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Child Soldiers in Mali: A Hidden Crisis of Conflict

Child Soldiers in Mali: A Hidden Crisis of Conflict The recruitment and use of child soldiers in Mali has remained a persistent and often overlooked outcome of the country’s deepening instability. Since armed conflict first erupted in 2012, children have been drawn into roles far beyond their years – fighting on frontlines, acting as scouts and serving logistical roles under coercive or deceptive conditions. Despite clear international prohibitions, armed groups continue to involve minors in a war that disregards age or consent.

Conflict and the Machinery of Recruitment

The security crisis in Mali began more than a decade ago, first triggered by a coup and fueled by the rise of jihadist groups. In areas where the state has lost its grip, nonstate actors have filled the vacuum. Among them, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) – an al-Qaeda affiliate –has become one of the most active recruiters of children. In 2022, the United Nations (U.N.) verified 394 cases of child recruitment in Mali. The real figure, aid workers suggest, is likely much higher. Children are also recruited by local defense groups and pro-government militias, particularly in regions like Mopti and Gao. While some join voluntarily due to desperation, others are forcibly conscripted or manipulated through promises of safety or income.

Why Children Are Vulnerable

In rural Mali, children often face an impossible choice: survive or surrender. Many lack access to basic education, food or protection. With livelihoods disappearing and schools destroyed, some see joining armed groups as the only path forward. In many cases, entire families rely on armed factions for security and children volunteer out of obligation or necessity. Girls are especially at risk. Armed groups frequently subject them to sexual violence, domestic labor and forced marriages. These experiences often go unreported but leave deep and lasting trauma.

Legal Promises and Local Realities

International law, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, clearly prohibits the use of children under 18 in hostilities. Mali signed an action plan with the U.N. in 2017 to end the recruitment of children by state forces. However, enforcement has been weak. While the Malian government no longer officially recruits children, armed groups continue to do so with little consequence. Security forces lack control in large parts of the country, allowing nonstate actors to operate freely. As a result, the use of child soldiers in Mali has persisted in both open combat and support roles.

Reintegration and Recovery

Children who leave armed groups often return to communities that may no longer exist or that regard them with suspicion. Without structured reintegration, many remain vulnerable to poverty, re-recruitment and long-term psychological trauma.

In 2023, the Mali Humanitarian Situation Report documented that 42 children formerly associated with armed forces and groups received protection and reintegration support in the Mopti and Ségou regions. This assistance included case management, family reunification and access to essential services such as psychosocial care and education.

UNICEF, in partnership with local and international actors, continues to support such initiatives. These ongoing efforts often involve the establishment of safe spaces, vocational training, trauma counseling and education catch-up programs. However, the scope of support remains limited compared to the scale of need. Globally, the organization emphasizes a comprehensive reintegration approach that includes community-based services, psychosocial support and family tracing. In Mali, this approach is critical to reducing the likelihood of re-recruitment and helping former child soldiers rebuild their lives.

A Global Call for Action

The child soldier crisis in Mali continues to pose significant challenges to national and regional stability. The porous borders of the Sahel region have facilitated the spread of conflict into neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Niger, exacerbating humanitarian concerns. According to UNICEF, 10 million children across these three nations are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, with nearly 4 million at risk in adjacent countries due to escalating hostilities. This situation underscores the critical need for sustained international support to address the root causes of child recruitment and to provide comprehensive reintegration programs.

Looking Ahead

Ongoing insecurity in Mali presents significant challenges for child protection. As armed groups continue to operate across vast ungoverned territories, efforts to prevent child recruitment remain limited in reach and resources. Reintegration programs supported by humanitarian partners have demonstrated effective strategies. Sustainable solutions potentially require increased coordination, long-term investment and integration of services across sectors, including education, mental health and family support. Strengthening national frameworks and expanding community-based interventions may help reduce future recruitment and support recovery for affected children.

– Charlie Baker

Charlie is based in London, UK and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Child Soldiers in Burkina Faso: Why Child Recruitment Is a Crisis

Child Soldiers in Burkina FasoAccording to the U.N. Secretary-General’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, published in June 2024, terrorist groups in Burkina Faso predominantly recruited 169 child soldiers. Since the outbreak of conflict in August 2015 between Islamist groups and the government, Burkina Faso has faced yet another political and social challenge alongside child labor: child soldiers recruitment. Alongside ongoing cases of child abuse—including killings, kidnappings and labor exploitation— military extremist groups’ recruitment of child soldiers in Burkina Faso is increasing by nearly 100 individuals annually. Despite extensive child protection efforts by UNICEF and other organizations, such as Save the Children and Caritas, violations and crimes against children, and the recruitment of child soldiers in Burkina Faso continue to rise due to the government’s unstable position, a worsening humanitarian crisis and societal divisions.

Brief Background of the Burkina Faso Conflict

The ongoing conflict in Burkina Faso escalated on August 23, 2015, when a rebel Islamist group affiliated with an Islamist insurgency movement attacked multiple government posts, resulting in numerous civilian deaths and injuries. According to U.N. reports, nearly 10 years of war have killed at least 10,000 civilians and combatants, not including regular kidnappings. The statistics on political instability, the rise of new hotspots and the increase in existing ones are disheartening. An analytical report by Al Jazeera showed that the number of hotspot locations increased from 303 in 2018 to 2,216 locations in 2019, representing an approximate rise of 631.3% in just one year. The most vulnerable groups in these conflict zones remain women, the elderly and children, who suffer not only from the humanitarian crisis but also from the widespread practice of child soldier recruitment, a practice that the Burkina Faso government strictly prohibits.

Where Does Child Soldier Recruitment Take Place?

Since the practice of child soldier recruitment is widespread and often beyond state control, its origins remain unclear. Some of the most significant instances of child soldier use throughout history occurred during the Vietnam War, World War II and in modern times, within Russian Army forces in the Russo-Ukrainian war. However, the regions that suffer the most from the practice of child soldier recruitment are primarily in Africa. According to the U.N. annual report, countries such as the Central African Republic, North Sudan, Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are among the hardest-hit territories. The report indicates that armed groups recruit between 100 and 2,000 children as soldiers annually in these areas.

Child Soldiers in Burkina Faso and Child Abuse

While the humanitarian crisis and war crimes continue to be major issues, the statistics on child abuse in the country during this period are also rapidly worsening. Given the unstable position of the government, the vulnerability of civilians, particularly women and children, has become a deeply challenging issue to resolve. According to UNICEF, up to 93% of children in the country lack access to public health services, hygiene, nutrition and education. Additionally, UN Trade and Development reports that “nearly four out of 10 people live in extreme poverty.” This situation is caused by insufficient production capacity for goods and services, the challenging transition from a highly centralized state economy to a market economy, major political instability, the geographical disadvantage of being landlocked and external debt.

Another significant issue is the regular recruitment of child soldiers by extremist military groups. The charitable organization Theirworld, dedicated to ending the global education crisis, reports on the causes of child soldier recruitment. In many cases, extremist groups kidnap children and force them into service, while social and economic pressures in their country drive others to join. Lacking proper access to education and humanitarian aid, and struggling with poverty, these children become more vulnerable to the influence of terrorist groups that promise them money or drugs in exchange for their service. As a result, those who join the military often commit war crimes, including killing civilians, or become victims of sexual abuse. Reuters reports that some of these children even participate in massacres.

The World’s Response

In response to the recruitment of child soldiers, some of the world’s largest organizations, such as UNICEF and Save the Children, have established multiple charitable programs that receive donations from volunteers worldwide. UNICEF’s reintegration program for former child soldiers has helped more than 8,700 children escape armed groups and reintegrate into civilian life. Through its partners, UNICEF provides these children with full access to education, health care, counseling services and a safe place to live during their recovery period.

Additionally, Save the Children delivers child rights protection and education services in African regions, while also creating petitions and securing ongoing donations to support the cause. It provides education to war-affected children, including former child soldiers, by offering accelerated learning programs and psychological support. Its efforts resulted in 4,000 children receiving education and becoming empowered, and 62,000 children receiving protection from harm.

Furthermore, the UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), together with key partners such as UNICEF, UNHCR and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG-CAAC), works with governments and armed groups to sign and implement action plans aimed at ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

A Call to Action

While the recruitment of child soldiers remains one of the most devastating and persistent issues in Burkina Faso, driven by severe economic and political challenges, powerful global organizations like the UN and UNICEF are uniting for a common goal: to combat poverty and protect the vulnerable. Through impactful campaigns such as UNICEF’s program for Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG), they are working to protect children in conflict zones and ensure their reintegration into society in African regions including Burkina Faso. 

All the programs mentioned are working in Sahel conflict zones, where Burkina Faso is included, so far none of the specific branches to work only in Burkina Faso was created. Additionally, child soldiers receive the same help as other vulnerable children in Sahel conflict zones.

– Liubov Linnyk

Liubov is based in England and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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The Use of Child Soldiers in Iraqi Kurdistan

Child Soldiers in Iraqi KurdistanThe use of child soldiers in Iraqi Kurdistan has a long and troubling history, dating back to the mid-to-late 20th century when Kurdish militias mobilized entire communities, including children, in their struggle for autonomy. Yet, one particular 1970’s terrorist militia, The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), continues its fight today seeking an independent Kurdish state, while indicted of war crimes for exploiting children as young as 7 for combat.

The History of Child Soldiers in Iraqi Kurdistan

During Saddam Hussein’s reign, vulnerable children often became targets of informal militias, with the PKK recruiting aggressively since its formation. In 1994, reports filed by the UN Refugee Agency documented the PKK’s “systematic increase in child recruitment” and even the creation of “child regiments.” A battalion called Tabura Zaroken Sehit Agit, for instance, operated with “a committee of five children aged between 8 and 12.” A year later, sources from the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) verified these reports after the loss of 1,000 PKK guerrillas—many of them young boys and girls—during an attack on the Kurdish Democratic Party. Yet, instead of being deterred by heavy casualties, the PKK intensified its recruitment efforts, adding 3,000 more children to its ranks by 1998.

About 13 years after Saddam Hussein’s deposition, the practice had not subsided. Human Rights Watch documented 29 cases of the use of child soldiers in 2016 –  all tied to the PKK. Additionally, of these cases, the children concerned routinely admitted to “participating in fighting,” staffing checkpoints throughout the PKK occupied Qandil Mountains, and cleaning or preparing weapons. The latter occupations, although far from the frontlines, still carrying significant risks. Due to Iraqi Kurdistan’s neighboring proximity to Turkey, Turkish airstrikes can kill child soldiers without the children witnessing the horrors of close combat.

The Influence of Poverty

Chiefly, the depths of Iraqi poverty bear the foremost reason why these children fall into recruitment traps that militias created. Deprived of money and education, children fall susceptible to armed groups offering financial incentives. As of 2016, UNICEF reported that more than a half a million Iraqi children were engaged in labor due to declining family incomes, violence and displacement. With a further “5 million children in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.” Furthermore, long-term political instability, corruption or weak governance in Iraq has exacerbated poverty. Limited economic opportunities and displacement due to armed conflict coupled with societal pressures to achieve rite of passage or honor in protection of one’s family makes children increasingly vulnerable to militant influence.

As such, important NGOs like the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which began operating in Iraq in 2003, and the Iraq Child Rights Network which began working in Iraq in 2011, are continuously offering community-based child protection systems and implementing protective policies. In 2022, the IRC’s child and youth protection and development services supported 18,200 people, providing conflict-affected children with access to sustainable, specialized, holistic and nurturing protective services. Likewise, the ICRN has contributed its support to the National Child Protection Policy (NCPP), a policy which aims to provide a comprehensive framework to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse, including preventing the recruitment of children into armed forces and armed groups.

Positive Changes

However, among all progress, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is driving the greatest changes. In August 2024, a conference occurred titled Promoting the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in Accordance with International Standards. At this conference, Kurdistan’s Coordinator for International Advocacy, Dinadr Zebari, highlighted the KRG’s aims—specifically its 2021–2025 Regional Human Rights Action Plan—to raise Iraqi Kurdistan’s international reputation through “commitments to human rights.”

He stated the KRG has already implemented several human rights recommendations upon refugees, of whom are the primary source of child soldiers. These recommendations include “reception, accommodation, and essential services.” In fact, the KRG is now responsible for 80% of services for refugees, having allocated 138 schools and 54 mainstream schools throughout the region. This is monumental achievement, because 40,410 refugee students now receive formal education and there is hope that more refugees will enroll in mainstream schools since the Ministry of Education’s granting approval in 2021.

Looking Ahead

While the future looks promising for Iraq and its educational developments, there can be no complete celebration until every child is safe from militancy. About 327,000 refugees still reside in Iraq, with 41% estimated to be children under 18. Of these, 90% live specifically in the Kurdistan region. This means that potentially 93,000 child refugees still require aid and education after subtracting those already enrolled in schools. 

– Leighton Webber

Leighton is based in the UK and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Child Soldiers in Cameroon 

Child Soldiers in CameroonConflicts have been devastating in Cameroon for several years. This ongoing conflict has led to the recruitment of child soldiers in Cameroon. The insurgencies and other forms of violence present within the country have exacerbated the state of poverty within the country.

Humanitarian Impact

In Cameroon, more than 55% of the population lives in poverty, 37.7% suffer from impoverishment and 4.4 million people require humanitarian assistance. This situation impacts their health, education, livelihood and shelter.

Cameroon faces three complex humanitarian crises: the Lake Chad Basin conflict, the North West and South West (NWSW) and the Central African Republic (CAR) refugee crisis. These humanitarian crises severely impact rural areas. The ongoing conflict and insecurity worsen poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to natural resources, limited income, minimal agriculture and livestock production.

The Boko Haram insurgency and the Anglophone Crisis led to the existence of child soldiers in Cameroon. Unidentified Boko Haram-affiliated and splinter groups recruit and use boys as young as 10 years old. These boys act as spies and undertake other tasks in the Far North Region.

With the onset of the Anglophone Crisis, perpetrators continue to exploit children. Children face abduction, denial of education and coercion to join military groups in an attempt to overcome poverty. The use of child soldiers in Cameroon deprives these children of their human rights, educational aspirations and sustainable peace.

International Laws and Conventions

The presence of child soldiers in Cameroon represents a direct contravention of international laws and conventions. Efforts by Cameroon to combat this violation must be appreciated. Further strengthening the national laws, Cameroon has ratified the Conventions on the Rights of the Child in 1993, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 1997 and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict in 2013. These Conventions and Protocols collaborate to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers in Cameroon. Demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration into society become key factors for the protection of the child soldiers in Cameroon.

Helping the Children

Founded in 2019, Hope for Cameroon (HFC) contributes to uplifting children in Cameroon. It empowers the marginalized population and provides access to transformational educational opportunities through the HFC Education Fund from 2019. The funding program helps alleviate the financial challenges faced by these families because of the crisis within the country. Dieudonne is a recipient of this fundraising campaign. A victim of the Anglophone crisis, Dieudonne can secure the necessary funds and pursue his dreams of attending university.

Launched in 1996, Nkumu Fed-Fed is a women-based organization to help the most vulnerable groups of women and girl children belonging to the less privileged in the rural communities of Cameroon. With the ongoing conflict, Nkumu Fed-Fed works toward alleviating poverty and guaranteeing equity in Cameroonian society. This organization helps vulnerable women and girls by setting up a Community Micro-finance Credit Scheme in support of its Income Generating Activities. Additionally, Nkumu Fed-Fed supports communities requiring improvement in infrastructure within schools.

Promoting Sustainability

One of the main focuses of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is rural development. Since the 1960s, GIZ has been a strong support to Cameroon. GIZ recognizes the severe poverty in Cameroon and aids the country by promoting sustainable resource management and the protection of biodiversity. This helps improve incomes and ensure food security. Furthermore, implementing subsistence farming in rural areas leads to profitable mechanisms coupled with social and environmental sustainability. This helps to tackle the issue of malnutrition among women and chronic undernourishment among children.

Efforts by national leaders, local NGOs, grassroots organizations and support from the international community create a hopefulness that Cameroon will emerge victorious in this arduous struggle.

– Caren Thomas

Caren is based in Dubai, UAE and focuses on Technology and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Child Soldiers in Pakistan

Child Soldiers in PakistanPakistan is an emerging middle power within the East Asia hemisphere quickly on the incline to becoming one of the world’s largest militaries and economic power in the East. However, for all its recent growth, a multitude of issues still plague the nation; terrorism, corruption, religious strife, illiteracy and poverty are all issues that remain, including the use of child soldiers in armed civil and religious conflict. Let’s take a look at the history of child soldiers in Pakistan and what steps the government has taken to eliminate and reduce the issue.

The Past

According to UNICEF, conflict parties around the world recruited more than 105,000 children between 2005 and 2005 and that number could be “much higher than reported.” It is hard to quantify just how responsible Pakistan is to these numbers due to the lack of statistics surrounding the subject, but that does not detract from its role in the involvement of child soldiering.

Pakistan struggles with the problem of active recruitment from factions and parties that are not associated with an official government. These militant groups work on cross-border recruitment strategies to bolster their ranks. The Taliban in Afghanistan forced recruitment through madrassas, Islamic seminary groups acting to radicalize the children. Similar situations arise in the bordering regions in Kashmir and Jammu, where party elders recruit teenagers and subject them to informal combat training. The elders push the envelope further as after combat training, they monitor the recruits at home to make sure that they are following the recruitment program.

In Pakistan, internal recruitment independent of outside parties was also going strong. The Mohajir Quami Movement (MQM) represents the Mohajir community in Pakistan but concurrently engages in periodic violence to resolve religious disputes. It is unknown how many numbered the ranks of MQM in the early 20th century, but the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reported that a degree of their number did consist of underage soldiers.

Socioeconomic Realities

Forced recruitment is not the only underlying cause of the prevalence of child soldiers in Pakistan: many choose to enlist. The reasons vary according to political circumstances and geographical and socioeconomic realities and can explain voluntary recruitment. In 2018, 21.9% of people in Pakistan lived in poverty. Poverty was prevalent while economic opportunity was scarce and many children did not have viable options to support themselves. The onset of poverty and financial instability led many children to resort to becoming child soldiers as a way to escape the poverty of Pakistan.

To further the issue, an increased number of underage soldiers is a result of the legislation and constitution of Pakistan. Under Article 39 of the 1973 Pakistan Constitution, “the state shall enable people from all parts of Pakistan to participate in the Armed Forces of Pakistan.” The law of Pakistan meant that as long as one volunteered, they could serve, independent of a legal and required age. As the U.N. reported in Geneva in 1997, the legal age [was] between 17 and 22 for officers and between 16 and 25 for soldiers, according to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

The constitutional mandate of 16 being the minimum age to serve in an official capacity paired with the active recruitment of militants through madrassas and grievance causes created a pipeline of child soldiers, however, in a more progressive turn, the government has slowly decreased the amount of child soldiers in Pakistan.

Government’s Initiatives

The Pakistani government is all too aware of their issues and has taken the first steps to overcome the issue of recruitment. Beginning with the problem of madrassas and radicalization of religion for terrorism, the Pakistani military announced it would bring more than 30,000 religious schools under government control in 2019. Many non-state armed groups used these schools to forcibly recruit children. By recognizing the issue of indoctrination at a young age from outside militants, the government is protecting the children and giving them an opportunity for education without the possibility of forced recruitment for armed conflict.

Other initiatives can help increase the education retention rate and act as a deterrent to becoming child soldiers voluntarily. There are multiple options for rehabilitating and inclusion besides forced participation in school. Programs like sports and recreation centers can keep kids engaged and able to experience childhood without the ramifications of militant group recruitment. Additionally, the Pakistani government can implement reintegration centers to destigmatize and de-radicalize former child soldiers. By addressing their issues, accepting them as part of society and taking steps towards integration, the rate of child soldiers will drop dramatically.

Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA)

In 2008, the U.S. federal government passed the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA). This Act had one major goal: to combat the recruitment or use of children as soldiers by publicly identifying countries that engage in this practice. Since its inception, Pakistan has appeared on the CSPA list every year. However, in 2021, Pakistan, notably, was removed from the list, no longer being seen as a country that engages and participates in the practice of child soldiers. The justification waiver the President released upon the removal of Pakistan from the CSPA list relates as follows: maintaining “security assistance to Pakistan subject to the CSPA restriction supports critical U.S. objectives of promoting regional stability and counterterrorism in South Asia,” according to the Stimson Center.

Pakistan, a country once embroiled in political turmoil and radicalization has taken the first steps to legitimize itself. Taking the initiative to protect the education of children, increasing education rates and the protection of children shows that leadership is reforming the problems of the past. Children are no longer subjected to the active recruitment practices of internal militants and outside organizations. Stability within the region provided by the Pakistani military has created a wave of progression that is slowly eradicating the practice of child soldiers in Pakistan, serving as an example to other countries within the region and the globe.

– Luke Scroggins

Luke is based in Tolar, TX, USA and focuses on World News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Child Soldiers in Sudan

Child Soldiers in SudanSudan has been rife with conflict since its first civil war in 1955 when the north and south clashed. In 2005, they agreed to stop fighting and in 2011, South Sudan became its own country. But in the meantime, there have been ongoing tensions, especially in the Darfur region since 2003. Even though they made another peace deal in 2020 to have a temporary government, there was a military coup soon after and the fighting started again in 2023.

Across Sudanese conflicts, child soldiers are a consistent humanitarian concern, with most nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) emphasizing their recruitment in the South. However, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), approximately 6,500 children served in armed groups in northern Sudan during the civil war, with around 70% serving in Darfur alone. This trend continued with armed groups recruiting more than 400 children between 2011 and 2020 and an 11% increase in recruitment just in 2023.

The Multi-Faceted Reality of Child Soldiers in Sudan

Children become soldiers for a variety of reasons. While some are forced into service by armed groups, many, especially those separated from their parents, do so “voluntarily.” Sudan’s conflict has caused extreme poverty and widespread violence, leaving children with few alternatives than to turn to the armed forces simply out of a need for their resources and protection.

Though some children may become soldiers consensually, such activity is still a violation of international humanitarian law. It can have severe long-term consequences on child soldiers, ranging from physical to psychological illness. The experiences of child soldiers, which are often the drivers of such trauma, are characterized by violence during an age when development is most vulnerable.

Child soldiers are not only combatants but may, in fact, serve a variety of roles. Recruitment may mean a child is utilized in the armed forces as a cook, porter, messenger or spy; many sexually exploit children, too. Limiting the scope of what a child soldier is to exclude these distinct forms of abuse can leave certain victims out of the reintegration process.

Understanding this nuance is crucial not only for grasping how child soldiers in Sudan serve but also for pinpointing where they serve. Though initially conscripted in areas like Darfur, many armed groups train child soldiers in Sudan for the sole purpose of being sent to combat zones elsewhere. Several reports indicate that dangerous conflicts ranging from Yemen to Libya may employ child soldiers from Sudan.

Solutions

Several organizations have played key roles in aiding child soldiers in Sudan and Darfur. In 2007, the United Nations (U.N.) initiated the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to mediate hostilities, aiding child soldiers’ transition back into society through a process known as Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR). UNAMID oversaw several releases of child soldiers for reintegration. In 2011, The Sudan Liberation Army / Historical Leadership (SLA/HL) released 70 child soldiers, of which 24 were girls. Similarly, the Sudanese government released 21 child soldiers in 2016. Following the 2020 peace agreement, UNAMID ended its operations.

Subsequently, the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission (UNITAMS) was created to uphold the peace agreement and oversee Sudan’s transition to democratic rule. Continuing much of UNAMID’s goals, UNITAMS had “a strong child protection mandate,” which allowed for the monitoring of any human rights violations against children and the further facilitation of DDR. However, a military coup stopped the democratic transition in 2021, preventing UNITAMS from fulfilling this mandate. UNITAMS ultimately ended its operations on Feb. 29, 2024.

NGOs have also been essential to ending the recruitment of child soldiers in Sudan, with one of them being War Child. War Child is known for many campaigns, but in 2019, it launched its Can’t Wait to Learn program in Sudan, intervening in children’s education as early as possible to dissuade them from becoming soldiers. This targets the issue of recruitment at its source, bringing quality education to an impoverished population. War Child reached 2,667 children in 2019 alone but ended its operations following the resumption of conflict.

Final Remark

Despite the challenges, supporting organizations working toward ending poverty and the recruitment of child soldiers remains one of the best strategies to ensure the future of reintegration and demobilization in Sudan.

– Jacob Rampino
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

Child Soldiers in Sierra LeoneIt is upsetting when children witness violence outside their homes. There is a sense of fear about what will happen to their family and homes. As a result, it is easy to kidnap or coerce children into becoming soldiers for the sake of their country. Children experience many different forms of violence. According to UNICEF, “they may be required to participate in harrowing training or initiation ceremonies, to undergo hazardous labor or engage in combat–with a great risk of death, chronic injury and disability.”

Between 1991 and 2002 civil war took place in Sierra Leone in which the country “recruited” children as young as 7 years old as soldiers. These child soldiers were “actual” children with families and lived at home but were abducted under the promise of protection and a sense of community as the war was raging, according to UNICEF.

Stigmatization, Poverty and Vengeance

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), children are more likely to become soldiers when they do not have access to education and live in poverty. Armed groups often make children kill their own families or neighbors to ensure stigmatization, making a child “unable to return to his or her community.”

Sierra Leone has a long history of struggling with poverty and unemployment. According to HRW, “many children join armed groups because of economic and social pressure, or because children believe that the group will offer food or security.”

Ishmael Beah was only 13 years old when the government’s army unit recruited him to fight against Rebel forces, after losing his parents and two brothers. Becoming a soldier out of vengeance for the loss of his family led him to take part in numerous battles. “When you have lost your family and everything, you quickly learn to belong in this group—but to belong to this new group requires violence. Violence becomes the way of showing loyalty,” Beah told UNICEF. Around two years later, when he was 15, UNICEF rescued him and placed him in a rehabilitation home in Freetown.

Ishmael Beah is now a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and pledges to help children who suffer from trauma due to violence. There have now been many rehabilitation centers for child soldiers and UNICEF reports the release and reintegration of more than 100,000 children in more than 15 countries struggling with armed conflict since 1998.

Helping Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

Save the Children began its work in Sierra Leone in 1999 in response to the civil war. After the war, Save the Children’s initial focus was on child reunification in which the organization helped children find their parents or family members and helped those children who had participated in the war as child soldiers. The organization has now implemented its 2022-24 Global Strategy to fulfill the rights of all children, including child protection, education, health and child rights governance.

On February 12, 2002, the U.N. established the Red Hand Day, the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers. Red Hand Day became an actual campaign that strives to end the use of child soldiers and to care for and protect former child soldiers, including those who were child soldiers in Sierra Leone.

Save the Children and Red Hand Day offer a glimmer of hope toward peace education, ensuring that no child under the age of 18 will end up in the army, potentially losing their own lives. Ishmael Beah’s experience is among many stories of child soldiers in Sierra Leone that bring to life how wars affect children. Hopefully, others will continue to voice their experience too, helping to end the use of child soldiers and helping provide children with the love and care that they deserve.

– Nevin Guler
Photo: Flickr

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Child Soldiers in Ethiopia 

Child Soldiers in EthiopiaEthiopia’s long history of armed conflicts endangers the well-being of children, subjecting them to trauma and putting them at risk of recruitment for combat. Child soldiers in Ethiopia are continuously caught between the chaos of conflict and political instability. Their rights are violated as they find themselves susceptible to physical harm, sexual violence and abductions.

Conflict Background

The debris of the Tigray War, which ended in 2022, has brought a new internal conflict to the country. Ethnic relations and political tensions between Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) caused the Tigray War to break out in 2020. The TPLF had previously been the leading force in control of the federal government, opposing Ahmed’s agenda. The Tigray War was notably characterized by ethnic violence and became of international concern.

During the war, the TPLF army used child soldiers in Ethiopia as a shield, positioning them on the front lines of the war zone. While the use of child soldiers is a violation of human rights and international law, the TPLF denies the proven accusations, stating that the children are only used to collect and gather weapons left behind.

After the war and under the premise of wanting to minimize crime based on ethnicity, the Ethiopian government began fighting militias and regional forces. This even included ones to which the government was an ally during the Tigray War, most notably the regional forces of Amhara. According to a 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia published by the U.S. Department of State, both militias and the government are using child soldiers in Ethiopia in the current conflict. The Ethiopian government also denies the allegations.

Becoming Child Soldiers

Children become child soldiers for different reasons. Some are kidnapped; others are threatened or manipulated into joining. Armed forces favor kids for their physical endurance and because they raise fewer suspicions. However, some of them become soldiers as a way to escape poverty.

Child soldiers are not only those on the front lines; they are also used in war in any other capacity. This includes using children as cooks, spies or most recently suicide bombers. Girls who are recruited are subject to gender-specific vulnerabilities such as sexual assault, sex trafficking and unwanted pregnancies.

The Fight Against Child Soldiers

Child soldiers are victims who are forced onto battlefields and manipulated to stay. Many struggle to re-integrate into society when conflicts are over and face discrimination by their families and communities.

Organizations such as Children and Armed Conflict, part of the United Nations, focus on combating the recruitment of children for war. As stated on the site, “The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child outlaws child soldiering, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child established 18 as the minimum age for children’s participation in hostilities.”

The campaign Children, Not Soldiers, launched in 2014, achieved a wide range of success in the fight against child soldiers. Despite ending only two years later, long-lasting actions were achieved, such as the end and prevention of child soldiers in the DRC and Sudan. While the campaign had a major impact in other African countries, Ethiopia did not become part of the campaign.

Ethiopia’s continuous state of conflict endangers children and perpetuates a cycle of child soldier recruitment. While the issue has drawn international attention, there is much more work required to end the phenomenon of child soldiers in Ethiopia.

– Paula Pujol-Gibson
Photo: Flickr

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Child Soldiers in the Central African Republic

Child Soldiers in the Central African RepublicIn June 2023, UNICEF reported that militant groups across the world recruited at least 105,000 children. The Central African Republic (CAR) constitutes a large portion of this statistic and has one of the highest numbers of child soldiers in the world.

Years of armed conflict mean the political landscape of the CAR is highly unstable. Attempts to reduce political volatility including the 2019 peace agreement, have largely been unsuccessful. UNICEF considers the exploitation of children as soldiers, as one of the worst forms of child labor damaging a child both physically and detrimentally psychologically. Here are seven facts about child soldiers in the Central African Republic.

7 Facts About Child Soldiers in the CAR

  1. The Broadness of the Term ‘Child Soldier’ – A child soldier is anyone under the age of 18 who a militant group recruits and uses in any capacity. This encompasses exploitation as messengers, cooks, spies, guards, human shields, combatants and for sexual purposes. Child soldiers in the Central African Republic are not only those involved in direct fighting.
  2. Female Child Soldiers are Silent Victims of War – In 2023, the charity Theirworld estimated that 40% of child soldiers across the world are currently girls. Male combatants predominately use them as sex slaves and refer to them as ‘wives,’ resulting in the girls suffering greater gender-based violence. This is typically less reported and therefore statistics often exclude female child soldiers rendering them silent victims in conflict. In March 2023, the World Bank reported the CAR currently has one of the largest gender inequality gaps in the world ranking 188 out of 191. Greater emphasis on the empowerment of women is necessary to reduce violence against girls and increase awareness surrounding their use as child soldiers in the Central African Republic.
  3. Child soldiers Account for the Most Common Violation Against Children – The 2022 Human Rights Council reported 647 child victims of child rights violations in the CAR which included sexual violence, illegal imprisonment and the use of children in armed conflict. The latter violation was reported as the most frequent. In 2022, the UN reported this figure had decreased since 2021. However, to minimize this statistic, a greater emphasis on preventing the recruitment and subsequent exploitation of children as soldiers is necessary.
  4. The Release of Child Soldiers is Only Half the Battle – In 2022, the UN reported the successful release of 134 child soldiers in the CAR after discussions with militant groups. However, the removal of children from violent conflict does not equate to their immediate return to normalcy. Child soldiers are highly vulnerable to re-recruitment. Stigmatization of child soldiers in the Central African Republic may lead to their alienation from society as they are deemed dangerous and even made scapegoats. This also increases their chances of re-entering conflict and even remaining in it until they are adult soldiers.
  5. Reintegration is Possible Via Entire Community Efforts – Since 2014, the organization World Vision has been active across seven different locations throughout the country. It helps child soldiers by enhancing community relationships, offering protection from violence and improving nutrition and clean water availability. Crucially, it has created child protection programs that work comprehensively with community leaders, families, law enforcement and caregivers to create a safe space for those children associated with armed groups. By 2025, it predicts that it will have improved the well-being of 2.1 million vulnerable CAR children.
  6. Neighboring Conflict Leads to a Higher Risk of Greater Child Soldiers – The recent conflict in neighboring Sudan has led to approximately 14,000 Sudanese refugees and CAR repatriates into the northeast of the country. Rebel groups largely control this area and it is outside of government control. As the number of vulnerable children residing in militant areas increases so does the risk they face of recruitment and exploitation as child soldiers in the Central African Republic. However, in June 2023, the UN reported within the first weeks of conflict beginning in Sudan, they were able to preposition 155 tons of emergency cargo in the northeast of the CAR which has provided life-saving assistance.
  7. Prevention of Child Soldiers Possible Via Reducing Conflict – The CAR ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world with real GDP growth estimated at 0% in 2022. About 71% of the CAR live below the international poverty line. Conflict is highest among countries with the lowest per capita income and economic growth.

Looking Ahead

Where conflict and violence prevail, so too will the existence of child soldiers. Therefore, greater funding to improve the CAR economy including emphasis on employment, health care and education is vital. In 2021, the World Bank reported project PACAD, designed to support committees affected by all displacement had injected approximately $12,279,000 into the local economy.

While the number of child soldiers in the Central African Republic remains critical, investments and greater funding provide life-changing relief. Aid assists by advancing the economy, providing emergency health care relief, de-radicalization and reintegration programs as well as assisting in the prevention of conflict. In the CAR, as children’s chances of exploitation in armed conflict are high, funding can provide indelible change.

– Heidi Helen Horgan
Photo: Flickr

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Child Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Child Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Belgium colonized the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for 80 years until the country was able to gain its rightful independence in 1960. Belgian rule allowed the use of torture in particular to political opponents, causing instability from the ground up that has stayed with the country even as it became a democratic nation. History has shown how difficult it is for countries to prosper once colonized and the Congo is unfortunately no different. Both internal struggles for power and outside conflicts have hindered the country for decades, and the most vulnerable group is feeling it the worst — children. Child Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are nothing new, but the country is actively working to change that. One of the largest hurdles facing this issue is the extreme level of poverty in the country, where nearly 80% of citizens survive on less than $2 per day.

Congolese Politics

The DRC has had many instances of political violence, but the 1990s were a turning point. After seizing power in 1965, President Mobutu took control and ruled until he was overthrown in 1997. Former President Laurent Kabila took control and suspended the democratic process before he himself was assassinated a few years later. It was not until 2006 that democratic policies were reinstituted, but the internal conflicts of the past still remain today, including ethnic nationalism and tribalism throughout the region. The DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world. This poverty and constant internal conflict for power leave so many displaced, opening the door for child soldiers to be recruited and taken advantage of. With consistent instability, often the most at-risk groups feel the weight of the tension the most.

Child Soldiers

 Children as young as 6 find themselves routinely recruited to join militia groups, though the most common ages range from 8-16. There are varying positions they are forced to work including spies and messengers. Other child soldiers in the DRC find themselves fighting on the front lines for differing warlords.

 The UN has found militias operating in the DRC have a “staggeringly high number of violations against children.” They prey on children using patriotism as motivation or by taking advantage of the extreme level of poverty in the country. Government forces, who once also implemented child soldiers, have to shoulder some of the blame, as attacks on schools and hospitals have risen as well.

The U.S. Department of State provides a report to explain and understand how child soldiers are being implemented in the DRC while also showing the best estimation of child soldier numbers. The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report lists the DRC as a Tier 2 country on a 3-tier system. Tier 2 countries are those that have not eliminated trafficking but are making “significant efforts” to do so.

Solutions and Progress

The United States passed a law in 2008 that allows for the withholding of military aid to governments that use children in their armed forces, called the Child Soldiers Prevention Act. At the time, the Congolese government was still using child soldiers, but this act directly changed that. After its passing, the DRC signed a U.N. action plan that made certain guarantees leading to the end of its recruitment and use of child soldiers. Further penalties stem from TIP if a country is listed on Tier 3, which opens the door for U.S. sanctions.

The government of the DRC has taken further action against militia groups that are still involved by showing an increase in trafficking probes and prosecutions once caught. They have also removed children from these armed groups while agreeing with militia commanders on ending child recruitment, getting some to even renounce the practice altogether. That is quite an improvement in a country where this has taken place for decades.

 NGOs are operating in the country, including Mercy Corps, which is finding ways to help the government economically that in turn, help the citizens of the DRC. Mercy Corps is addressing basic needs by piping in clean water and building wash stations. It has also proposed strategies that are designed to tackle poverty by repairing economic relations with other African countries that are facing the same violence. Another path is using the Congo’s massive amount of natural resources, both diamonds and gold and refining them at home. 

There are still thousands of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo being used as spies and messengers. There are programs being implemented to bring change in this area, by both the Congolese government and outside NGOs. Further outside help is being provided by foreign countries that have incentive programs to counteract child soldier use. The number of child soldiers is down, but without continued help to alleviate a major cause, extreme poverty, the threat of being forced to fight in armed conflicts will remain. 

– Benett Crim
Photo: Wikimedia Commons