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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

Child Soldiers in Burundi 

Child Soldiers in BurundiThere is a widespread issue of child soldiers in Burundi. It is not uncommon for armed militias in conflict zones to recruit children without proper training and send them to the front lines, often using them as mere cannon fodder.  

Burundi, a small nation bordered by Rwanda to the north and Tanzania to the east, still bears the scars of a 12-year civil war that began in 1993 and ended in 2005. Even almost 20 years later, it is still one of the poorest nations on the planet, with thousands of children becoming soldiers during the conflict.

Child soldiers in Burundi were recruited by armed groups for various roles, not just as frontline fighters. They had no say in the matter, as the groups forced them to perform tasks ranging from cooking to guarding. Additionally, girls were often coerced into sexual acts and arranged marriages with older men.

Civil War

The Burundian Civil War took the lives of more than 300,000 people and left more than one million more displaced. The conflict was a result of the long-term tensions and unrest between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi ethnic populations. Burundi’s first Hutu President got elected in 1993 and was later assassinated by the Tutsi army. This act of murder of a Hutu-born president caused the nation to plunge into a state of mass genocide.

Many families had their children forcibly taken; some children got kidnapped at school while those in refugee camps volunteered to join the militias, hoping to find a better life.

The growing poverty rates pushed some children into the military as they sought the financial means to send money back home to their loved ones. Many of these children later discovered that there would be no wages for them, with only 6% of child soldiers in Burundi receiving any form of payment for their service(s). Following their subjection to inhumane abuse and acts of atrocities, many of them live on to experience the pain for several years.

Due to the corrupt and secretive nature of recruiting children as soldiers, official figures are difficult to determine. There are no accurate estimates of how many child soldiers in Burundi lost their lives in action.

Demobilization and Reintegration

While it remains a fact that society’s most vulnerable citizens play roles in a war they do not understand, a number of poverty-reduction and reintegration programs are working toward bringing about positive change. These programs focus on demobilizing former child soldiers in Burundi and providing them with the support and rehabilitation necessary to get back into society.

In 2000, most active groups in the conflict signed the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement in a partnership that set the foundations for ending the civil war. Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa oversaw the agreement.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) created a framework in 2001 to develop a demobilization action plan, which the Burundi Government signed. The goal of the plan was to reintegrate a total of 5,500 child soldiers back into their communities through financial aid, mental health support and medical support.

Amnesty International emphasized that plans and programs must prioritize providing support to sexual violence survivors, with additional assistance to pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Throughout the war, Amnesty International documented acts of human rights violation to inform the global community. These reports exerted pressure on both the Burundi Government and armed militias to prioritize the well-being of civilians during future negotiations.

UNICEF’s project failed to include most child soldiers once they turned 18, underscoring the importance of efforts from other charities in preventing re-recruitment. World Vision (WV) prioritizes preventing recruitment through educational programs that aim to empower and protect young people. Providing financial support to families is also crucial in reducing the temptation of bribery from militant groups. WV continues to support reintegration by collaborating with small local organizations.

War Child’s Efforts

War Child collaborates with former child soldiers to establish “safe spaces” where they can meet and attend classes to further their education. Those aged 18 or older are offered employment opportunities and mentoring to supplement their vocational training.

Since its establishment in Burundi in 2011, War Child has witnessed the likelihood of further violence, as seen in 2016. The organization utilizes its platform to focus on prevention, leading the Economic Empowerment of Youth Toward Peacebuilding and Crisis Prevention project. The project examines why children feel compelled to join militias while identifying community actions that can provide protection.

Hope for Better Days

While child exploitation persists in Burundi, ongoing efforts from both local and international organizations to create a safer, more enabling environment for children in the country have resulted in some progress. The hope is for every child in Burundi to have the assurance of fundamental human rights and remain protected from the terror that comes in times of conflict.

– Yasmin Hailes
Photo: Flickr

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Child Soldiers in South Sudan

Child Soldiers in South Sudan
South Sudan has one of the “youngest populations in the world, with more than 70% under the age of 30.” The U.N. included South Sudan in its shame list; a list of nations responsible for abuses against children during armed conflict. Following independence in 2011, the region has suffered “subnational violence,” which has led to the recruitment and exploitation of child soldiers in South Sudan.

Child soldiers are those under the age of 18 who join armed militias and are used in combat as fighters, spies and suicide bombers. Some become cooks and messengers and often enter into child marriage. Nations all over the world continue to use child soldiers recruited by both armed forces and groups beyond government control. Due to reduced regulation, non-state forces recruit more child soldiers, which makes the issue more difficult to challenge. These groups often recruit children by force, either through abduction or coercion or lure them with financial or drug-related assurances. However, some also join voluntarily, arguably with little comprehension of what participation will involve.

South Sudanese Independence and Civil War

In 2011, South Sudan became an independent state. In 2013, the country entered a civil war after rising political power struggles resulted in a war between the forces of President Salva Kiir, the armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army and other smaller armed groups. The violence became worse once leaders began to supply communities with weapons. The South Sudanese conflict, combined with mistrust of government spending and corruption, caused international aid to dry up, which was particularly consequential for a country that relied so heavily on it.

Overall, civil war has had dire humanitarian consequences, with the U.N. declaring hunger and famine to be the worst since the country gained independence. Civilians, especially women and children, continue to suffer at the hands of armed groups and security forces.

Child Soldiers in South Sudan

South Sudan has notoriously used child soldiers in conflict. The precise number is difficult to determine due to the unregulated nature of the crime. UNICEF reported that out of the formally released recruited children in the Western Equatoria state of South Sudan, individuals younger than 15 accounted for 28% of this group. In South Sudan, armed forces recruit more boys than girls. According to Theirworld, children are susceptible to recruitment as child soldiers, when suffering from poverty, displacement or familial separation, which due to the civil war, are all conditions existent in South Sudan.

Looking to the Future

UNICEF plays a vital part in addressing the violations against children in South Sudan. This process involves the release and reintegration of each child and is essential to preventing the normalization of child soldiers. Through the signing and ratification of numerous legal frameworks, such as the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the South Sudan Child Act, the South Sudanese Government has committed to no longer using children in conflict. Since 2015, UNICEF has facilitated the release of 3,677 child soldiers in South Sudan. But, this is not possible without funding as the reintegration program that UNICEF provides costs $2,000 per child.

The family tracing and reunification teams at Save the Children are also instrumental in reuniting former child soldiers with their families. The organization works with local leaders, teachers and police to create “safe spaces” for the protection of child refugees and children who have experienced displacement following the war.

Because more than one in five children in South Sudan suffers from malnourishment, Save the Children trains health workers to address this and runs centers to distribute free medical care specifically tackling this issue. For many former child soldiers in South Sudan, who often miss out on education, it can be difficult to make a living, which is why Save the Children teaches young people vocational skills.

Looking toward the future, South Sudan is taking the steps to stop the use of child soldiers within the country and UNICEF and Save the Children play pivotal roles in this.

– Bethan Marsden
Photo: Flickr

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Rescuing Child Soldiers in Sri Lanka

Child Soldiers in Sri Lanka
Mohan Peiris, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the U.N. said, “Sri Lanka had a success story to tell the world – unfortunately, this is now a forgotten story.” The news that ought to be extensively disseminated to the general public is the successful rehabilitation of all 594 child soldiers in Sri Lanka that the LTTE recruited without prosecution, with priority given to their investigations and swift resolution of their cases. Lamentably, misinformation that the remnant elements of this group of non-State actors propagated hounded the diffusion of this news.

The Way Children Become Soldiers for the LTTE

A documentary by The Social Architects South Asia features interviews with former child soldiers in Sri Lanka, who talked about the myriad motives for their engagement with the militant organization.

Due to the sexual violence –sex slavery and mass rape– that the Sinhalese Sri Lankan government forces committed against Tamil females, a significant fraction of the girls in the LTTE, where men and women were considered equal and held the same right to identify as combatants, as a ray of hope and a promise for change, for which they joined the organization.

While this pattern became increasingly famous as the sexual violence peaked in 2009, the atrocity persisted post-war. The LTTE grants women the title of “Birds of Freedom.” Though this can appear rather voluntary, the law forbids a child from willingly enlisting in the LTTE armed force. Thus, every form of recruiting counts as abduction.

Next, the LTTE will either torture or kill families, who object to the admission of their children into the Baby Brigade of the LTTE or make them pay the price in cash or gold. In order to save their children, many affluent and educated families fled to North America, Europe and India.

Poor families oftentimes originating from the lower caste had little choice but to surrender their children, who would then be the front-line attackers. On account of their refusal to join the LTTE, the group abducted many children, the documentary reported.

Action Plan on Children Affected by War

In June 2003, the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, together with the United Nations Agencies and the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, agreed to the formal Action Plan on Children Affected by War with the aim of stopping the recruitment of minors and releasing any remaining juveniles to their families or new transit camps. However, despite the agreement, the LTTE had recruited more than twice as many children as it released. The LTTE deliberately started its re-recruitment of child soldiers in mid-2004 under the pretext of guarding them against external danger.

UNICEF planned a public awareness campaign on children’s rights as part of the Action Plan for Children in conjunction with the National Child Protection Authority to express objection to child recruitment. UNICEF then put the mass media campaign on hold indefinitely in January 2004 because the LTTE did not agree with the core messages.

In March 2006, the LTTE highlighted that the topic of child recruiting does not belong within the purview of the CFA and should not be on the discussion table at the next round of negotiations during a meeting with the Norwegian ambassador Hans Bratskar in preparation for negotiations in April 2006, according to SCOPP report.

According to Bratskar, the history of the six rounds of negotiations shows an acknowledgment that child recruiting should stop and that continuing recruitment was very detrimental to LTTE’s reputation internationally. The LTTE refused to attend the April negotiations as a result of this conversation.

The Bring Back the Child Campaign

In February 2009, the Srilankan government and UNICEF launched a “Bring Back the Child” campaign. The government troops defeated the LTTE in May 2009.

In October 2009, officials from the Military of Defense reported that a leading school in the capital Colombo welcomed 144 former child soldiers in Sri Lanka, who had received rehabilitation in the north under the first stage of the rehabilitation program.

Sri Lanka rehabilitated all 594 child soldiers in February 2021 under LTTE recruitment without prosecuting them, according to The Morning. Exposure to violent conflict and the death of loved ones can result in trauma and other psychological repercussions that have an impact on a child’s development and education. They received national identification cards, which made them feel like they belonged. With the aid of rehabilitation programs, they went back to their families. Today, the majority of child soldiers in Sri Lanka finish high school or get a job-related education.

Despite the amazing progress of the Sri Lankan government in putting an end to the problem of child soldiers, escaping the vicious cycle of violence while dealing with a series of cognitive and behavioral problems as a result of past traumas requires prolonged care, welfare, psychotherapy, appropriate monitoring and social support. It is essential that people discuss the institutional and societal prejudice that former child soldiers experience today as well as how to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers altogether.

– Karisma Maran
Photo: Flickr