Child Soldiers
- Jan 5, 2009
A special broadcast of the television program "24" recently featured the use of child soldiers. Learn more about this issue and how you can TAKE ACTION to stop the recruitment and use of children in war.
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In at least 17 countries around the world, children are direct participants in war. Denied a childhood and often subjected to horrific violence, hundreds of thousands of children are serving as soldiers for both rebel groups and government forces in current armed conflicts. These young combatants participate in all aspects of contemporary warfare. They wield AK-47s and M-16s on the front lines of combat, serve as human mine detectors, participate in suicide missions, carry supplies, and act as spies, messengers or lookouts.
Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically make obedient soldiers. Many are abducted or recruited by force, and often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. Others join armed groups out of desperation. 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 perceive armed groups as their best chance for survival. Others seek escape from poverty or join military forces to avenge family members who have been killed.
Since 1994, Human Rights Watch has reported on the recruitment and use of child soldiers in more than a dozen countries including Angola, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda. We are also a founding member of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, which campaigned successfully for an international treaty banning the use of children under age 18 in hostilities.
Reports
Child Soldiers
- Jan 5, 2009
- Dec 16, 2008
- Dec 4, 2008
- Dec 3, 2008
