Children are usually viewed as young people that do not have very much to think about, or have much responsibility. That is not the case for these individuals. In fact, child soldiers/suicide bombers are almost the exact opposite. A child soldier is defined as “anyone under the age of 18 who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity” (Human Rights). They are put through hardship in which they do not deserve. Kids should not have these images in their head this young. They should not have to go through this abuse either. Children are abused and mistreated all around the world, and child soldiers/suicide bombers are one of the worst circumstances.
First of all the child soldiers/suicide bombers are located in many different continents all around the world. The majority is based in the Middle East and Africa: Burma, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Congo, Liberia, and also Sierra Leone (British Broadcasting Corporation World Watch). Being poor, disconnected from their families, or get a poor to no education make them more likely to become victims (Human Rights Watch). Girls make up an estimated 10-30% of the child soldiers in Uganda and Nepal (Do Something). Some join because they are too young to realize the consequences that war may bring upon them, and want to be a part of the army because of the weapons they use and uniforms they wear. Being bathed, fed, and properly clothed is another reason for them wanting to be a part of these groups, in which they would not receive during their every-day lives (British Broadcasting Corporation World Watch). The children that survive the war are captured by the rebel groups and are then converted into child soldiers, along with the kids who had just...
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...’s play is, childhood is an endangered and fleeting phase of life for everyone around here.” –Christian Ezora
Works Cited
"Facts About Child Soldiers." Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 03 Dec 2008. Web. 18 Nov 2013. .
"Child Soldiers." BBC World Service. BBC World Watch, 12 Jun 2006. Web. 18 Nov 2013. .
"11 Facts About Child Soldiers." Do Something. N.p., 26 Mar 2004. Web. 22 Nov 2013. .
"Life after death: Helping former child soldiers become whole again." Haravrd School of Public Health. Harvard School of Public Health, 6 Oct 2011. Web. 22 Nov 2013. .
“Sierra Leone Rebels Forcefully Recruit Child Soldiers.” HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH. 1 June 2000. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
There is no exact known number of children currently being utilised in warfare worldwide. The issue of the military use of children is so widespread that no figure can be calculated, although it is estimated that there are currently over 250,000 child soldiers across the world. Many are drugged and brainwashed into murder, many are forced to sever all ties with their family or watch them die. Most are faced with a simple choice: kill or be killed. Although the notion of child soldiers is vastly alien to contemporary Australian society, it is a reality in many parts of the world.
The first reason these kids shouldn’t be prosecuted or punished in any way is because it wasn’t their choice to be a soldier to begin with. According to Child Soldiers, Prosecution, most kids were forced to fight and had no choice of weather to enlist or not. There are about 200,000 child soldiers worldwide state's Armed and Underage, (Gettleman) and these kids are doing things their adolescent brains
One of the major problems in the Middle East is child related. To be specific, child soldiers. It is estimated that there are over 38,000 kids who are forced into being child soldiers (Storr). Because child soldiers can’t prevent their horrific fate, they deserve to be granted amnesty by the United Nations. One main reason why they should be given amnesty is because they are forced and drugged into becoming killers.
Bracken, Patrick and Celia Petty (editors). Rethinking the Trauma of War. New York, NY: Save the Children Fund, Free Association Books, Ltd, 1998.
Taylor, Rupert. “The Plight of Child Soldiers.” Suite 101. Media Inc., 11 May 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .
Today, there are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers fighting in at least twenty different countries. Child soldiers are children under eighteen who are used for military purposes. They are used in various countries across the world, most commonly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Child soldiers are often used because they are easier to manipulate than adults. Children are also more obedient and do not demand a salary. They are abducted from their home or school and forced into becoming a soldier. Some children voluntarily join the army because they feel they have no other option. To prevent the children from escaping, commanders often threaten the children. They also promise them money at the end of the war. War deeply affects every part of a child’s development. They can become victims of trauma from being exposed to violence. They are also deprived of an education because they are recruited into the army before they finish school. Many former child soldiers suffer nightmares, intense sadness, and reappearing violent images. These children are often labelled as untrustworthy. Although many countries use child soldiers, military recruitment of children under fifteen is recognized as a war crime. There are also laws prohibiting the military use of children under eighteen. The use of child
The use of child soldiers is a topic that is persistently ignored by several countries and organizations, as nothing is being done to help these children who are stuck in this traumatic childhood. Due to the desperation of soldiers in various regions and combats zones around the world, children are forcefully recruited into army, and onto the treacherous battlefield. Although several investigations into the use of child soldiers have been conducted, they have failed to resolve the issue at hand. Nations all over the world need to come together to take action; child soldiers are victims. They were forced into the lifestyle they went through, drugged, and underwent intensive therapy to help them recover from the tragic events they witnessed.
Children were forced to join if they do not have an education, been adopted, or their family is poor. People in the past lost many children in a war than the modern death today. Kids are being killed in the battle each time they enter a war. There appears three hundred thousand and more today of child soldiers is active in conflicts around the world. Forty percent of the armed forces, including national armies, militias, gangs, terrorist, and special forces in the world use children In Iraq. Young children were taken from a camp on the northern side of Iraq during the year early in 2002 where people use their own children as soldiers, where the people allowed children to be in a war without questioning by different Country and
Africa houses the largest population of child soldiers based on the prevalence of armed conflict in the continent. Some of the regions where child soldiers have become the norm rather than the exception include Chad, Somalia, Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Based on the statistics developed by the United Nations in the year 2013, eight government armies had made the commitment to stop the process of child recruitment for the use of warfare (Tiefenbrun 420). Although statistics are high in the African continent, other regions of the world such as Bahrain, Afghanistan and the greater Asia and oceanic areas abduct and force children into submission through acts of cruelty. These are violence and forced killings, while at other instances, some children join willingly in a bid to fight poverty, causes of revenge, and sometimes in defense of their neighborhoods and villages (Macmulin 460) . Child recruitment is an unacceptable practice and must relevant parties and actors must work together to stop it at any cost.
Children are a loved and cherished piece of the human existence, but why are they so often treated as less than they are? “For centuries children have been involved in Military campaigns-- as child ratings on warships, or as drummer boys on the battlefields of Europe,” (United Nations Children’s Fund). Although it seems old fashioned, this is a very prevalent issue that we face today, especially in Africa, the Middle East, and in some parts of South America. Children are used to fulfill a variety of roles, some of which are cooks, frontline soldiers, spies, and/or sex slaves. People see the horrific deeds being done to these innocent children. The question is, are they doing anything to stop these monstrosities? Thankfully, there are organizations
“They lack the mental maturity and judgment to express consent or to fully understand the implications of their actions,” (IRIN, 1). Most child soldiers start fighting at an extremely young age. Because of this, most of them do not know that what they are doing is wrong. “The Children and Justice During and in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict report says: ‘If a child under the age of 15 is considered too young to fight, then he or she must also be considered too young to be held criminally responsible,’” (IRIN, 1). If children that are forced to fight are not legally old enough to fight, they cannot be punished because they may not realize the magnitude or effect what they do will have. Even if they do understand that violence and killing is wrong, they have no say and can do nothing to get out of the situation. “Eleven-year-old Abu Imara al Omri kneels down to kiss his father's hand; a final blessing before the boy blows himself up in a truck full of explosives,” (McLaughlln, 1). Child soldiers will do whatever the leaders want them to do. This could be because they are forced to, or they may simply just not understand what harm could be caused to them. As in the case of Abu Imara, they may volunteer to become a suicide bomber because they want to be appreciated, but they don’t realize what they are getting into. Child soldiers are too young to understand
A child is the next generation in changing the world. Under harsh and cruel influences their path become to be a child soldiers. People who lost a loved one and want justice done on the child soldiers that did not have control of what they are doing to commit the crime. Around the world, at least 300,000 children are soldiers. The children are destroyed from not having a childhood when they are given this task of being a soldier. Many Child soldiers should receive amnesty unless they willingly volunteer to be a child soldiers. They are more like victims than killer because they are adolescents, sensitive, not given a choice, and afraid to escape.
But in the article “The Challenges of the African Criminal Court in Prosecuting Child Soldiers” it turns out that the recruiters of child soldiers use alcohol and drugs to make the children more compliant to come with them. They also threaten their lives and their families lives if they don’t come with. Sometimes they don’t even ask the child's opinion and just take them from their homes and schools. What this makes clear is that the children didn't want to come and put up a fight but sadly they lost. The children don’t want to go with these people but they also don’t want to lose their families, so they had to choose between two evils. This also shows that the recruiters are the people who should be treated like criminals and not the children because the recruiters took them against their own
Children definitely play the victim part in this because they are often punished harshly if they don’t do something right or they are given the worst jobs. According to an article called, The Challenges of the African Criminal Court in Prosecuting Child Soldiers, “ Military commanders encourage to delegate the ‘dirtiest’ orders to child soldiers. “ The commanders of the children often deal out the most unfortunate jobs to the children like, performing an execution, or being a suicide bomber or even watching an execution to see how it’s performed. To be fair, there are circumstances where children choose to do these jobs or want to do them. It is only under those circumstances, however children still should never be given the job of performing an execution or being a suicide bomber. All of these reasons explain the children should not be prosecuted and should be treated like