Nelson Mandela's Effects On Child Soldiers

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Child Soldiers
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment” (The Declaration of Human Rights; Article 5). This states that people have rights, and cannot be mistreated without a reason. All people will be respected and have dignity in life. No one can be subjected to unwanted actions.
In countries like Sierra Leone, this law is not followed. Ten thousand young children are being forced to fight in Sierra Leone’s civil war for the rebel or government army as child soldiers. Children under the age of eighteen are being forced to fight in the front lines, do suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts. In Sierra Leone these children are also being forced to mine for diamonds, …show more content…

However, he first became famous in the 1960’s when he started protests against the Apartheid, where the black majority was segregated from the white minority. He called for nationalist strikes where the blacks would not work until they got equal rights. Nelson Mandela’s strategies were different though. He stressed that bloodshed was to be avoided at all costs so instead he bombed infrastructure to get the government’s attention. When he was arrested and put on trial for the death penalty, he used the trail as a platform, saying that he was prepared to die for what he believed in. Lastly, when Mandela was sentenced to life in prison, he spent his time studying the white people in the government so he could prove to them that what he really wanted was equality and not power and so he could negotiate with them …show more content…

However, people don’t realize that this money is fueling the rebel army and is the reason for the civil war and the use of child soldiers. Diamonds are in so little supply that their demand is very high. The rebel armies, which take thousands of children from their families to fight, sell these diamonds for a very high price, fueling the war. If a man-made diamond were to be made and sold at half the price instead of the blood diamonds from Sierra Leone, the armies would not have enough money to continue the war. However, like the real diamonds, these man-made stones, called vitalapis (life stone) would have to have a low supply so the demand would be high. That way, people who buy diamonds would instead by the vitalapis, and stop giving money to the rebel armies, thus returning the children to their families and childhood. The company would then use ten percent of its profit to build schools, provide water, and give food to the children in Sierra

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