child soldiers

Mon
29
Feb
2016
New translation available
Submitted by hannah

ElPais.com.co

On Wednesday the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas...

Wed
22
Oct

Stop recruitment of 16 year olds into the UK armed forces

We call on the UK Government to stop its policy of allowing 15 year olds to apply and 16 and 17 year olds to be recruited into the Armed Forces. The recruitment and targeting of young people and vulnerable groups has been criticised by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. 2014 is the year to end this policy.

Why is this important?

What better way to commit our country to peace during the commemoration of World War One and remember the hundreds of thousands who died from the UK alone, including boy soldiers like Rifleman V J Strudwick who was killed at 15? Why is it that in 2014 the UK is the only country in Europe - and the only country among the permanent members of the UN Security Council - to recruit 16 year olds into its armed forces?

Mon
20
Oct

Studies explore effects of war on former child soldiers

Young soldiers from a Ugandan supported Congolese rebel movement group, sing liberation songs waving their rifles in this photo in the north eastern Congolese town of Bunia. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)

Society for Research in Child Development

Despite international bans, more than 250,000 children fight as soldiers in 86 countries across the globe, almost half of them in Africa. Two new studies explored how these children adjust after they return to their homes. Key to successful adaptation, the studies found, was the characteristics of the communities to which the children returned.

Fri
17
Oct

Moving towards a world without child soldiers

By: The Dallaire Initiative

In 2007, the international community moved boldly forward towards envisioning a world without child soldiers and children affected by armed conflict. Today, the Paris Principles and Commitments represent one of the strongest international agreements on the issue of children associated with armed conflict, with over 100 member states agreeing to implement its guidelines and measures.

“The Paris Principles and Commitments are integral documents that underpin and build the political commitment and preventative efforts to end the use of children as weapons of war,” states Dr. Shelly Whitman, Executive Director of the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative (the Dallaire Initiative).

Wed
15
Oct

‘North Darfur tribal leaders agree to end use of child soldiers’: Unamid

EL FASHER (13 Oct.) -

Unamid has welcomed a community-based strategic plan to end the use of children as fighters in inter and intra ethnic clashes.

The plan, initiated by Sheikh Musa Hilal, was endorsed by leaders from the Abbala, Beni Hussein, Fur, Tamma, Gimir and Awlad Janoub tribes in Kabkabiya, El Sareif Beni Hussein, Saraf Umra localities, and the areas of El Waha and Jebel Si in North Darfur, Unamid announced in a press release issued on Monday.

On 26 July last year, Hilal had already issued an order to the North Darfuri communities under his leadership to prohibit the use of children as combatants. Apart from the recruitment of minors, the former Janjaweed leader condemned sexual violence against children, the abduction and maiming of children, and attacks against schools and hospitals. He assured his full commitment and adherence to international norms and standards protecting children in situations of armed conflict.

Mon
13
Oct

Caught in the Crossfire: Child Soldiers in South Sudan Have Few Alternatives

In South Sudan, as in many parts of the world engulfed in conflict, youth are growing up in communities that have been torn apart by war. The film The Good Lie, which tells the story of the lost boys and girls of Sudan, vividly portrays their struggles during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005). Throughout the war, children were actively conscripted, both voluntarily and by force, into the national army and other armed groups. That legacy of recruiting child soldiers has continued into today’s conflict in South Sudan.

Fri
10
Oct

Exploitation or proud tradition? Britain's child soldiers

Photo: Channel 4

Campaigners launch a new attack on the army's policy of recruiting children as young as 16. But veterans says it is a time-honoured way of offering troubled teenagers a better life. Who's right?

The campaign group Child Soldiers International has lodged a claim for judicial review into Ministry of Defence rules on young soldiers.

The group says you effectively join up for six years if you enlist before the age of 18, instead of four if you join as an adult. Its lawyers say this constitutes unlawful age discrimination and violates European law.

It is the latest in a string of attacks on way the British army treats minors in its ranks. Ultimately, Child Soldiers International and other campaigners want parliament to raise the minimum age of voluntary recruitment from 16 to 18.

Mon
06
Oct

Honor Charter “Neutralizing children from Conflict"

Syrian Women’s Forum for Peace adopted what came in the statement of the Honor Charter “Neutralizing children from Conflict" by Building Syrian State Current, issued on 05/10/2014.
The charter requests from the conflict parties to declare their commitment to the following:
1- Avoid targeting areas that are likely to be inhabited by children.
2- Prevent recruiting children under age of 18 and prevent them from any involvement in combat operations or intelligence action.
3- Prevent the participation of children in any kind of political movement, including rallies of pro-opposition and pro-regime, festivals of electoral rhetoric and everything related to political action.
4- Avoid media exploitation for children related issues.
5- Prevent using schools for any political or military purposes, and to facilitate any process related to children’s education

Fri
03
Oct

Burma’s child soldiers return home to face a fresh set of challenges

Photo: The Asian American Trafficking Outreach Project

For boys released from the army after being illegally recruited, access to education, jobs and social protection will be difficult

Dressed in white shirts over their green sarongs, dozens of young men poured down the concrete step of the army barracks and across the compound. With parents in tow, they walked towards a line of buses parked beyond the barbed-wire perimeter. Once everyone was seated, the buses moved off. The young men stared out of darkened windows; some looked blank while others, smiling, waved at the grey slab buildings as they receded into the distance.

Recruited illegally as children, the 108 boys were returning home to their families after being formally discharged from the Burmese military. Some had come straight from active service, while others had emerged from hiding or been released from prison, where they were jailed for desertion.

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