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Struggles of sierra leone
Short term and long term effects of child soldiers
Guy goodwin-gill and ilene cohn, child soldiers, the role of children in armed conflicts, a study on behalf of the henry dunant institute, clarendon p...
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The Sierra Leone Civil War lasted eleven years and left Sierra Leone scared and unconstructed. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) bombarded the country but faced constant resistance from the Sierra Leone Military. Both sides relied heavily on child soldiers throughout the war and a projected 5,000 to 10,000 child soldiers were collectively used by both the Sierra Leone government and the RUF. These children forcibly entered into a life of violence and oppression, and they have since struggled to reintegrate back into society. Child soldiers have returned home with no family or future and many still face severe complications. For over 150 years, present day Sierra Leone served as an important colonial asset to the British. Under British control in 1808, the capital city Freetown was used as a naval base for antislavery patrols. The British governor who controlled the Gold Coast was one of many Europeans to take up residency in Freetown from 1821 to 1874. Additionally, Fourah Bay College was established in 1827 and sparked a major period of educational improvement all throughout the West Coast of Africa. For over 100 years, this college served as the only European-style university south of the Sahara Dessert. Perhaps with assistance from the established college, a series of revolts began to occur throughout Sierra Leone after a hut tax was placed on all residents of the country. Responding to the enraged inhabitants, a constitution was proposed in 1951 and the people began gaining power from the British. Just 9 years later, Sir Milton Margai returns from London as Sierra Leone’s first Prime Minister after had discussing constitutional actions with the British. On April 27, 1961, Sierra Leone became an independent nation with Sir... ... middle of paper ... ...rim Reality," 565-587. . Beah, A Long Way Gone, 139-141. 20. Betancourt et al., "High Hopes, Grim Reality," 565-587. 21. Betancourt et al., "High Hopes, Grim Reality," 565-587. 22. African Charter on the Right and Welfare of the Child (n.p.: Organization of African Unity, 1990), 5-6, accessed May 21, 2014, http://www.au.int/en/sites/default/files/Charter_En_African_Charter_on_the_Rights_and_Wlefare_of_the_Child_AddisAbaba_July1990.pdf. 23. Betancourt et al., "High Hopes, Grim Reality," 565-587. 24. Shepler, "The Rites of the Child," 197-211. 25. IRIN, "Sierra Leone: Child Soldier Rehabilitation Programme Runs out of Cash," IRIN Humanitarian News and Analysis, last modified July 22, 2003, accessed May 20, 2014, http://www.irinnews.org/report/45097/sierra-leone-child-soldier-rehabilitation-programme-runs-out-of-cash. 26. Beah, A Long Way Gone, 136.
Think about how your life was when you were ten. For most people, the only worries were whether you finished your homework and if you’ve been recently updated for new games. Unfortunately, in Sierra Leone, kids at the age of ten were worried about if that day was the only day they’d be able to breathe. The cause of one of this devastating outcome is Sierra Leone’s Civil War. This war was a long bloody fight that took many lives and hopes of children and families.
Ifezue G. Rajabali M., ‘Protecting the interests of the child’ [2013] Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law 1: 77–85
...violent and underground culture of diamond workers. These workers were treated terribly and would often be exploited for their man power by the rebel army in order for the army to have more weapons to fight the government of Sierra Leone. However, when I comes down to the real issue, the rebel army is the center of all the problems that arise, including the child workers and soldiers. The army was one of the major reasons why Sierra Leone's Civil War was as violent as it was. There was nothing to stop them from doing what they wanted and the diamond industry was seen as a income source to fund themselves against the government. However despite all the money and power the rebel army had, they were defeated and the government was reestablished, with order and democracy leading the new leaders reign.
Schattuck, John. “Overview of Human Right Practices, 1995,” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. March 1996: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Oct 2013.
"Sierra Leone." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1-3. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 November 2013.
• International treaty covering the rights of all children, through 54 articles, including the right of the child to express his/her views in relation to decisions being made that may affect them and their
While some children and adults are able to escape the wrath of the LRA, many are hurt, persecuted and forgotten about every year, by the group’s tactics. Children are taken during raids in villages near the borders of Uganda, Sudan, Congo, and the Central African Republic. The men are usually killed and the women flee, are killed, or trafficked. These raids are usually carried out by “child soldiers much younger than their victims,” where they are forced to kill possible relatives and kidnap other children. The male children that are taken are usually forc...
United Nations (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child.[online] Available at: [Accessed 1 April 2014].
Child soldier is a worldwide issue, but it became most critical in the Africa. Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by some rebel groups and used as fighters, cooks, messengers, human shields and suicide bombers, some of them even under the aged 10 when they are forced to serve. Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically make obedient soldiers. Most of them are abducted or recruited by force, and often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. As society breaks down during conflict, leaving children no access to school, driving them from their homes, or separating them from family members, many children feel that rebel groups become their best chance for survival. Others seek escape from poverty or join military forces to avenge family members who have been killed by the war. Sometimes they even forced to commit atrocities against their own family (britjob p 4 ). The horrible and tragic fate of many unfortunate children is set on path of war murders and suffering, more nations should help to prevent these tragedies and to help stop the suffering of these poor, unfortunate an innocent children.
Throughout the world children younger than 18 are being enlisted into the armed forces to fight while suffering through multiple abuses from their commanders. Children living in areas and countries that are at war are seemingly always the ones being recruited into the armed forces. These children are said to be fighting in about 75 percent of the world’s conflicts with most being 14 years or younger (Singer 2). In 30 countries around the world, the number of boys and girls under the age of 18 fighting as soldiers in government and opposition armed forces is said to be around 300,000 (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 1). These statistics are clearly devastating and can be difficult to comprehend, since the number of child soldiers around the world should be zero. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands adolescent children are being or have been recruited into paramilitaries, militias and non-state groups in more than 85 countries (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 1). This information is also quite overwhelming. Child soldiers are used around the world, but in some areas, the numbers are more concentrated.
There is an increase in sexual violence on women during war, but long after the war is over the horrifying battle continues. Violence against women continues getting worse because when the men return from war they still have a militarized ideology or suffer from the affects of traumatic events. So if there is no enemy to attack, then women are usually the inopportune targets. Jones uses chapter 3 to discuss the women that she encountered while she volunteered in Sierra Leone, West Africa which was ravaged by rebel occupants. Gaddafi and his followers terrorized and brutalized civilians with torture, rape, and murder. He created camps and recruited boy soldiers who eventually became brutal commanders as well. One of Gaddafi's soldiers Sankoh founded the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone (RUF) which is the most notorious guerrilla unit in the region. They forced fathers “to rape their own daughters; brothers forced to rape their sisters; boy soldiers gang raped old women, then chop off their arms” (Jones). After the war, the region would never be the same. Thousands of people died, and those that survived were left disabled, diseased or pregnant by their
(5) See Claude Ake, "The African Context of Human Rights," Africa Today, Vol. 32, number 5 (1987)
Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest of the country out of fear of the mutinous army that was out of control looting and killing.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Development Report (2000) Human Rights and Human Development (New York) p.19 [online] Available from: [Accessed 2 March 2011]
Julia S., Children's Rights in Africa: A Legal Perspective. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. 2013. Print.