, national and international organizations, as well as youth, experts
and concerned individuals from every region of the world.

COALIT ION TO STO P T H E U S E O F C H I L D S O L D I E R S

www.child-soldiers.org

Child
Soldiers
Global
Report
2008

This report covers the period from
April 2004 to October 2007.

Countries/situations where children were recruited

or used in hostilities – April 2004 to October 2007

First published in 2008 by
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
9 Marshalsea Road (4th floor)
London SE1 1EP
United Kingdom

www.child-soldiers.org

© Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
ISBN 978-0-9541624-5-0
Original language: English

Text and cover design: www.intertype.com

Printed in the United Kingdom by Bell and Bain

Contents

World Map 2 the Grenadines, St Kitts Guinea 156
Acknowledgements 7 & Nevis, St Lucia 86 Guinea-Bissau 159
Preface 9 Central African Guyana 161
Introduction 12 Republic 88 Haiti 162
Afghanistan 40 Chad 91 Holy See 165
Albania 43 Chile 95 Honduras 166
Algeria 44 China 97 Hungary 167
Andorra 45 Colombia 99 Iceland 168
Angola 46 Comoros 106 India 169
Antigua and Barbuda 48 Congo, Democratic Indonesia 173
Argentina 49 Republic of the 106 Iran 176
Armenia 51 Congo, Republic of 113 Iraq 178
Australia 52 Costa Rica 115 Ireland 181
Austria 54 Côte d’Ivoire 116 Israel 184
Azerbaijan 56 Croatia 122 Italy 188
Bahamas 57 Cuba 124 Jamaica 189
Bahrain 58 Cyprus 125 Japan 191
Bangladesh 58 Czech Republic 127 Jordan 192
Barbados 61 Denmark 128 Kazakhstan 194
Belarus 62 Djibouti 129 Kenya 196
Belgium 63 Dominican Republic 130 Korea, Democratic People’s
Belize 64 Ecuador 131 Republic of 198
Benin 65 Egypt 134 Korea, Republic of 200
Bhutan 66 El Salvador 135 Kuwait 201
Bolivia 67 Equatorial Guinea 136 Kyrgyzstan 202
Bosnia-Herzegovina 70 Eritrea 137 Laos 204
Botswana 71 Estonia 140 Latvia 206
Brazil 72 Ethiopia 141 Lebanon 207
Brunei Darussalam 74 Fiji 144 Lesotho 210
Bulgaria 75 Finland 145 Liberia 211
Burkina faso 76 France 146 Libya 217
Burundi 77 Gabon 147 Liechtenstein 218
Cambodia 81 Gambia 148 Lithuania 219
Cameroon 84 Georgia 149 Luxembourg 221
Canada 84 Germany 151 Macedonia 222
Cape Verde 86 Ghana 152 Madagascar 223
Caribbean (Dominica, Greece 153 Malawi 224
Grenada, St Vincent & Guatemala 154 Malaysia 225

CHILD SOLDIERS GLOBAL REPORT 2008

Maldives 226 Qatar 282 Ukraine 351
Mali 227 Romania 283 United Arab Emirates 353
Malta 228 Russian Federation 284 United Kingdom 354
Mauritania 229 Rwanda 288 United States of
Mauritius 230 San Marino 290 America 358
Mexico 231 Sao Tome and Uruguay 362
Moldova 233 Principe 291 Uzbekistan 363
Monaco 235 Saudi Arabia 292 Venezuela 366
Mongolia 236 Senegal 293 Viet Nam 368
Montenegro 237 Serbia 294 Yemen 370
Morocco and Western Seychelles 295 Zambia 371
Sahara 238 Sierra Leone 297 Zimbabwe 372
Mozambique 239 Singapore 302 Summary of selected
Myanmar 240 Slovakia 303 international
Namibia 245 Slovenia 303 treaties 375
Nepal 246 Solomon Islands 304 Optional Protocol 378
Netherlands 250 Somalia 305 UN Resolution 1612 383
New Zealand 251 South Africa 308 Child soldiers 2008:
Nicaragua 252 Spain 310 data summary 389
Niger 253 Sri Lanka 311 Methodology, terms
Nigeria 255 Sudan 315 and definitions 410
Norway 257 Suriname 321 Glossary and explanatory
Occupied Palestinian Swaziland 322 notes 413
Territory 258 Sweden 323
Oman 262 Switzerland 324
Pacific Islands (Cook Is, Syria 326
Kiribati, Marchall Is, Taiwan 328
Micronesia, Nauru, Tajikistan 329
Niue, Palau, Samoa, Tanzania 331
Tuvalu, Vanuatu) 263 Thailand 333
Pakistan 266 Timor-Leste 335
Panama 268 Togo 337
Papua New Guinea 269 Tonga 339
Paraguay 271 Trinidad and Tobago 340
Peru 274 Tunisia 341
Philippines 276 Turkey 342
Poland 280 Turkmenistan 344
Portugal 281 Uganda 345

Acknowledgements

This report covers the period from April data summary chart which appears at the
2004 to October 2007. It contains detailed end of the report.
information on child soldier recruitment I would also like to thank editors
and use in 197 countries. Where relevant, Maggie Maloney, Sarah Pennington and
information is provided on disarmament, Philippa Youngman; and Maggie Maloney
demobilization and reintegration programs, and Philippa Youngman for copy-editing
and on justice and accountability measures the report. Country entries were researched
to address the problem. and drafted by a team of consultants. They
The project and the research were co- were Daniel Alberman, Lana Baydas, Emma
ordinated by consultant Donna Guest. The Blower, Marisé Castro, Alison Dilworth,
introduction was written by Coalition staff Mary Durran, Marjorie Farquharson,
member Lucia Withers, with contributions Sara Hamood, Catherine Hunter, Steve
from Victoria Forbes Adam and Brian Kibble, Don Lieber, Sarah Maguire,
Phillips. Coalition staff members Enrique Anoushka Marashilian, Roland Marchal,
Restoy, Lucia Withers and Heloise Ruaudel Ingrid Massagé, Matthew Naumann, Josh
and consultant Laura Fine reviewed and Ounsted, Sandrine Perrot, Brian Phillips,
revised draft entries for Africa, Asia and Hugh Poulton, Claudia Ricca, Kerry Smith-
the Middle East; Martin Nagler and intern Jeffreys and Lars Waldorf.
Chantal Scholten compiled large quantities Coalition members in Colombia,
of data to support the process. Regional France, Italy, Philippines, Spain and the
staff Dee Brillenburg Wurth, Emma De Vise United States researched and drafted their
and Ryan Silverio provided information, country entries. Information was provided
comments and reviews on entries for by national coalition members and partners
west Africa, the Great Lakes and south- in Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic
east Asia respectively. Ryan Silverio also Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Indonesia,
researched and drafted a number of entries. Israel, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian
Carissa Lopez and Heloise Ruaudel were Territory, Thailand, Uganda, the United
responsible for the cover design and States and Venezuela.
photographs respectively, and Enrique I am grateful to staff at the Office of
Restoy co-ordinated the translations. the Special Representative of the Secretary-
Invaluable administrative support, General for children and armed conflict, to
fundraising and financial management UN staff in relevant peacekeeping missions,
were provided throughout by Coalition staff and to UNICEF in New York and in field
members Andrew Lowton, Carissa Lopez offices around the world. They provided
and Carol Steel. A special debt of gratitude invaluable information, commentary and
is owed to Ratna Jhaveri, who spent many support throughout the duration of this
hours revising and updating numerous project. Thanks are due in particular to
complex entries as well as compiling the staff working on Central African Republic,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti,

Iceland, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, time and expertise to the project, to
Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri James and Sonia Nesbitt and to numerous
Lanka, Thailand and Zimbabwe. other organizations and individuals who
I would like to thank Salvatore Sagues supported the research and production
and Sara Dezaley for French translations, process.
the Permanent Peace Movement for Arabic The governments of Canada, France,
translations and Blue Box for Spanish Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway,
translations. I thank Martyn Partridge and Sweden and Switzerland provided financial
Francis McInally at Intertype for their invalu- support. Oakdale Trust, the Allan and Nesta
able support during the production process, Ferguson Charitable Trust and the Tides
and Beatriz Bellorin and Ian Wren for their Foundation also supported this project.
photographic expertise. Their continued support for the work of
We are grateful for the long-standing the Child Soldiers Coalition is greatly
support of Coalition Steering Committee appreciated.
members Jo Becker, Rachel and Derek This report is dedicated to child
Brett and Martin Macpherson. Thanks are soldiers and their children.
additionally owed to Robert Freer, David
Buchbinder, Linda Dowdney, Francesca Dr Victoria Forbes Adam
Pizzutelli, Halya Senyk and Maisy Director
Weicherding, who generously donated London April 2008

8 CHILD SOLDIERS GLOBAL REPORT 2008

Preface

Child soldiers. Two simple words. But they impressive and unprecedented number of
describe a world of atrocities committed international instruments are in place to
against children and sometimes by children. support efforts to “stop the use of child
Committed in many different countries soldiers”. They testify to an emerging global
and often hidden from the public eye. We consensus on this damaging practice. The
know how devastating these experiences Optional Protocol on the involvement of
are for children – thanks to the courage children in armed conflict has been ratified
and determination of those who have by 120 states; special war crime tribunals
spoken out and called on the international and the International Criminal Court are
community to take action on their behalf. becoming a more important means for
This Global Report, the third produced bringing the perpetrators of crimes against
by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child children to justice. The Security Council
Soldiers, elaborates on progress over the has established a working group to closely
past four years, confirming for example, monitor developments in states where child
that tens of thousands of child soldiers soldiers are used and the UN has devoted
have been demobilized during this period. substantial resources to this problem.
But as this meticulously documented Most recently, the Paris Principles and
report shows, tens of thousands more Guidelines on children associated with
have remained in or been newly recruited armed forces and armed groups have been
and used in armed conflicts – primarily by endorsed by 66 governments – they have
non-state armed groups, but also by some pledged to work for the release of all child
national armies. Governments have failed to soldiers from fighting forces, and to support
prevent the use of children by proxy forces programs which genuinely address the
and child soldiers who have escaped or complex needs of returning child soldiers.
been captured have been used as spies or In short, a rich body of international
sources of intelligence rather than provided instruments exists. Our challenge is to
with rehabilitation and reintegration ensure they are used to maximum effect.
support. Numerous governments persist in This will involve well-coordinated and multi-
recruiting under-18 year olds into national faceted actions by a wide range of actors,
armies, exposing them to military discipline, the exertion of pressure where it is needed,
hazardous activity, bullying, abuse and and sustained funding for programs to
possible deployment to war zones. assist returning child soldiers and other
There is an urgent need to increase war-affected children. Ultimately, success
all our efforts to prevent and eradicate the will depend on addressing root causes and
recruitment and use of children in armed building societies where the rights and
conflict. dignity of all children are upheld.
The Global Report 2008 shows Last but not least, organizations
that achieving this goal is far from easy. like the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child
Nevertheless, there is reason for hope. An Soldiers have played a vital role in the

CHILD SOLDIERS GLOBAL REPORT 2008

global movement to definitively end child This Global Report is an important
soldiering. For ten years the Coalition has record of progress made and the many
served as an independent global monitor obstacles yet to be overcome. May it inspire
for child soldiers; they have tirelessly us all to renew our efforts so that one day in
advocated for the right of all children to the near future we can shout: “Children are
protection from military exploitation; and free from involvement in war at last!”
they have substantially contributed to the
policy and human rights agenda regarding
child soldiers. Their partnerships with Professor Jaap E. Doek
grassroots organizations working with and Chairperson
for children in conflict zones have greatly Committee on the Rights of the Child
enriched all our knowledge of the realities 2001 to 2007
on the ground, and the challenges to be met
if we are to achieve our goals.


© Private source 2004
Ethnic Wa child soldier in the ceasefire group, the United Wa State Army, at a Wa region
checkpoint, Shan State, northern Myanmar

CHILD SOLDIERS GLOBAL REPORT 2008 11

INTRODUCTION

Child soldiers: progress,
but too little
We feel different because of the way other children look at us; it seems
as if we are not children born from this land. They view us as though we
come from a different place.
You cannot be completely happy with all these wounds – both in your
body and in your mind.1

Four years is a long time in a child’s life. trend is more the result of conflicts ending
Much can happen that will touch the rest of than the impact of initiatives to end child
their lives for good or for ill. Some children soldier recruitment and use. Indeed, where
may live their lives in situations of peace armed conflict does exist, child soldiers
and security. For countless others war will almost certainly be involved. The
continues to be all too real. Over this aspect majority of these children are in non-state
of the adult world they have little say and armed groups, but the record of some
no control. governments is also little improved.
Four years is sufficient for substantial The figures for conflict do not
developments in the life of a global reveal the whole picture. The military
movement. The last Global Report was recruitment of children (under-18s) and
published by the Coalition to Stop the Use their use in hostilities is a much larger
of Child Soldiers (Coalition) in November phenomenon, that still takes place in one
2004; since then the movement to end the form or another in at least 86 countries
use of child soldiers has seen continued and territories worldwide. This includes
progress towards a universal consensus unlawful recruitment by armed groups,
against their use in hostilities, witnessed by forcible recruitment by government forces,
the fact that over three-quarters of states recruitment or use of children into militias
have now signed, ratified or acceded to the or other groups associated with armed
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the forces, their use as spies, as well as legal
Rights of the Child on the involvement of recruitment into peacetime armies.
children in armed conflict. The findings make it clear that, despite
On the ground, the consensus would the high level of international attention on
appear to be reflected most clearly by the issue, the impact of that attention is
a decrease in the number of conflicts in yet to be felt by many children who are, or
which children are directly involved – from are at risk of becoming, child soldiers. They
27 in 2004 to 17 by the end of 2007. The have reinforced the fact that a complex
Coalition’s research for this Global Report range of co-ordinated responses by multiple
shows, however, that that this downward actors are required to achieve the goal


of preventing children’s involvement in
armed conflict, obtaining their release and Overview
supporting successful reintegration. This
will involve a more explicit recognition International efforts continue
of child soldiers on the agendas of those
involved in a whole range of initiatives, The international framework to protect
from conflict prevention, peacemaking and children from involvement in armed forces
mediation through to peace-building and and groups has been reinforced and efforts
longer-term development. have focused increasingly on field-level
Ultimately, if, over the next four years, implementation.
the international community is to make The first important steps towards
good its promise to protect children from establishing individual criminal
military exploitation, the level of political responsibility for those who recruit and use
will, the amount of human and financial children in hostilities have been taken. War
resources, the adherence to established crimes charges relating to the conscription,
best practice and the quantity as well enlistment and active participation in
as the quality of collaborative effort hostilities of children under 15 years old
and imaginative endeavour must all be have been issued by the International
multiplied. Criminal Court (ICC) against members of
armed groups in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. A landmark
in international justice was forged by the
conviction in 2007 by the Special Court
for Sierra Leone of four people on charges
that included the recruitment and use of
children during the civil war. The pursuit of
justice has also been furthered by the work
of truth commissions in Sierra Leone, Timor-
Leste and recently Liberia, all of which have
addressed the issue of child soldiers.
The Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child
on the involvement of children in armed
conflict (Optional Protocol) – the most
specific prohibition of child soldiers under
international law – has now been ratified
by 120 states, up from 77 in mid-2004.
The United Nations (UN) Committee on
the Rights of the Child began to examine
state party reports on the Optional Protocol
implementation in January 2005. Their
concluding observations are generating an
increased momentum towards developing
modalities for protecting children from
military recruitment and use, as well as
providing an insight into further measures


that many governments must take if they Defence Policy (ESDP) operations and
are to achieve this goal. mission planning. The African Union (AU)
Building on previous actions, the UN renewed its calls for its member states to
Security Council adopted resolutions 1539 ratify the African Charter on the Rights and
(2004) and 1612 (2005) calling for the Welfare of the Child by the end of 2008 and
establishment of a monitoring and reporting to enact relevant implementing legislation
mechanism on children and armed conflict. by 2010. The Charter requires state parties
Now set up in around a dozen countries, inter alia to refrain from recruiting children
the mechanism is tasked with documenting and to ensure that they do not take direct
six categories of grave abuse against part in hostilities.3
children, including recruitment and use of On the ground, tens of thousands of
child soldiers, in the situations of armed child soldiers have been released from
conflict listed in the annexes of the UN armies and armed groups since 2004 as
Secretary-General’s regular reports on the long-running conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa
topic. A Security Council working group on have ended. A major initiative to gather
children and armed conflict was set up in and compile accumulated experience
2005 to review reports submitted under from the demobilization, disarmament
the mechanism and to monitor progress and reintegration (DDR) of child soldiers
in the development and implementation around the world culminated in the Paris
of time-bound action plans by warring Principles and Guidelines on children
parties to end their recruitment and use associated with armed forces or armed
of child soldiers. The working group has groups (Paris Principles). Endorsed by 66
issued conclusions based on the reports, governments at ministerial meetings in
transmitted letters and appeals to parties February and October in 2007, including
engaged in violations, and taken a range of many from conflict-affected countries, the
other actions on situations where abuses Paris Principles offer guidance on protecting
against children have been committed. children from recruitment and on providing
The first actions by the Security effective assistance to those already
Council to apply targeted measures against involved with armed groups or forces.
individuals specifically for recruiting and The large-scale recruitment and
using children were taken in 2006, when a deployment of children by government
travel ban was imposed on an armed group forces in countries such as Burundi, Côte
leader in Côte d’Ivoire. A Security Council d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia ceased with the
resolution the same year sought to subject end of conflicts. More than half of countries
to travel bans and asset freezing leaders worldwide have set the minimum age at
in the DRC who recruited or used child which an individual can enter the military,
soldiers.2 including for training, at 18.
Regional bodies have also continued to In response to international pressure
focus attention on this issue. The European and local initiatives, several armed groups
Union’s (EU) 2003 Guidelines on children have committed themselves to ending the
and armed conflict were given practical recruitment and use of children. Groups
direction by an implementation strategy in Côte d’Ivoire and Sri Lanka are working
issued in 2006. The same year a checklist with the UN to develop and implement
on integration and protection of children time-bound action plans to release children
was adopted to ensure that child rights and prevent their recruitment. Ethnic armed
and protection concerns are systematically groups in Myanmar have agreed to do
addressed in European Security and likewise.


Real protection requires redoubling methods, and the varied environments
of effort in which they operate militate against
generic solutions. Effective strategies
While the general direction is positive, the must be multifaceted and context-specific.
pace of progress is slow and its impact Above all, they must address root causes.
is not yet felt by the tens of thousands of Poor governance and its effects, including
children in the ranks of fighting forces. The impoverishment, inequality, discrimination
international framework offers little real and human rights abuses, are all known
protection for countless others who are at to contribute to the risk that children will
risk of recruitment and use in conflict. be recruited by armed groups. While such
The Coalition has documented conditions persist, children will remain
information on 21 countries or territories vulnerable to involvement in armed forces
where children were deployed to areas of and groups.
conflict between April 2004 and October The number of governments that
2007. Within this period conflicts ended in deployed children in combat or other
two of the 21 – Indonesia and Nepal – and frontline duties in their armed forces has
so too did child soldier use there. Although not significantly decreased since 2004.
this is fewer than the preceding four years, Children have been used in armed conflict
the Coalition’s research reveals a number of by government forces in nine situations
disturbing findings that make it clear that compared with 10 in the previous four-year
the efforts to date have been insufficient. period. The most notable offender remains
The first of these findings is perhaps Myanmar, whose armed forces, engaged in
the most stark. It is this: when armed long-running counter-insurgency operations
conflict breaks out, reignites or intensifies, against a range of ethnic armed groups, are
children will almost inevitably become believed to contain thousands of children.
involved as soldiers. The Central African Children were also reported to have
Republic, Chad, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan been used in hostilities in Chad, the DRC,
(Darfur) are all cases in point. Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. Additionally,
Next, efforts to demobilize children Palestinian children were used on several
during conflict have met with only limited occasions by defence forces in Israel as
success. Peace remains the main hope human shields. There were reports of child
for securing the release of child soldiers soldier use by Yemeni armed forces in
from armed forces and groups, a fact fighting in 2007. A few under-18s in the UK
that further reinforces the importance of armed forces were sent to Iraq.
child protection being integral to peace The flouting of international standards
negotiations, as well as the need for explicit by governments extends beyond official
provisions relating to child soldiers in armed forces. Children in at least 14
ceasefire and peace agreements. countries have been recruited into auxiliary
The impact of efforts to end child forces linked to national armies; into local-
soldier recruitment and use by armed level civilian defence groups established
groups has been similarly limited. Armed to support counter-insurgency operations;
groups in at least 24 countries located in or into militias and armed groups acting
every region of the world were known to as proxies for government forces. In at
have recruited under-18s and many have least eight countries children were used as
used them in hostilities. Many have proved spies and for other intelligence-gathering
resistant to pressure and persuasion. purposes, placing them at risk of reprisals
Their widely diverse characters, aims and and ignoring government responsibilities


to provide protection and reintegration suffer stigmatization and rejection by their
assistance. families and communities.
Universal responsibilities under
the Optional Protocol to protect children
Governments which used child soldiers
against recruitment and to promote the
in armed conflict between April 2004
recovery and reintegration of former child
and October 2007.
soldiers have yet to be fully realized. When
Chad former child soldiers flee their country
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of origin, asylum processes and special
Israel measures facilitating their recognition
Myanmar as refugees are frequently lacking in
Somalia destination countries, as is the provision
Sudan Southern Sudan of adequate services for their recovery and
Uganda social reintegration. The legal framework to
Yemen criminalize the recruitment and use of child
Additionally, the United Kingdom soldiers and to establish extraterritorial
deployed under-18s to Iraq where they jurisdiction over such crimes is also far from
were exposed to risk of hostilities complete.
Finally, many state parties have
undermined the spirit, if not the letter,
Despite growing knowledge of best
of the Optional Protocol by continuing to
practices for the disarmament,
target under-18s for military recruitment.
demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of
While a number of states have raised the
child soldiers, lessons learned from past
age of voluntary military recruitment within
efforts have continued to be overlooked in
the past four years, at least 63 countries
the implementation of official programs.
permitted the voluntary recruitment of
In many DDR processes the needs of child
children by their armed forces; 26 were
soldiers were not prioritized and in some
known to have under-18s in the ranks.
were entirely overlooked. Reintegration
Others introduced children, often at a very
programs were frequently not tailored to
young age, to military culture through
their specific needs and have suffered from
military training in schools, cadet corps and
chronic under-funding.
various other youth initiatives.
The repetition of mistakes has been
Placing children’s rights ahead of
acute in relation to girls. The special needs
military needs requires far-reaching shifts
and vulnerabilities of girls affected by
in values and attitudes. Until it is accepted
armed conflict have long been recognized,
that childhood extends to 18, and that the
yet they are not well served by DDR
spirit of the Protocol expects more of states
processes. The vast majority of girls
than just amending the age of conscription,
associated with fighting forces do not
children will continue to be at risk of
participate in official DDR programs and
becoming soldiers, especially in times of
are not catered for in post-demobilization
crisis.
support. Specialized medical care for
physical injury resulting from rape or
sexually transmitted diseases is rarely
available. Girl mothers and their children,
often born of rape, are known to be
particularly vulnerable, but continue to


Governments Additionally, there were reports that
Palestinian children have been used on
several occasions by the Israeli Defense
and Forces as human shields. In the Philippines
children were reported to be in paramilitary

international units used to support counter-insurgency
efforts. In Yemen, there are unconfirmed

law: a measure reports that untrained children as young
as 15 were given weapons and sent to
the front against an armed group in early
of progress 2007. Additionally, a few British under-18s
were sent to Iraq as recently as mid-2005.
Although most were swiftly removed, they
Almost two-thirds of the world’s states
were, in the meantime, exposed to risk of
have ratified the Optional Protocol, and
hostilities.
others have prohibited the recruitment
and use of child soldiers in domestic law
or regulations. However, the gap between State responsibility at arm’s length
what governments say and what they do The responsibility of governments extends
remains wide. beyond their official armed forces to militias
and armed groups which they support or
Children sent to war which act as proxy forces.
In Sudan, for example, responsibility
A small number of states persist not only
for ending the widespread use in hostilities
in recruiting children but also in exposing
of children by the government-backed
them to the physical and psychological
Janjaweed militias rests squarely with
dangers of combat. Despite repeated
the Sudanese authorities. The Sudanese
denials by the government, there is
government’s support for armed groups
evidence that Myanmar continues to recruit
in Chad and the Chadian government’s
large numbers of children into its armed
backing for armed groups in Sudan also
forces – often forcibly through intimidation,
render these governments responsible for
coercion and violence – and to use them in
the recruitment and use of child soldiers
a range of combat and non-combat roles. In
by these groups. The government in Sri
Chad, children were among those rounded
Lanka cannot escape responsibility for the
up in hasty manpower drives in 2006 and
abduction of children by the Karuna Group,
deployed to defend the capital against
a breakaway group of the Liberation Tigers
armed groups; in Somalia, the Transitional
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that was linked to
Federal Government allegedly recruited
government armed forces. Likewise, the
and used children during intense fighting
government of Côte d’Ivoire is accountable
for control of Mogadishu in late 2006; in
for recruitment of children in 2004 and 2005
Sudan, children have been used in Darfur
by pro-government militias, many of them
by the Sudan Armed Forces and in the
former child soldiers from Liberia.
south of the country by the Sudan People’s
Local-level civilian defence groups
Liberation Army (SPLA); and in Uganda,
established to support counter-insurgency
children who escaped from the Lord’s
efforts also demand attention. Informally
Resistance Army (LRA), or were captured or
structured and in some cases unregulated
released from it, were pressured to join the
by law, such groups include village-level
government defence forces to fight the LRA.


self-defence forces in Chad; anti-Maoist periods and subjected to torture or ill-
village defence forces in India; self-defence treatment.
committees in Peru; civilian volunteer Scores of children, some as young
organizations and village defence groups as nine, have been detained in Burundi
in the Philippines; and local defence on suspicion of collaboration with the
units in Uganda. Often located in remote National Liberation Forces (FNL). Some
areas, such groups may escape scrutiny were reportedly severely beaten – one
and accountability for crimes committed, 16-year-old alleged to have been a member
including the recruitment and use of of the FNL youth wing was believed to have
children. been unlawfully killed while in custody.
In Israel hundreds of Palestinian children
have been held under military provisions;
Countries where children were recruited
incidents of ill-treatment and torture were
and used by paramilitaries, militias,
reportedly common. In one case, a 16-year-
civilian defence forces or armed groups
old boy was held in solitary confinement for
linked to, supported by, or acting as
35 days in 2007 and pressured to become
proxies for governments.
an informant. In the Philippines, detailed
Chad Myanmar policies on the treatment of rescued,
Colombia Peru captured or surrendered child soldiers
Côte d’Ivoire Philippines by the security forces are not always
DRC Sri Lanka implemented, and children have been
India Sudan detained beyond the officially sanctioned
Iran Uganda time-limits and in some cases ill-treated. In
Libya both Myanmar and the DRC, child soldiers
who have escaped from armed forces have
In addition, several thousand children been charged with desertion and sentenced
and youth received training in to terms of imprisonment. In the DRC a
paramilitary skills in Zimbabwe’s youth few children convicted of military offences
militias. remained in prison under sentence of death,
in contravention of international law.
Child soldiers in detention In Iraq hundreds of children accused of
security violations were detained in Multi-
In many situations child soldiers associated National Force – Iraq facilities – where there
with armed groups and captured by were reports of abuse – as well as in Iraqi-run
government forces have been treated facilities. In its “war on terror”, the United
solely as adversaries rather than as States of America (USA) has designated
children. Contrary to the principle that a number of children, some as young as
child soldiers should be treated first and 13, as “enemy combatants” – a status, as
foremost as victims in need of support and used by the USA, that is unrecognized in
assistance for reintegration, some have international law. Several under-18-year-
been detained solely on the basis of their olds were transferred from US custody in
alleged association with armed groups, or for Afghanistan to indefinite military detention
desertion and other military offences while in the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay in
in armed forces. International standards Cuba. One such individual is Omar Khadr,
of juvenile justice and the right to fair trial a Canadian national shot and captured in
have been violated in situations where child a firefight with US forces in Afghanistan
soldiers have been detained for prolonged in 2002. He has alleged that he was ill-


treated in US custody in Afghanistan and – to promote the development and well-
Guantánamo. Six years on he is facing trial being of the child.
before a military commission for offences Of the 120 states that have ratified the
allegedly committed in 2002 when he was Protocol, almost two thirds have committed
15. In its case against him, the prosecution themselves in their declarations to set
suggested that Khadr had become involved the compulsory and minimum voluntary
with al-Qaeda when he was just 10 years old. recruitment ages at 18 or higher. In the past
From the start, Omar Khadr and four years the minimum age for voluntary
others like him should have been treated recruitment into the armed forces has
primarily as children and as victims. Their been raised to 18 in Chile, Italy, Jordan,
treatment should focus on maximizing the the Maldives, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and
potential of the individual for successful South Korea. In Nepal, a law that permitted
social reintegration. Accountability for any recruitment of under-18s was declared null
criminal acts that may have been committed and void by the Supreme Court.
can be a part of this, but any process to However, a number of states whose
this end must take full account of the age commitment to stopping the use of child
of the child at the time of involvement with soldiers is otherwise not in doubt continue
an armed group, and not allow the pursuit to assert their need to target 16- and
of punishment to blind the prosecuting 17-year-olds for voluntary recruitment
authorities to the responsibility of others in into their own forces. Some openly insist
his or her predicament. on placing the manpower requirements
The use of children – often captured of their armed forces ahead of children’s
or escaped from armed forces – as spies or rights. Calls to raise the minimum age of
informants similarly violates basic human voluntary recruitment to 18 have been
rights principles for the protection of resisted by armed forces in Australia, New
children. It also contravenes government Zealand and the United Kingdom, on the
obligations to assist in the recovery of child grounds that it would adversely affect the
soldiers and, moreover, exposes children availability of recruits. In the USA, following
to risks of reprisals. Yet this practice is a dramatic fall in the number of under-18s
known to have been carried out by armed joining the military and general recruitment
forces in Burundi, Colombia, the DRC, India, shortfalls, increased enlistment bonuses
Indonesia, Israel, Nepal and Uganda during were introduced and minimum educational
the reporting period. standards for recruits lowered.

Recruitment age Government armed forces which
While ensuring that under-18s do not take used children as spies, informants or
a direct part in hostilities is an essential messengers.
component of the pledge to prevent child Burundi Indonesia
soldiering, the Optional Protocol demands Colombia Israel
more. As its Preamble spells out, its goal DRC Nepal
is the “continuous improvement of the India Uganda
situation of children without distinction”.
This suggests the need for serious reflection
Resistance to the spirit of the Optional
on whether the inclusion of under-18s in
Protocol in the interests of filling the ranks
military forces satisfies the ultimate goal
raises questions about the value assigned
of the Convention and its Optional Protocol
to child protection. Active targeting of


children – often from deprived backgrounds is to prove durable when put to the test by
with fewer educational or vocational conflict, crisis or emergency.
options – undermines official claims that Military values are often inculcated in
such recruitment is genuinely voluntary. the educational and recreational settings
Elsewhere, a stated intention to where children’s physical and intellectual
recruit only those above the age of 18 is formation takes place. At one extreme,
undermined by the absence of measures to a “military first” policy is reported to
determine the age of recruits. Registration translate into the equivalent of some 12
at birth is the right of every child and is weeks annually of drills and other military
the first of many essential measures that training for North Korean secondary-school
a state must take to build a framework students. But military culture and training
of protection around children. Low permeate school life elsewhere. Military
birth registration is most prevalent in training is compulsory for school children in
war-affected and heavily indebted poor countries including China, Fiji, Kyrgyzstan,
countries – precisely those countries where the Russian Federation, United Arab
children are most at risk of recruitment and Emirates and Venezuela. The presence of
use by armed forces. cadet corps within schools, for example in
The risk of inadvertent under-age Antigua and Barbuda, the United Kingdom
recruitment of children because of low and the USA, may also introduce militarism
birth registration rates was noted in into places of development and learning.
countries such as Bangladesh, Botswana, The Optional Protocol permits the
Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, India, Kenya admission of under-18s into schools
and Zambia. In Paraguay the lack of birth operated by or under the control of the
registration procedures has facilitated the military, but requires them to operate in
forced conscription of children as young accordance with Articles 28 and 29 of the
as 12 years old. Elsewhere, for example Convention on the Rights of the Child.
in Afghanistan and Yemen, inadequate Primary or secondary education is provided
verification procedures to determine the in military-run schools in countries such as
age of new recruits has meant that under- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Egypt, Honduras,
age soldiers were likely to be serving in Israel, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Peru, the
security forces. Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Ukraine
and Viet Nam. In some military schools
A shift in culture is called for children wear military uniforms, live in
military-style barracks and are subject to
By late 2007 the UN Committee on the military discipline. Some offer a standard
Rights of the Child had examined initial school curriculum, while others provide a
reports from 28 state parties to the narrow education involving hard physical
Optional Protocol. The examinations have drill and weapons handling. It is true that in
revealed much about the attitudes of these many cases these schools fill gaps in state
countries to childhood and how far a state education and children from poor families
is willing to go to protect children from particularly can stand to benefit. However,
under-age recruitment and involvement in states must not be allowed to sidestep
conflict. The Committee’s work shows that their obligation to provide every child with
the implementation of the Protocol requires an education consistent with the aims
more than changes to legislation. Values enshrined in the Convention.
have to be entrenched if legislative progress There is also a variety of youth
initiatives which may not sit comfortably


with the Optional Protocol. The Committee human rights should be considered outside
on the Rights of the Child suggested that the sphere of moral and legal concern
Norway’s voluntary youth program, the – regardless of where those abuses have
Home Guard, could not be regarded as taken place. Building on other human
genuinely conforming to the spirit of the rights treaties, the Optional Protocol
Protocol, despite a range of safeguards requires state parties to commit resources,
prohibiting practical military training for energies and political will to a recovery
under-18s. Youth initiatives elsewhere do and rehabilitation agenda for former child
not even incorporate such safeguards. soldiers and to ensure accountability
In Australia, Georgia, Sweden, the USA for those who recruit and use children
and Uzbekistan, for example, a variety of in hostilities. That agenda encompasses
patriot camps, cadet corps and military and responsive and responsible asylum
sporting competitions and the like involve procedures, international assistance to and
military drills, weapons handling and, in co-operation with countries where children
some cases, the use of weapons. Such have been active participants in armed
activities cast doubt on claims that these conflict, and the establishment of robust
programs motivate young people to be legal protections against the recruitment of
better citizens and make a wholly positive children and their use in hostilities.
contribution to youth development. When former child soldiers seek
Children attending military schools asylum, the values of global responsibility
or participating in such initiatives are, for are put to the test and many states the
the most part, under no formal obligation world over are found lacking. Problems
to enlist. It is nonetheless apparent that identified by the Committee on the Rights
early exposure to military life can be of the Child include failure to identify
used to facilitate military recruitment. children who may have been recruited or
In Kazakhstan, for example, of the used in hostilities, failure to recognize this
approximately 4,000 children studying in form of persecution as a basis for granting
military schools in 2005–6, some 65 per refugee status, absence of systematic data
cent went on to join the army. In the USA collection, deficient training of immigration
an estimated 40 per cent of students who officials and other relevant professionals,
graduate from high school with two or more and inadequate services. In these
years in the Junior Reserve Officer Training circumstances former child soldiers can be
Corp, open to children from 14 upwards, left without support in a strange country.
eventually enlist in the military. Children They are also at risk of forcible return and,
from 12 to 15 years old, many of them in countries where children seeking asylum
orphans, who enter cadet schools in the are detained, such as Italy and Australia,
Russian Federation have no legal means of of detention. State parties, many of them
reversing either their decision to attend the in Europe, have been put on notice by
school or the undertaking to do vocational the Committee that progress is expected
military work on graduation. towards developing asylum procedures that
are sensitive to former child soldiers and
A global responsibility putting in place special measures to assist
them.
The Optional Protocol embraces values The Committee has also closely
of global responsibility that promote the scrutinized domestic laws that explicitly
universality of human rights. Neither prohibit the involvement of under-18s in
victim nor perpetrator of serious abuses of hostilities and under-age recruitment,


including third-party recruitment of under-
18s for military activity. It has given similar Armed groups:
scrutiny to laws to establish extraterritorial
jurisdiction for crimes of under-age
recruitment and use of child soldiers,
confronting the
including the incorporation into domestic
law of the relevant provisions of the Rome challenge
Statute of the ICC.
While many governments have policies While fewer states are recruiting and using
prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers, when it comes to non-state
children, very few have explicitly prohibited armed groups the news is far less positive.
by law the violation of these provisions of Despite some examples of progress,
the Optional Protocol. Australia, Belgium the bigger picture remains essentially
and Germany are among a small number unaltered: the recruitment and use of
of countries that have introduced criminal boys and girls by armed groups remains
penalties for individuals who conscript, widespread.
enlist or use children under the age of 15 at The uses to which children are put by
home and abroad. In Norway, Sweden and armed groups remained largely unchanged.
the USA, such legislation was pending. In In Afghanistan, Burundi, the Central African
the case of Norway it was proposed that Republic and Colombia, for example,
conscripting or enlisting children under under-18s have been used as combatants
the age of 18 could be prosecuted as a war and in other front-line duties. Here and
crime – a standard higher than the age limit elsewhere armed groups also employed
of 15 contained in the Rome Statute. Where children in a range of support roles from
legislation exists some states have limited cooking and portering to carrying messages
its application, for example to times of and acting as lookouts and spies. Girls are
war and armed conflict, or to apply only to reported to have been raped and subjected
crimes committed within the borders of the to other forms of sexual violence and
state against or by its own nationals. The exploitation including by the Revolutionary
enactment of legislation that criminalizes Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), the
child recruitment and use both nationally Armed Forces of the New Forces (FAFN)
and extraterritorially is essential in in Côte d’Ivoire, various armed groups in
establishing the legal framework necessary the DRC, and the LRA in northern Uganda.
to end impunity for this crime. On occasion, children have been used by
Even in states which have yet to militant groups in suicide attacks in Iraq, as
become parties to the Optional Protocol this well as in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
progressive standard can be a useful basis until late 2004. This phenomenon has also
for dialogue about conceptions of childhood recently emerged in both Afghanistan and
and why children should not be seen as Pakistan. In situations such as those in
acceptable participants in armed conflict Haiti, Kenya and Nigeria, children have been
by either governments or non-state actors. active players in political violence through
In countries where governments seek to their membership of criminal gangs whose
justify inaction on grounds of inadequate services are intermittently employed by
resources, those measures in the Protocol politicians and other actors for political
more dependent on political will than cash ends.
for their realization can be emphasized.


Positive developments government, workshops and advocacy
with armed groups conducted by a local
An end to conflicts in Angola, Liberia and non-governmental organization (NGO) has
Sierra Leone in the last decade brought a contributed to changing attitudes.
halt to the massive recruitment and use
of children by armed groups there. Peace
Armed groups continue to recruit
agreements in Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, the
children
DRC, Nepal and Southern Sudan have also
delivered significant reductions in such Despite progress, the overall picture is
recruitment, if not in all cases a total end to one of armed groups that have ignored
the practice. international law and standards, that
Peace processes aside, the impact of renege on commitments, are resistant to
measures aimed at preventing and ending pressure and persuasion, or have so far
the recruitment and use of children by proved to be beyond the reach of efforts to
armed groups has been limited, reaching end the involvement of children in conflict
only a few groups and benefiting relatively and political violence.
small numbers of children. While the value The examples are many. The LTTE
of such measures is undeniable, it must has repeatedly been condemned for its
be recognized that more needs to be done recruitment and use of children. Yet as Sri
to bring about demonstrable change in Lanka descends once again into all-out
conflict-affected countries. war, the LTTE is reported to be recruiting
The UN-led monitoring and reporting and re-recruiting children, albeit in fewer
mechanism has significantly increased numbers than previously, despite its
available data on abuses against children repeated commitments to end the practice.
committed by armed groups, as well as The LRA, notorious for abducting and
armed forces, in selected situations.4 The brutalizing thousands of boys and girls
principle of engagement with armed groups during the 22-year-long conflict in northern
for child protection purposes is now widely Uganda, has steadfastly ignored appeals to
accepted and has yielded some positive release children even though peace talks
results. Armed groups in Côte d’Ivoire and are taking place. In the DRC, groups loyal
Sri Lanka have agreed to UN-sponsored to Laurent Nkunda, a former commander
action plans to end their recruitment of of the Rwanda-backed Congolese Rally for
child soldiers and to demobilize the children Democracy (RCD-Goma), have continued to
already in their ranks. Two armed groups in deploy children in hostilities against various
Myanmar have committed to end the use of other armed groups. Some of the children
child soldiers and another has expressed had been recruited from refugee camps in
willingness to enter into discussions with Rwanda. In Colombia, where peace efforts
UNICEF. have stalled, several thousand children
At grass-roots level, initiatives remain within the ranks of FARC and the
aimed at building awareness of children’s National Liberation Army (ELN) with little
rights among armed groups and the apparent prospect of release.
communities that surround them have Other groups operating in little-known
demonstrated potential to impact on the conflicts have largely escaped international
policy and practices of some groups. A scrutiny and action. In Thailand, for
case in point is in relation to ethnic armed example, the separatist group National
groups in Myanmar, where, although Revolution Front-Coordinate (BRN-C),
the work of the UN was impeded by the responsible for much of the spiralling


violence in the southern provinces since The limits of existing approaches
early 2004, is reported to use under-18s
in various roles including propaganda Existing strategies have been remarkably
and support for military operations. In effective in establishing a broad consensus
India, despite a reported increase in child that armed forces are unsuitable places for
recruitment by Maoist groups since 2005, children. But it is clear that many armed
and persistent reports of child soldier use groups have not joined this consensus. Tens
by armed groups in Jammu and Kashmir and of thousands of children have continued
northeastern states, the issue has to date to be recruited and used by such groups,
largely escaped national or international and to be put at risk of death, injury and
scrutiny. sexual violence. Thousands more remain
at risk of recruitment. Changing this reality
requires a critical analysis of the limits of
Countries where there were child existing approaches and the development
soldiers in non-state armed groups. of strategies to address underlying causes
as well as symptoms.
Afghanistan Lebanon
The international legal framework
Bhutan Liberia
prohibits the recruitment and use of
Burundi Myanmar
under-18s by non-state armed groups and
Central African Nepal
criminalizes the recruitment and use of
Republic Nigeria
under-15s by state and non-state forces
Chad Pakistan
alike. This framework should underpin any
Colombia Philippines
strategy. Indeed, some armed groups have
Côte d’Ivoire Somalia
proved willing to commit to international
DRC Sri Lanka
standards and a few have acted on such
India Sudan
commitments by releasing under-18s and
Indonesia Thailand
ending further recruitment. The threat of
Iraq Uganda
prosecution of individuals who recruit and
Israel/Occupied
use children – far more of a reality in 2008
Palestinian
than it was in 2004 – should contribute
Territory
to awareness among members of armed
groups of the potential consequences of
Solutions have proved elusive in relation
their criminal conduct.
to groups involved in protracted low-level
However, some armed groups and
conflicts, where child soldiers have been
their leaders appear to attach little value
recruited and used over many years. Such
to international law and display little
groups include the New People’s Army
inclination to adhere to it. The military
(NPA) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
imperatives of the group and the political,
(MILF) in the Philippines. More challenging
economic and social factors that drive
still are numerous irregular groups – often
conflicts and cause children to enlist – often
with obscure goals and opaque command
underpinned by local cultural attitudes
structures – that fragment, fracture and
towards the age of majority – can outweigh
shift alliances and whose activities are
legal and moral arguments. And, while it is
often as criminal as they are political. Such
premature to assess the future deterrent
groups are characteristic of the conflicts in
effect of prosecutions by international
the Central African Republic and Chad and
courts, members of many armed groups
are appearing in Colombia.
will, in all likelihood, continue to regard


themselves as beyond the reach of child recruitment. Community interventions
international justice and remain confident with armed groups have in some cases
that national-level prosecutions are succeeded in obtaining the release of
unlikely. children or reducing levels of recruitment.
The public naming of certain armed Wherever possible community involvement
groups in the UN Secretary-General’s should be actively encouraged and
regular reports to the Security Council on supported. However, in situations such
children and armed conflict has encouraged as Iraq, Sri Lanka and southern Thailand,
several groups to renounce the practice and civil society organization and action
co-operate with the UN to prevent it. The are rendered ineffective by insecurity
monitoring and reporting mechanism has and violence. Moreover, where boys are
prompted more systematic data collection, considered adults at puberty or where
focused attention and resources on Islamist doctrine is strong, community
selected situations and created entry points members may not oppose children’s
for dialogue by humanitarian actors. association with armed groups.
Undoubtedly more could be achieved. There are no quick or easy solutions.
For example, the Security Council could, Armed groups have widely varying
through its working group, apply more characters, ideologies, aims, capacities and
pressure on parties listed in the annexes to constituencies, and they operate in diverse,
the Secretary-General’s report to develop often rapidly changing and frequently
and implement action plans. It could also insecure environments. Strategies must
be bolder in its application of measures, take into account that what may be
including, when appropriate, targeted effective in influencing one group may have
measures, in particular in relation to little impact on another. Strategies must
those parties, the majority of which are also reflect the complex web of relations,
armed groups, identified in each of the five including regional and international links,
annexes so far published. International surrounding such groups. Armed groups
condemnation can have a powerful effect in Chad, the DRC and Sudan, for example,
and the threat of sanctions or other enjoy the material or political support of
targeted measures may at least limit the neighbouring governments, some of which
extent of child recruitment. However, are in turn recipients of economic and
the full effect of such measures can only development aid from second governments
be achieved when combined with the or donor bodies. Pressure can be exerted
concerted efforts of a whole range of on such governments and donors to use
national and international government what influence they have to encourage
and non-government actors working in a compliance with human rights standards
co-ordinated fashion to persuade parties and international humanitarian law.
to conflict to end the practice, to monitor
and support their implementation of Addressing the root causes
commitments and to design and implement
policies to prevent future recruitment. Efforts to influence the policies and
Expectations of the role of behaviour of armed groups should continue
communities must be similarly qualified. wherever possible and appropriate. Direct
Communities are essential to understanding and indirect engagement, advocacy,
why children are recruited and how they targeted measures and prosecutions can
can be protected. Engagement with all have an effect. Greater attention must
communities can help build resistance to be paid, however, to questions of where


children are recruited by armed groups and, Governments and societies that fail to
critically, why. prioritize the promotion and protection of
While the conditions facilitating child children’s rights – economic, social and
recruitment persist, as they do in countless cultural, as well as civil and political – share
countries worldwide, it will remain easy responsibility for driving children into the
for armed groups to exploit children. ranks of armed groups.
Many children have few alternatives to, or As with recruitment into armed forces,
defences against, joining armed groups. education merits particular attention
When hostilities are ongoing, poverty, – schools can be part of the problem as well
social dislocation and other environmental as part of the solution. Denied an adequate
factors create conditions of extreme education, school leavers are unequipped
vulnerability to recruitment. Children in for employment in the modern world and
refugee camps, the internally displaced, more vulnerable to recruitment by armed
children separated from their families and groups.
children among the rural poor and in urban Schools are convenient sites for
slums are at higher risk. Changing conflict recruitment of children, often forced and en
dynamics may exacerbate the risks. For masse – a deplorable abuse. There is also
example, intensified recruitment drives increasing evidence that schools are used
by armed groups have taken place in by armed groups to indoctrinate children,
Burundi, Nepal and Southern Sudan prior encourage volunteers and identify suitable
to ceasefire and disarmament agreements. candidates for training and recruitment. In
Protection strategies should, as a matter both Bangladesh and Pakistan there are
of course, target identifiably vulnerable reports that children have been recruited
children and respond to changes which may by armed groups from madrasas (Islamic
impact on child recruitment patterns. religious schools). In the case of Pakistan,
Action to prevent recruitment should such children have been involved in suicide
not only be triggered by conflict. The attacks both at home and across the border
Optional Protocol requires states to take in Afghanistan. In southern Thailand,
all feasible measures to prevent armed schools and mosques are thought to be
groups recruiting and using under-18s. The used to indoctrinate children from the age
first step is to criminalize such practices of six in a version of history and Islam that
in domestic law. Beyond this, durable supports BRN-C’s political and military aims
protection means changing the conditions and encourages teenage “volunteerism”.
that make recruitment possible or virtually Youth summer camps and other out-of-
inevitable, as is the case in situations school activities are reportedly organized by
such as the Central African Republic, Chad armed groups in Lebanon and the Occupied
and Somalia. Ineffective government, the Palestinian Territory, which, while not
absence of legal protections for children necessarily overtly military, can generate
and lack of effective institutions to enforce links and loyalties to the armed groups.
them, poverty, discrimination, political and The risk of education becoming a
social exclusion, lack of access to education recruitment tool in the hands of armed
and vocational training and limited groups is heightened in situations where
livelihood prospects set the conditions for the public schooling system is inadequate.
recruitment. Children are also more likely to In these circumstances, unregulated
be drawn to armed groups by experiences alternatives offering narrow curricula can
of human rights violations or other forms flourish, with, in some cases, sectarian or
of violence, including domestic violence. Islamist content. In Indonesia, an innovative


approach is being taken to tackle the
problem in Central Sulawesi where the Disarmament,
armed Islamist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)
had significant influence in certain religious
boarding schools. The authorities are
demobilization
embarking on an experiment to establish
a model religious school to encourage and
students away from radical schools and
reduce their vulnerability to recruitment reintegration
by militant groups.5 While it is too early to
judge its success, and despite questions Several major disarmament, demobilization
over the transparency and equity of the and reintegration (DDR) programs for adults
program, this type of approach merits and children have drawn to a close in the past
consideration. four years, resulting in the release of tens of
While governments have primary thousands of children. Many thousands more
responsibility for ensuring child protection have escaped, been captured or have found
and preventing their recruitment into their own way home. Efforts have continued
armed groups, it should be a priority for all to release children from fighting forces and
those engaged in human rights protection, to support their reintegration in countries
humanitarian work, development, conflict such as Afghanistan, Colombia and Sri Lanka,
prevention and post-conflict peace-building. where hostilities are ongoing. New DDR
It should feature explicitly in the mandates initiatives for children have been established,
of all involved. It is only through collective including in the Central African Republic
endeavour that robust and durable barriers and Chad. Overall, however, DDR efforts are
will be erected that effectively protect inadequate, and many children have failed to
children from being recruited into armed receive the assistance needed to successfully
groups. return to their families and communities.
The majority of DDR programs in
the last decade have been carried out
in sub-Saharan Africa with support from
peacekeeping operations. From these and
other experiences, a wealth of knowledge
exists on the identity of girls and boys in
fighting forces, and their needs and priorities
when returning to civilian life. While the
Paris Principles encapsulate much that has
been learned over recent years about how
to achieve successful DDR for children, this
knowledge has yet to be fully applied.

Demobilization during conflict
Demobilization of child soldiers during
conflict presents the greatest of challenges.
Despite the best efforts of UN agencies,
NGOs and others, large-scale releases of


children from armed forces or groups have child recruitment in 2005 to bolster fighting
rarely taken place before hostilities end. strength and negotiating power prior to their
Difficulties in gaining access and integration into the army of Southern Sudan.
lack of security pose major obstacles to These and other difficulties should not
releasing child soldiers during conflict. The prevent efforts to release children from armed
murder in July 2006 of an NGO worker in groups or to deploy international human
the DRC – killed while seeking the release rights monitors if no other protection is likely
of child soldiers in North Kivu – highlighted to be effective. However, reality dictates
the risks for human rights defenders. In that an end to conflict will produce the most
Chad and Colombia continued fighting has concrete results, reinforcing the urgent need
prevented children from returning to their for peaceful settlements and the inclusion of
families. Many have been forced to remain specific DDR provisions for child soldiers in
in transit centres or institutional care for peace agreements. Exemptions from future
months after being released. conscription of those who served as children
The record suggests that when armed should also be included in such texts.
conflict persists, political and military
imperatives are likely to dictate the ebb Girl soldiers – still excluded
and flow of recruitment, but consistently
applied pressure can bring about some There is wide recognition of the involvement
improvement. In Sri Lanka, an action plan of girls in fighting forces, in combat and
in 2003, the threat of targeted measures non-combat roles and as victims of sexual
and ongoing dialogue with the LTTE have slavery, rape and other forms of sexual
resulted in reduced rates of recruitment violence. Repeated Security Council
and release of under-18s. Nevertheless, resolutions have highlighted the need to
recruitment patterns were at least in part take into account the special needs and
determined by conflict dynamics and the vulnerabilities of girls affected by armed
LTTE’s own training cycles. Difficulties in conflict, including girls involved in fighting
verifying the situation of those released forces.6 The importance of considering the
have also persisted. In Chad, where requirements of girls during DDR processes
an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 children was explicitly reaffirmed by the Paris
remained in armed forces and groups by Principles in 2007.
October 2007, an agreement by the Chadian The existence of girl soldiers became
government to release children from the evident in the aftermath of armed conflicts
national army resulted in the release in Angola and Mozambique in the 1990s,
of several hundred children. However, and girl soldiers have been present in
further releases have been hampered by virtually every non-international conflict
obstructions to UNICEF’s access to most since. Yet figures from national DDR
military installations. Recruitment by all programs reflect extraordinarily low figures
fighting forces has continued, fluctuating for girls’ participation, with average levels
according to military needs. of between 8 and 15 per cent of those girls.
In other situations armed groups In Liberia some 3,000 girl soldiers were
have placed unacceptable conditions on officially demobilized through the formal
the release of children. In the DRC, for DDR process that ended in November
example, Ituri-based armed groups have 2004. However, as many as 8,000 were
refused to release children unless demands excluded or did not register and received
for amnesties are met by the government. no subsequent support. A similar situation
Militias associated with the SPLA increased occurred in the DRC, where only 3,000 girls


(about 15 per cent of the total number of the demobilization stage, many girls remain
girls estimated to have been involved in outside the orbit of reintegration support.
the conflict) were officially demobilized It is recognized that returning girl
by the end of 2006 as the national DDR soldiers have multiple needs, including
program drew to a close. Thousands of girls specialized medical care for physical
who returned home informally received no injury resulting from rape or infection
reintegration support. from sexually transmitted diseases and
psychosocial support to address the reality
Government armed forces known to have of rape and the further trauma of rejection
had children in their ranks. by family or community. Returning girls
may equally need support over whether
Armenia Jordan to leave or remain in relationships formed
Australia Luxembourg in the ranks. Girl mothers and babies who
Austria Myanmar are born of rape in situations such as the
Bangladesh Netherlands DRC, Liberia and Uganda are especially
Barbados New Zealand vulnerable to rejection.
Bolivia Paraguay The needs of girl soldiers must be
Canada Russian Federation seen within broader contexts of entrenched
Chad Somalia and complex gender discrimination and
Cuba Sudan inequalities. These precede armed conflict,
Democratic Uganda facilitate human rights abuses against
Republic of the United Kingdom women and girls during hostilities and
Congo United States persist in its aftermath. Attention must
Germany of America be paid to the fact that some girl soldiers
Guatemala Yemen enlist to escape sexual abuse, enforced
Ireland marriage or a life of domestic servitude. The
context-specific characteristics of gender
The reasons why girls have not participated discrimination, sexual exploitation and
in formal DDR processes are complex. Girls abuse require careful analysis to identify
in many conflicts in Africa have been held the particular vulnerabilities of girls and the
back, as they perform useful support roles types of discrimination in the communities
or are regarded as “wives”. The LRA, for to which they return. Awareness of these
example, has refused to release some 2,000 realities has to be matched by programs to
women and children on the grounds that identify girls through less formal channels
they are wives and children of fighters. Girls and to support their reintegration without
themselves may not wish to be identified returning them to further stigmatization,
as child soldiers for fear of rejection by violence or exploitation.
families and communities, having been
deemed to have “lost value” through Addressing the needs of children
involvement in sexual activity. As a result, during DDR
many have returned to their communities
informally with their complex medical, An oft-repeated error has been the failure to
psychosocial and economic needs unmet. acknowledge and act on the well-established
The military orientation of many DDR fact that many children do not register for
programs – entailing formal registration formal DDR programs. Fearing stigmatization,
and identification as part of a fighting force thousands of child soldiers – particularly
– itself presents a major obstacle to the girls – choose not to reveal their identity as
participation of girl soldiers. Overlooked at soldiers by registering for DDR. The problem


can be compounded by local dynamics. In generated by giving children cash packages,
Colombia, for example, restrictive criteria for demobilized children were reportedly
accessing the government-run DDR program provided with cash payments designed for
has effectively excluded many former child adult combatants. NGOs noted community
soldiers, including many of those discharged resentment of returning child soldiers.
by their commanders or who escaped and In Nepal and elsewhere it is necessary
found their own way home. In the DRC, for all actors involved to examine why agreed
anecdotal evidence from 2007 suggests that principles for children’s DDR have continued
some child soldiers were abandoned en route to be overlooked and to develop mechanisms
to demobilization centres by commanders to ensure that this is avoided in future.
fearing prosecution for child recruitment.
Children who fought across borders are Long-term support for reintegration
especially vulnerable. For example, of some
2,000 Guinean children believed to have The reintegration of child soldiers is a
been involved in armed conflict in Liberia only long-term process which aims to give
29 were formally demobilized and repatriated returning child soldiers viable alternatives
to Guinea. to involvement in armed conflict and to
Experience has additionally shown that help them resume life in the community.
the reintegration needs of both girls and Elements of reintegration are well
boys are best served by programs based understood and include family reunification
in communities, which aim to support a (or alternative living arrangements if
wide range of war-affected children. Such reunification is not possible), psychosocial
programs can militate against further support, education, vocational training
stigmatization and resentment of child and income-generation projects. Yet
soldiers and, by addressing broader needs, sustained funding for long-term support is
contribute more effectively to post-conflict rarely available. Lack of funding combined
recovery of the children, their families and with poor planning and a tendency to
communities. This lesson has not, however, privilege demobilization over longer-term
been consistently applied. reintegration objectives, have continued
As peace or ceasefire agreements are to undermine children’s prospects of
negotiated, the pressure to end hostilities successfully returning to civilian life.
and disarm combatants drives the pace and An artificial division of labour and
substance of DDR planning, and short-term funding between the emergency phase,
solutions derived from adult DDR have post-conflict recovery and development can
on occasion prevailed over longer-term contribute to failed reintegration. Funding
community-based programs. For example, for national DDR programs has typically
best-practice principles for children’s DDR been provided for immediate post-conflict
were apparently overlooked in Nepal, demobilization and short-term reintegration
where hundreds of child soldiers remained support, normally for a one-year period.
in cantonments for over a year after a While child protection agencies have
peace agreement between the government provided localized support for reintegration
and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) programs beyond the initial DDR process,
(Maoist). Community-based programs funding for longer-term support is rarely
were too few and too late to assist all the available on the scale it is needed.
children associated with the CPN (Maoist) Inadequate provision for long-term
armed wing. Despite lessons learned from reintegration has been reported from
Liberia and Sudan on the sort of problems Afghanistan, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia


Child soldiers - Global report 2008

Child soldiers - Global report 2008

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