forced recruitment

Mon

Feb

2015

Crossing the border: memories about the exodus to Venezuela. The River Arauca’s case: boys, girls and adolescents

New translation available

Niños, hijos de una familia desplazada, jugando en el río Sarare, Guasdualito, estado Apure

Submitted by Gary

Boys, girls and adolescents in the country are “the most weak and vulnerable victims of the forced displacement among the overall population displaced by the country’s armed conflict” (Corte, 2008-b). As a result...

Fri

Sep

A call to action: 4th International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth, November 20-26

Submitted by antimili-youth on Fri, 22/09/2017 - 14:19

This November, activists from all around the world are taking action against the militarisation of young people in their countries, cities and towns.

Join us in this week with your own nonviolent actions, and be part of this global movement resisting the recruitment of young people's minds and bodies into violence.

The International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth is a concerted effort of antimilitarist actions across the world to raise awareness of the many ways in which violence is promoted to young people, and to give voice to alternatives. The week is coordinated by War Resisters' International.

Tue

Aug

Junior Nzita, ex child soldier: defeat the evil with the good

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 08/08/2017 - 16:38

The foundation „die schwelle“ in Bremen, Germany, has declared Junior Nzita to one of its laureates of the Bremen Peace Prize. Nzita is a former child soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and today he is a honorary UN ambassador for the topic of child soldiers. He was proposed for the Peace Prize by the german branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR). The Price exists since 2003 and is endowed with 5000,- Euro.

Wed

Apr

Colombia: Conscientious objector Diego Blanco illegally recruited

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 19/04/2017 - 16:28

Conscientious Objector Diego Fernando Blanco López from Colombia was illegally recruited by the Colombian army, despite his right to postpone due to being a student. He is currently being forced to serve in the Grupo de Caballeria Mecanicado No 4 Juan de Corral of the Colombian Army in Rionegro, Antioquia.

Since his declaration of conscientious objection on 20th March 2017, Diego Blanco has been subjected to aggression and harassment by his superiors. When he refused to take arms earlier this week, he was attacked by the First Sergeant Oscar Camacho Cartagena and has been threatened with a court martial for disobedience/insubordination.

Support Diego Blanco with your protest emails to the authorities. Send your emails here.

Thu

Feb

Nigeria: Boko Haram - 2,000 Children Recruited Used As Child Soldiers - Unicef

Submitted by antimili-youth on Thu, 23/02/2017 - 17:32

According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria's Boko Haram militants recruited about 2,000 children in 2016 and used them as child soldiers.

As world leaders gathered in Paris for a conference on the protection of children in armed conflict, UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake said "nearly 2,000 children were recruited by Boko Haram, in Nigeria and neighbouring countries, last year alone, and there have been nearly 1,500 cases of child recruitment in Yemen since the conflict escalated in March 2015."

The UNICEF chief said according to estimates there are tens of thousands under the age of 18 being used in conflicts worldwide today.

Thu

Jul

Forced recruitment and peace

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 28/07/2016 - 09:02

Colombia is the only South American nation with an ongoing internal armed conflict where military service is obligatory, requiring all 18-year-old young men to serve for one to two years - with no option of an alternative civil service. A military identification card is required to work in the public sector. Julián Ovalle and Alejandro Parra, of the Collective Action of Conscientious Objectors, describe their personal experience with forced recruitment and how it can be a nightmare for someone who has a fundamental objection to military service.

Forced recruitment and peace

Wed

Jun

Five countries where child soldiers are still recruited

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 29/06/2016 - 15:07

By Jared Ferrie, Irin News

Colombia’s largest guerrilla group has agreed to release all of its soldiers under age 15. It is a move welcomed by child rights groups but it also highlights the continued use of child soldiers in conflicts around the world.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) made the pledge during talks in Cuba aimed at ending its five-decade war against successive governments. The administration of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC now need to decide upon the terms under which the child soldiers will be reintegrated into civilian life.

Wed

Jun

A Call to Action: International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 08/06/2016 - 10:58

Would you like to take action against the militarisation of youth with many others across the world?

You can join War Resisters' International's week of action, which will be held between 14-20 November for the third time this year. You can join as an individual or as a group.

War Resisters' International is organising the 3rd International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth from 14 to 20 November this year. The week is a concerted effort of antimilitarist actions across the world to raise awareness of, and challenge, the ways young people are militarised, and to give voice to alternatives.

Mon

Apr

Crimea hands out military draft papers to newborn boys

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 25/04/2016 - 15:47

The Guardian

Russian authorities in Crimea have formally presented newborn boys with military draft notices alongside the more usual birth certificates, calling on them to report for duty in 2032.

The Crimean government handed out the notices to newborn boys during a solemn ceremony in the Sevastopol civil registry office as part of celebrations for an annual holiday known as Defender of the Fatherland Day on 23 February.

Sun

Apr

UK firm 'employed former child soldiers' as mercenaries in Iraq

Submitted by Gary on Sun, 17/04/2016 - 19:07

A 2000 image of a 14-year-old soldier in Sierra Leone Photograph: Adam Butler/AP

Alice Ross -

Former director acknowledges Aegis Defence Services may have recruited former child fighters in Sierra Leone

A former senior director at a British firm says that it employed mercenaries from Sierra Leone to work in Iraq because they were cheaper than Europeans and did not check if they were former child soldiers.

James Ellery, who was a director of Aegis Defence Services between 2005 and 2015, said that contractors had a “duty” to recruit from countries such as Sierra Leone, “where there’s high unemployment and a decent workforce”, in order to reduce costs for the US presence in Iraq.

Tue

Jun

14 Powerful Portraits Of Men Reacting To New Mandatory Army Draft In Lithuania

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 09/06/2015 - 16:22

By Neringa Rekasiute

Two women in Lithuania are using photography to approach a very controversial topic – military conscription, which was suddenly reinstated by the Lithuanian government just a few months ago. The series is a collaboration between Lithuanian actress and TV host Beata Tiskevic-Hasanova and Lithuanian photographer and political science student Neringa Rekasiute.

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Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.