GIRLS AND BOYS - COMPULSORILY, FORCIBLY AND VOLUNTARILY RECRUITED One of the worst things happening in wars today is the use of children by armed groups. Reports indicate there are hundreds of thousands of child soldiers around the world, serving in both rebel groups and government forces. Both girls and boys are being recruited, mostly between the ages of 14 and 18 years. Some child soldiers, however, are as young as nine. Many of these girls and boys are subjected to some of the most unimaginable suffering and violence possible. Deprived of the protection of their families, communities and schools, girl and boy Child Soldiers often serve at the front lines. But, children are also used to carry heavy supplies, lay and detect mines, act as spies, messengers or lookouts, and even to perpetrate suicide missions. Many of these children, primarily the girls, are also regularly exploited as cooks and sexual slaves. Considered to be in plentiful supply and therefore expendable, as well as highly malleable, girls and boys are often abducted or recruited and then forced to follow orders under constant threat of death or extreme punishment. Some girls and boys join armed groups to escape poverty, marginalization, domestic servitude or sexual abuse, while some wish to follow a cause or avenge the death of loved ones. Others see the armed forces as offering their best chance of protection amidst the chaos and violence that often separates children from their families and destroys their entire community. CHILDREN ARE USED IN COMBAT IN 19 COUNTRIES Children were used in combat by armed groups in at least 19 countries or territories between April 2004 and October 2007. These were: Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, the DRC, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand and Uganda. The vast majority of child soldiers are in the ranks of non-state armed groups. However, nine governments used children in armed conflict in this same period. Girls make up a third or more of the Child Soldiers in some countries, like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Uganda. Source: Global Report on Child Soldiers 2008 A CHILD SOLDIER IS... ..."any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers, and those accompanying such groups, other than purely as family members. It includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms." Cape Town Principles and Best Practices on the Recruitment of Children into the Armed Forces and on Demobilization and Social Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Africa (Cape Town, 27-30 April 1997) GIRLS FACE EXTRA HARDSHIP During and after war, girls face some of the harshest consequences of child soldiering. Not only do they fight on the front lines, but are often subjected to rape, sexual harassment and abuse. Girls may be subjected to early marriages with their commanders and early pregnancy which leads not only to health problems and heavier responsibilities, but greater stigmatization when they try to reintegrate into society. A third of child soldiers are believed to be girls, yet girls have been startlingly absent in numbers in Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs to date. FORCED RECRUITMENT OF CHILDREN IS PROHIBITED Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (2000) (insert link to the document) This protocol prohibits the forced recruitment of children under the age of 18 or their use in hostilities. As of 1st October 2008, it has been ratified by more than 123 countries, however only about a half of these to date have functioning laws to apply the protocol. ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 182 (1999) ILO Convention 182 has been ratified by over 150 countries requiring them to: "take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency". (5) The term "child" applies to all persons under the age of 18 years (6) and the worst forms of child labour include: "all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict". (7) Signatory countries are responsible for identifying and classifying the worst forms of child labour that exist in their territory. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1999) The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998) The International Criminal Court has the jurisdiction to prosecute the war crime of conscripting or enlisting of children under 15 years into national armed forces or armed groups, as well as the use of children to participate actively in hostilities. Thus, making the use of child soldiers a war crime. 1977 Additional Protocols to the four Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989): These protocols and Conventions use a 15-year minimum age for recruitment and participation in hostilities.