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About the ICC
Issues
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Child Soldiers
The Facts:
- Child soldiers are youth under the age of 18 who are serving in government forces, armed rebel groups or paramilitary organisations. The use of child soldiers is illegal under the Optional Protocol in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- There are over 300,000 child soldiers in the world today.
- In countries such as Sierra Leone, Uganda, Liberia, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Burma (Myanmar), Angola, Sudan and many others, children have been recruited to fight in armed conflicts. Although the majority of child soldiers are over 15 years old, it is not uncommon to find child soldiers as young as eight years old on the frontlines.
- Children are extremely vulnerable to recruitment because of their physical, mental and psychological immaturity. Orphans and refugees are the most vulnerable.
- The majority of child soldiers have been kidnapped by armies. Others join because they have lost their family and need food and shelter.
- Both boys and girls are used as child soldiers. In most cases, boys are sent to fight on the frontlines and the girls are sexually abused or are given to military commanders as "wives".
- Child soldiers are often sent on suicide missions, such as being sent ahead of the rest of the army, in heavily mined areas, to "locate" landmines.
- Child soldiers are sometimes given drugs or alcohol to make them fearless in battle.
- When child soldiers are released from armies, they have an extremely difficult time reintegrating into society. They are often not accepted in their villages because of the atrocities that they have committed. Child soldiers endure enormous psychological and emotional trauma.
- While progress has been made within the last ten years, there are not enough programs to help reintegrate ex-child soldiers into society.
What Can You Do?
- Send an e-mail to the Canadian Foreign Minister, Mr. Bill Graham, at graham.b@parl.gc.ca to voice your displeasure with the ongoing use of child soldiers throughout the world.
- Write a letter to a local newspaper or television station stating your opinion about the continued use of child soldiers throughout the world.
- Start a project through No War Zone to raise awareness in your school or community about child soldiers, visit No War Zone- Projects.
To Find Out More:
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