Argumentative Essay On Child Soldiers

Child soldiers have become an international issue, and have sparked extensive debate, as their rights to freedom, education and wellbeing are being violated.

Child soldiers are anyone under the age of 18 who are used by an armed force in any capacity, whether or not they play a direct role in hostilities.

In 1924 the Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the Child was enforced. This declaration aimed to put children in the position to be protected against exploitation, and proved to be effective as nations adopting the principles held perpetrators accountable, as it was enforceable. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC) was ratified and implemented in 2002. This legislation sets 18 as the minimum age for direct participation in hostilities.

Currently there are as many as 300,000 child soldiers fighting in over 30 conflicts around the world including over

Millions of civilians have died to date, roughly halve of whom are children under 5 years old, and it is now estimated that 1 in 10 child soldiers are found in Zaire. In 2012 the International Criminal Court (ICC) found Thomas Lubanga (a Congolese warlord) guilty of using children under 15 as soldiers. The courts conviction was the first of its kind, and was an important and effective step to justice as the conviction held the guilty accountable. These international responses directly influence the global communities view on this issue, and many ex-child soldiers who have escaped are now human rights activists, such as Ishmael Beah who has played a vital part in pressuring governments to stop the use of children as soldiers. Continued pressure on government makes this lobbying effective as it pressures governments to