A child is defined as anyone under the age of 18. Around the world right now children are being used as soldiers. They are either killing others or being killed and brutalized. Children being used as soldiers is a world issue that many people do not know exist. Children are abused and killed in wars. Rebels, terrorist groups, and government agencies abduct and lure children for use in wars in communist countries and countries in civil wars because children can easily handle and use new age Twenty-First century weapons and are more agile and have more stamina.
The role of children in wars at one point was that of innocent bystanders (Hughes 3). Weapons used to be heavy and bulky. They were not easy for children to use or run with, but when technology was improving children were able to handle most new weapons, because of this they were used for guerilla combat more than usual. Children are also used as leverage because some groups will not shoot at children. It is also easier for children to get behind enemy lines because no one suspects a child of being a soldier. Hughes states on page 5, “Children are useful to armed groups because they can be tightly controlled. Taught from the earliest age to respect adult authority, children are especially vulnerable to military indoctrination and training techniques.” In some cases children were used before improvements in technology for guerilla combat. In one case, during the American civil war a child was awarded a medal for his service to the country. The role of children in wars is heading more toward combat than that of innocent bystanders and this is not a change for the better. When there was a bigger need for children in wars the rebels, governments, terrorists had many ways to obtain children and many ways to try and keep the children for as long as they need.
Rebel militaries use refugee camps to lure and recruit children because the refugees want food and revenge on the people that brought them there (Hughes 6). Refugee camps are one of the most common places children are recruited for the military. Governments will sometimes circle schools when they are in desperate need of soldiers and arrest people between the ages of 15 and 17 years old for recruitment (Wessells 32). The reason they can nott arrest anyone under the age of 15 for recruitment is because of Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court War Crimes (1988), section 2 (b), xxvi wich states Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into the national armed forces or using them to participate actively in hostilities is classified as a war crime (Harendra de Silva). In fear of being arrested for violating international law governments only arrest children between the age of 15 and 17 years old. This is a loophole they use so they can not be charged with breaking international law. If this law is changed it will stop the legality of using child soldiers. Children sometimes have no other choice but to join because they need food and supplies or even need money to take care of their families. Peer pressure even plays a role in getting children to join the armed forces (Wessels 36). Peer pressure is already a big problem on its own and now it is being used as a method of recruitment. After the children are recruited some groups make the children kill someone they are close to so they can never return home (Hughes 6). It is almost like a pledge of loyalty and a way to keep the children with the groups.
One country in particular that is making an effort to stop the use of child soldiers is the United States. The United States is doing a lot to stop the use of child soldiers. They took military assistance out of Afghanistan, Chad, The Dominican Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Uganda. One specific country the United States stopped giving military assistance to was Sri Lanka. Government and rebel run militaries and terrorist groups are currently using child soldiers in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka the military in particular had the children do a lot of work some including kitchen work, radio communication, digging trenches, guard duty, front-line fighting, manufacturing bombs, and setting landmines (Harendra de Silva). The children are doing so many dangerous jobs. They are at more risk than any child should be. They have the risk of being killed and blown up from combat and making and planting bombs. If the children do not do what they are told they are punished. Harendra de Silva states that “Noncompliance was punished in various ways, including kitchen duty, beatings, bullying and verbal and physical abuse by junior cadres, imprisonment, blackmail, or death threats.” Children who try to escape are often further brutalized or in some cases killed. Since the United states took away military assistance it may or may not have a positive impact on the Sri Lankan government. The United States actions are may also influence other countries to stop the use of child soldiers in fear of having United States military assistance taken away from them.
Child soldiers go through a lot of emotional and mental stress after they are released from combat and other military duties. Afterwards they experience many things from PTSD to depression and will most likely commit suicide. They suffer from psychological scarring from the violence and brutality they experience, after they even have trouble getting an education or employment skill for jobs(Harendra de Silva). Harendra de Silva states “Conscription may lead the children to commit suicide an act of self-destruction that cannot be fully comprehended.” The children are in desperate need for physical, emotional, and psychological help that is caused from them being slaves of war..Other countries are doing their part to help the children. For Example, The Philippine military gives former child soldiers scholarship and enrollment into rehabilitation programs to help undo the psychological damage done to the children by agencies. Other organizations start the process by taking them back to their families and communities where they belong. These countries have solutions to solve the aftermath of the wars on children but not a solution to stop the children from even being used in combat. If we get other countries to make an effort to stop the use of child soldiers this issue can come to an end. Other countries can use the same approach the United States is using or come up with their own. The most effective strategy would be to take military assistance out of the many countries who still use child soldiers in their militaries.
Rebels and governments have need for children in dictator run militaries and civil wars because they can easily handle and use weapons. It is not right that children have to go through all the things these groups put them through like murdering someone they are close to or even killing in general. The world has come a long way from where we started in using child soldiers because countries are starting to turn away from using child soldiers thanks to the United States threatening to take away military assistance. Although we have come this far we are still far from ending the use of child soldiers. There are still Tens of thousands of children believed to be active participants in wars (Wagner 9).