Child abuse comes in a different form, not only being subjected to massive loads of work, being denied their right to education, being forced to early marriages, but also being recruited to the army. Thousands of children under the age of 18 years have been recruited ed as soldiers, which is against the rights of children. Child soldiers are being used to carry out various terrorist actions in multiple regions across the globe, especially in conflict regions such as the Middle East and parts of Africa. In recent research that was conducted in different areas, it was found that thousands of young girls and boys under the age of 18 years have been recruited as soldiers and are serving in various government forces and as an army officer in government opposition groups. Thus, this action of forcing young boys and girls you serve in government forces is against different global laws protecting children's rights. Children soldiers are used as spies, commanded to perform multiple suicidal missions, and act as a lookout; these young soldiers may be subjected to multiple problems such as rape to the girl child.
There are various reasons why thousands of children under the age of 18 years have joined the army, some of the rights may be a result of being desperate in life, escaping poverty, they want to protect their community, revenge. Finally, many children are abducted, beaten up, and opt to be recruited as a soldier as a result of painful punishment they are subjected to during their recruitment. Recruitment of children to join the army is an unethical activity; these actions have long healing procedures since children being subjected to various soldiers’ activities such as killing innocent citizens and terrorism have a negative physical and emotional impact on the affected children. Many of the children are forced to engage in various actions such as committing suicide and triggering violence, which has psychological effects, which may be a long term problem. The government and various non-governmental organizations are joining hands to find a solution they can implement to help children affected by conflict to reintegrate into the healthy civilian life. The reintegration process is long term retrieval process that requires a lot of resources and commitment for it to be successful.
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Various cases of child soldiers have been reported in recent years. In the year 2000, large thousands of children were drugged and forced to carry out different suicidal masons in Sierra Leone; this war was nicknamed Child of War (2000). African countries have participated in the recruitment of child soldiers. In the District of Chad more than 10000 children were recruited to join soldier combat. The recruitment of young soldiers was triggered by the national government of Chad which was unethical. 30% of child soldiers are killed once they are in a suicidal mission. Child soldiers are subjected to various forms of sexual violence; for instance, girls are forced to be commanders’ wives and sex objects. The issue of recruiting children to join the war has increased, especially in the Middle East countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, and Syria. Children's rights are undermined once a child is recruited to join army combats; many of the children recruited are brainwashed and think that joining the army at a younger age is a since of bravely, mainly when serving in war zones.
Combating Child Soldiers Recruitment
The reintegration of thousands of children recruited as soldiers is a long and tiresome process that requires extensive support from various supporting agencies such as the national government, international organizations such as the UN, and non-governmental organizations. Multiple government agencies and non-governmental organizations have integrated and are now working together to assist in the reintegration of conflict-affected children. Some various laws and regulations have been implemented that are addressing the issue of child soldier recruitment. These laws have highlighted that anyone who will be found guilty in the recruitment of children to join the army will be held responsible. UN has participated extensively in the integration of former young soldiers. They have implemented a commission UNICEF which is responsible for the reintegration of former child soldiers to retrieve them back to their healthy civilian life. Psychological support, training, and educating former child soldiers are some of the aspects they can help in the integration of children soldiers back to their healthy lifestyle. Equally, it is a personal initiative to assist in the combat of child soldier recruitment.
References
Child Recruitment and Use - United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict | To promote and protect the rights of all children affected by armed conflict. (2020). Retrieved 15 February 2020, from https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/six-grave-violations/child-soldiers/
Child Soldiers. (2020). Retrieved 15 February 2020, from https://www.hrw.org/topic/childrens-rights/child-soldiers#
The project, B. (2020). 10 Facts about Child Soldiers - The Borgen Project. Retrieved 15 February 2020, from https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-child-soldiers/
(2020). Retrieved 15 February 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve42DWluB8A&feature=emb_title
