Filled with shocking historical accounts and factsand revealing the reasons why one cannot spell infantry without infant child. Children in the military are children defined by the convention on the rights of the child as people under the age of 18 who are associated with military organisations, such as state armed forces and nonstate armed groups. For the purposes of this backgrounder, a child soldier is defined as a person under a prescribed age see box on page 2 who is a member, or attached to, a countrys armed forces or any other regular or irregular armed force or group, whether or not he or she is involved in armed conflict. No end to forced mobilisation as civil war enters fifth year, having killed thousands and displaced millions in african country. Between 2015 and last year, unicef negotiated the release of 1,900 child soldiers in south sudan, one of the largest such demobilisations ever. The name sudan derives from the arabic expression bilad alsudan land of the blacks, by which medieval arab geographers referred to the settled african countries that began at the southern edge of the sahara. For more than a century, sudanfirst as a colonial holding, then as an independent countryincluded its neighbour south sudan. Republic of sudan 11 september 2012 ii the main text of this coi report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 1 august 2012. The psychological consequences of becoming a child. The phenomenon of child soldiers 1767 words 123 help me.
New york south sudanese leaders should help end widespread use of child soldiers by suspending and investigating commanders who have recruited children, human rights watch said in a report released today. Kimmel and roby 2007 describe the use of child soldiers as a form of institutionalized child abuse. The much publicized figure of the child soldier in africa is placed in context in this historiographical survey. The facts about child soldiers united states department. With the end of the civil war, an interim peace period was established which resulted in the release of thousands of child soldiers. By 2005, when a peace agreement was signed by the central government and the rebel sudan peoples liberation army, the bulk of southern sudans child soldiers, estimated at.
This is a human rights crisis of epic proportion in. Human rights watch interviewed more than two dozen current and former child soldiers from the former western equatoria and unity states in south sudan in november and december 2017. The children of south sudan continue to suffer the consequences of a brutal conflict. Unicef sudan when children are given a platform they can advocate for their own rights in participation, protection, development, and sustainability. Pdf child soldiers and youth citizens in south sudans. Lessons learned from africa and the way forward, featuring ms. Mlambo and others published armed conflict and the increasing use of child soldiers in the central african republic, democratic republic of congo, and south sudan. Contents preface reports on sudan published or accessed between 2 august 2012 and 11 september 2012 useful sources for further information. South sudan child soldiers although exact figures are hard to determine because of insecurity, unicef estimates that 9,000 children in south sudan have been recruited into armed forces and groups by both sides in the conflict. Read child soldiers still being recruited in south sudan at bbc news. This research paper seeks to investigate the phenomenon of child soldiers in africa. Mar 16, 2012 this week, the army of south sudan signed a deal with the united nations to release all remaining child soldiers.
In the early 1980s, the sudan peoples liberation army spla recruited and trained boys as young as 12. Dealing with the highly complex issue of recruitment and the reintegration of child soldiers and, possibly, even the future prevention of their employment is a very challenging problem with significant consequences and impacts. Child soldiers comprise a new class of combatants distinct from those of immature years who have, since the times of ancient greece, served in uniform as an adjunct to former armies and navies. Using children as soldiers is not only sadistic, it is a crime, a crime that not only endangers children, but robs them of their childhood. Six countries have committed to the united nations an end to child soldier recruitment since 2012. Other children abducted in war are sold into physical slavery or prostitution where. Based on the statistics developed by the united nations in the year 20, eight government armies had made the commitment to stop the process of child recruitment for the use of warfare. Jordan january 2017 6 seven jordanian troops were killed and more than wounded. Nov, 2015 by 2005, when a peace agreement was signed by the central government and the rebel sudan peoples liberation army, the bulk of southern sudans child soldiers, estimated at more than 10,000. Children, not soldiers united nations office of the special. In 2016 alone, 851 children were recruited to be child soldiers in syria. To learn more about the workshop, please click on this video. The spla in opposition signed an action plan with the united nations to end and prevent the recruitment and use of childrenin december 2015.
Yet our own history is filled with examples of children involved in warfarefrom adolescent prisoner of war andrew jackson to civil. Furthermore, rosen offers an illuminating history of how human rights organizations drew upon these sentiments to create the very term child soldier, which they presented as the embodiment of wars human cost. Pdf armed conflict and the increasing use of child. South sudan working group on children and armed conflict. The government of south sudan launched the campaign children, not soldiers nationally on 29 october 2014. Now that war has broken out in south sudan, it has been reported that child soldiers are once again being used in armed conflict. Governments which used child soldiers in armed conflict were burundi, drc, cote divoire, guinea, liberia, myanmar, rwanda, sudan, uganda and the united states of america. Governmentbacked paramilitaries and militias, were using under18s across the world, including in colombia, somalia, sudan and zimbabwe. According to unicef, there are about 6,000 child soldiers in darfur alone. South sudans exploitation of child soldiers youtube. For eight years beginning in 1994, sudan provided the lra sanctuaryin retaliation for musevenis backing a sudanese christian rebel group, the sudan peoples liberation army, which was. I see him in my dreams, and he is talking to me, saying i killed him for nothing, and i am crying. The sudan peoples liberation army spla has established a. On january 24, 2018, the wilson center africa program hosted an event titled former child soldier reintegration in uganda.
We know that children should not be soldiers, but that doesnt mean that we should not interrogate the consequences of advocacy efforts. That program was underway with 280 child soldiers between the age of 10 and 18 registered and demobilised and living in a transit centre in thonyor, near ler, western upper nile, southern sudan, when in may 1999 fighting broke out between the ssdf and another governmentcontrolled militia. Children in south sudan struggle within conflict on 9 july 2011, south sudan, officially known as the republic of south sudan, seceded from the republic of sudan to become an independent nation and africas fiftyfifth country. Child soldiers are brutalized through being forced to kill and inflict violence on others, leading them to be both victims and perpetrators at the same time. The number of governments who have not committed to removing child soldiers from government military forces. According to the child soldiers global report 2004, governments which used child soldiers in armed conflict between 2001 and 2004 were burundi, democratic republic of the congo drc, chad, cote divoire, guinea, liberia, myanmar, rwanda, sudan, uganda and the united states of america.
Although it originated in southern sudan, the civil war spread to the nuba mountains and the blue nile. The second sudanese civil war was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central sudanese government and the sudan peoples liberation army. Jul 24, 2017 between 2015 and last year, unicef negotiated the release of 1,900 child soldiers in south sudan, one of the largest such demobilisations ever. In february 2018, world vision accepted the first 250 of nearly 700 child soldiers and other children who had associated with armed groups in south sudan into a program to ease their transition to civilian life.
Issues that will be covered include the facts surrounding the phenomenon, its history, and the reasons for recruiting children into armed conflict. Rehabilitation of child soldiers essay example graduateway. Child soldiers in africa and their recruitment essay blender. Every child has a voice and should be heard as it is their basic right. Conflict in south sudan and the challenges ahead congressional research service 1 background south sudan emerged in 2011 as the worlds newest country, and one of its least developed.
The child soldier of today is enmeshed in a triad of anarchic civil war, lightweight weaponry, and drug or alcohol. Understanding the recruitment of child soldiers in africa. Yet our own history is filled with examples of children involved in warfarefrom adolescent prisoner of war andrew jackson to civil war drummer boyswho were once viewed as. Caseworkers help them recover from the violence theyve seen and experienced, so they can peacefully rejoin their families and. Some of the regions where child soldiers have become the norm rather than the exception include chad, somalia, sudan, and the central african republic. Joseph kony eventually created the lords resistance army lra and began kidnapping children to use them as soldiers as early as 1987. The sudan peoples liberation army spla has established a child protection unit to fulfil the pledge. Recruitment and use of child soldiers in south sudan hrw. Child soldiers in sudans conflict zones what happened the united nations special representative for children and armed conflict in sudan, in an april report, estimates that 335 children were recruited over the last five years by armed groups in sudan s conflict zones in darfur and the two areas. The involvement of children in armed conflict is something that no parent can desire. The psychological consequences of becoming a child soldiers. That means the worlds newest nation could be removed from a. The recruitment of child soldiers breaks several human rights laws.
In that same year, 652 children died and 647 were maimed, and these numbers are rapidly rising. South sudans army promises to release child soldiers. During the 19832005 northsouth war in sudan, thousands of child soldiers were used by southern rebel groups including the spla that became south sudans official military after the 2005 peace. Recruitment of child soldiers still rising in south sudan. When children are given a platform they can advocate for their own rights in participation, protection, development, and sustainability. The recruiters of child soldiers should be held accountable by international as well as national agencies. The recruitment of children under the age of 18 by armed groups has been rising in syria as the war continues. In march 2016, the government of sudan signed an action plan with the united nations to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in the national security forces. Child soldiers according to rory mungoven, spokesman for the coalition to stop the use of child soldiers, sudan has one of the worst child soldier problems in the world.
Official reports show that the youngest soldiers are only 11 years of age and that girl soldiers are often the victims of sexual abuse against which they receive no protection. For example, the lords resistance army lra, which abducted many children and fought against the government of uganda, maintained military camps in southern sudan, where its. Thousands of children have fought in the south sudan conflict. Individuals responsible for the unlawful recruitment or use of child soldiers for armed groups or forces may be subject to sanction under u. Chidi blydenrowe, former director for east africa at the office of the secretary of defense and former director of the africa program at the center for civilians in conflict. Sudan united nations office of the special representative. The recruitment and use of child soldiers has taken place within the context of a war in which both government sudan peoples liberation army spla troops and sudan peoples liberation army. Pdf version i still dream about the boy from my village who i killed. Although most child soldiers are teenagers, the recruits also include children as young as six or seven years of age. Throughout history and in many cultures, children have been involved in military campaigns. Oct 27, 2014 using children as soldiers is not only sadistic, it is a crime, a crime that not only endangers children, but robs them of their childhood. This week, the army of south sudan signed a deal with the united nations to release all remaining child soldiers.
In striving to enrich the lives of all readers, teachingbooks supports the first amendment and celebrates the right to read. When we hear the term child soldiers, most americans imagine innocent victims roped into bloody conflicts in distant wartorn lands like sudan and sierra leone. The history of using child soldiers dates back to 1986, when museveni used child soldiers to help overthrow the second obote government. Aug 31, 2010 the army in southern sudan has pledged to demobilise all child soldiers by the end of the year. Sudan, like south sudan, has recruited many children to its armed forces. Today there are child soldiers in many nations around the world, including the central african republic, chad, somalia, uganda, myanmar burma sudan, iraq, colombia and sri lanka. After almost 40 years of war between the sudan government and southern insurgents, southern sudanese voted in a january 2011 referendum to secede from sudan. The boys ranging from 16 to 18 years of age were taken as prisoners of war during clashes in the northern parts of the country in 2019. Juba, 26 february 2020 today, 15 children associated with armed forces and armed groups were released in south sudan, unicef said. Audiobook excerpt narrated by ademola adeyemo created by macmillan audio listen to the. South sudans red army comes of age global development. Jun 26, 2018 the recruitment of child soldiers in syria. It lasted for 22 years and is one of the longest civil wars on record.
They believed that a childhood is a fundamental human right. That means the worlds newest nation could be removed from a list of countries. In the early 20th century, women in the united states and the uk started petitioning their governments to end child labor. May 31, 2017 the number of governments who have not committed to removing child soldiers from government military forces. John pearn, in international encyclopedia of public health second edition, 2017.
Pdf armed conflict and the increasing use of child soldiers. Both government and nonstate forces in developed and developing countries are culpable. James, baba and hundreds of others walked out of the. The use of child soldiers is one of the more horrific moments in the history of south sudans creation, but the former red army members who. On august 19, 2016, unicef announced that 650 children had been recruited into south sudans current conflict in 2016 alone. The army in southern sudan has pledged to demobilise all child soldiers by the end of the year. Children, not soldiers united nations office of the.