A child soldier is not just someone who is involved in fighting. They can also be those in other roles such as cooks, porters, messengers, human shields, spies, suicide bombers or those used for sexual exploitation. It includes children recruited and trained for military purposes, but not used in war.
Children are recruited all over the world by state armed forces and armed groups outside government control. Non-state armed groups are more likely than states to use children in armed conflict. This makes the problem more difficult to tackle as these groups are less visible and harder to negotiate with. Children become soldiers in different ways. Some are forcibly recruited. They may be abducted, threatened or coerced into joining, while others are enticed with money, drugs or in other ways.
In many cases, children choose to join as a result of economic or social pressures. Others join armed forces to fight for a cause that they or their family support, often with little clear understanding of the implications of their decision. Being poor, displaced, separated from their families or living in a combat zone can make children particularly vulnerable to being recruited. Armed groups target children for several reasons.
Some children will be trained for and participate in armed combat, while others will be given a supporting role.
In almost all cases child soldiers will not have access to formal education. A number of former child combatants from the Central African Republic have reported that they were forced to perform horrific acts, such as killing their own parents as a form of initiation into the armed group. It is thought that this initiation hardens them to brutality and breaks the bonds with their community, making it difficult to return.
Some are injured and have to live with disabilities for the rest of their lives. Girls are also recruited and used by armed forces and groups. They have vulnerabilities unique to their gender and place in society and suffer specific consequences including, but not limited to, rape and sexual violence, pregnancy and pregnancy-related complications, stigma and rejection by families and communities.
A child associated with an armed force or armed group refers to any person below 18 years of age who is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, spies or for sexual purposes.
Regardless of how children are recruited and of their roles, child soldiers are victims, whose participation in conflict bears serious implications for their physical and emotional well-being. They are commonly subject to abuse and most of them witness death, killing, and sexual violence. Many are forced to commit violent acts and some suffer serious long-term psychological consequences. The reintegration of these children into civilian life is an essential part of the work to help child soldiers rebuild their lives.
Within the UN system, UNICEF is in charge of the reintegration of former child soldiers and their first priority is to prepare them for a return to civilian life. Attempting to reunite children with their families and communities are also essential, but sensitization and reconciliation efforts are sometimes necessary before a child is welcomed back at home.
The reintegration of former child soldiers is a long process, which needs extensive support from the international community. By helping children deeply affected by conflict, we contribute to building a peaceful future for their country.
In , the UN General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict to protect children from recruitment and use in hostilities.
Human rights law declares 18 as the minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities. We support the release and reintegration of thousands of children who exit armed forces and groups each year — providing a safe place for them to live upon release, as well as community-based services for case management, family tracing, reunification and psychosocial support. We also provide specialized support for survivors of gender-based violence.
In , we responded to the needs of more than 13, child survivors. How children have become frontline targets in armed conflicts. From a child in war to renowned author, human rights activist and Goodwill Ambassador. Critical support for former child soldiers in South Sudan at risk from lack of funding. Programme Menu Child Protection. This girl was 16 when she managed to exit the armed group that held her in the Central African Republic.
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