United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
Topic B: Use of Children in Armed Conflicts
BACKGROUND
The United Nations has been long concerned with the world’s use of children in
armed conflicts, specifically in South and South East Asian, Latin American, and
several African nations. Around the world, thousands of boys and girls are recruited
into government armed forces and rebel groups to serve as combatants, cooks,
porters, messengers or in other roles. Girls are also recruited for sexual purposes or
forced marriage. Many have been recruited by force, though some may have joined
as a result of economic, social, or security pressures. Situations of displacement and
poverty make children even more vulnerable to recruitment.
Hundreds of thousands of children are used as soldiers in armed conflicts around
the world. Under the Paris Principles of the Involvement of Children in Armed
Conflict of 2007, a child soldier is defined as any person below 18 years of age who
is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any
capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks,
porters, spies, or for sexual purposes. Many children are abducted and beaten into
submission, others join military groups to escape poverty, to defend their
communities, out of a feeling of revenge or for other reasons. In many conflicts
children take direct part in combat. However, their role is not limited to fighting.
Many girls and boys start out in support functions that also entail great risk and
hardship. One of the common tasks assigned to children is to serve as porters, often
carrying heavy loads, including ammunition or injured soldiers. Some children act
as lookouts, messengers, cooks or other routine duties. Girls are particularly
vulnerable. They are often forced to serve as sexual slaves. Moreover, the use of
children for acts of terror, including as suicide bombers, has emerged as a
phenomenon of modern warfare.
In times of conflict, children are abducted from their homes, schools and refugee
camps. Child abduction often leads to other violations against children such as
forced labor, sexual slavery and recruitment. Many children also get trafficked
across borders due to armed conflicts. War is, and has always been, a dangerous
place for children. Thousands of girls and boys are killed and maimed during
conflict. Several children are used as human shields in order to protect armed
groups. The 2014 annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed
conflict presents information about grave violations committed against children in
23 country including Colombia, Libya, Nigeria, Mali, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Chad, Somalia, North and South Sudan, Central African Republic, Cote
D’Ivoire, Israel, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Thailand,
and the Philippines.
PAST UN ACTION
Since the creation of the United Nations, several laws have been put in place to
protect children against armed conflicts. Human rights law declares 18 as the
minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities. Recruiting and
using children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited under international
humanitarian law and is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court.
The right to life and the prohibition of killing and maiming civilians are principles
enshrined in humanitarian law, human rights treaties, and jurisprudence. Rape and
other forms of sexual violence against children are human rights violations, and may
amount to grave breaches of international humanitarian law. If committed as part of
a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, sexual violence can
constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court. Abducting children against their will and the will of
their adult guardians, either temporarily or permanently, is illegal under
international law. It may constitute a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and
amount to a crime against humanity and a war crime. Under International Law,
children are protected under the United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, The Geneva Convention, The Convention on the right of the Child,
Vienna Declaration and program of action, African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child, Rome Statute of the international criminal court, ILO
Convention 182, Convention of the Rights of the Child Protocols, A World Fit for
Children, and United Nations Millennium Declaration.
Under the United Nations, UNICEF works to release children from armed forces and
armed groups as soon as possible even during armed conflict, and help them return
to their families. In doing so, UNICEF supports services that care for the physical and
mental health and well-being of such children, provide them with life skills and
engage them in positive activities towards their future, including education,
vocational skills and livelihoods training. The United Nations takes pride on both
helping children involved in armed conflicts and protecting them under
International Law.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
1. How can UNICEF work with countries with high incidence of children in armed
conflict in order to reduce the level of children effected by war?
2. How can UNICEF work with the international community in setting an end to
children involved in armed conflict?
3. How can UNICEF further improve their resources on helping children effected by
armed conflict?
4. How can the United Nations prevent children from being involved in armed
conflict?
FURTHER INFORMATION
Children in Armed Conflict
http://www.unicef.org/emergencies/index_childsoldiers.html
Children and Armed Conflict
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/
Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation, and Abuse
http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58007.html