EPU Research Papers

Issue 02/08
STOPPING THE USE OF CHILD
SOLDIERS. A GLOBAL
PERSPECTIVE
Editor: Ronald H. Tuschl
Author: Magdalena Czyz

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1. Introduction....................................................................................................... 3
2. The Current Situation ....................................................................................... 3
3. Root Causes of Children Being Used as Soldiers the Contradictions ............. 5
4. Recruitment Styles ........................................................................................... 6
5. Personal and Societal Factors Affecting Childrens Decision to Enlist.............. 8
6. Consequences of Participation ....................................................................... 12
7. The Positive Side of Military Participation....................................................... 15
8. Challenges Facing Demobilization and Reintegration Efforts......................... 15
9. Recommendations: Applying the ABC Conflict Triangle................................. 16
10. Conclusion.................................................................................................... 25

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"We must not close our eyes to the fact that child soldiers are both victims and
perpetrators. They sometimes carry out the most barbaric acts of violence. But
no matter what the child is guilty of, the main responsibility lies with us, the
adults. There is simply no excuse, no acceptable argument for arming children."
Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu (Brett & Stohl, 2004)
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Over the past twenty years, more children have been directly affected by armed
conflict than ever before. In past wars, up to 90% of all casualties consisted of
adult soldiers whereas today over 80% of the victims are women and children
(Brett & Stohl, 2004). Because of their direct participation in violent strife,
hundreds of thousands of children around the world are being stripped of their
childhood. According to UNICEF, more than 500 000 children are involved in
armed conflict, 300 000 of whom are serving as soldiers at any given time
(Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, 2004). UNICEF has defined a child
soldier as:
Any child girl or boy under the age of 18, who is part of any kind of
regular or irregular armed force or armed group, including, but not limited to,
combatants, cooks, porters, messengers, and anyone accompanying such
groups other than as family members. It includes girls and boys recruited for
sexual purposes or forced marriage. (Brett & Stohl, 2004)
Child soldiers are used in over thirty countries, including Myanmar (Burma),
Colombia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. While the problem exists in several Asian countries as well
as parts of Latin America, Europe and the Middle east, it is most prevalent in
Africa, where some 100 000 children have been estimated to be involved in
internal armed conflicts in 2004. While most child soldiers are between 14 and 18
years of age, some as young as five years old have been recruited to take up
arms. (Human Rights Watch, 2004) Such was the case in Liberia, where
innocent five year old boys fought as combatants in the so called small boys
units. (Brett & Stohl, 2004)
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Children involved in violent conflict are often manipulated by adults into taking
part in acts that hold long term repercussions which are far greater than they
could ever imagine. Most child soldiers are recruited by armed political factions,
either through direct force or the use of persuasion and intimidation. Groups that
recruit young combatants include government supported paramilitary forces,
militias and units of self defence working in conflict areas. Others consist of
armed forces opposed to the central government as well as groups comprising

primarily ethnic religious minorities who fight against the government and each
other alike to secure land and resources.
Once they are recruited, children are subject to some of the most atrocious acts
of violence. They are coerced into taking part in highly dangerous activities.
Some of these include using weapons on the front lines of battle, laying and
detecting mines or explosives, transporting supplies, taking part in suicide
missions and acting as spies or messengers.
Children involved in armed conflict are frequently killed or injured during combat
or while carrying out other tasks. They are usually forced to live under harsh
conditions with insufficient food and little or no access to healthcare. They are
almost always treated brutally, subjected to beatings and humiliating treatment.
Punishments for mistakes or desertion are often very severe. Many children are
heavily drugged as a means of control to keep them fearless, brutal and
emotionally detached from the act of killing. Some children are given morale
boosters which include cocaine, marijuana and alcohol. While recounting his
experiences in Sierra Leone to the International Education and Resource
Network (iEARN), a child soldier revealed that he was doing all this not with
[himself] but with the morale booster that [he] took before leaving for the
battlefield. Another child soldier confessed: I was injected with cocaine and then
given an AK 47 rifle to carry. I started going to front lines killing people, raping
and doing all sorts of bad things. Yet another example is that of a 15 year old
boy who fought for the opposition group in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He
revealed: They would give us chavre [cannabis] and force us to kill people to
toughen us up. Sometimes they brought us women and girls to rapeLthey would
beat us if we refused. The examples given above are only three of countless
instances in which child soldiers are given drugs to better perform in battle.
(iEARN)
Girls are also used as soldiers in many parts of the world, especially in Colombia
and Ethiopia, where they comprise one third of the child soldier populations.
Female recruits are particularly at risk of rape, sexual harassment and abuse as
well as being involved in combat and other tasks. In some countries like Angola,
Sierra Leone and Uganda, rebel leaders sexually abuse young girls and
forcefully take them as their wives. In Northern Uganda, Human Rights Watch
reported rebel commanders to have impregnated young female soldiers. (Human
Rights Watch, 2006) Upon giving birth, the girls were forced to tie their babies to
their backs and continue with their regular military duties, which included
shooting at National Security forces. A 13 year old Burundi girl interviewed by
Amnesty International once stated I dont know how many people had sex with
me. A man would come, and then another and another. You couldnt
refuseLthey said theyd kill you if you ran away. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994).

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There are many reasons for which children living in conflict zones are recruited
as soldiers. For one, they are easy targets due to their psychological and
physical immaturity. Also, because of their lack of independence, children are not
equipped for making informed decisions and can, thus, be more easily
manipulated by their adult counterparts. Ignorant of their rights, they are helpless
and particularly vulnerable to being taken advantage of. They are especially
valuable in combat as they rarely analyse the risks, easily adapt to violent
settings, require less food than adult fighters and are much easier to train and
force into becoming aggressive. They also cost very little and make obedient
soldiers. Because of their age and inherent innocence, they are naturally
perceived as less threatening, which is useful in confusing the adversaries. As
such, children serve as highly effective spies or informants.
The socio economic situation that accompanies any violent conflict increases the
chances of children being recruited as soldiers, and is thus, a key contradiction.
Some major factors that contribute to childrens involvement in armed conflict
include poverty, unemployment, lack of access to education, domestic violence,
exploitation and abuse. Conflicts result in children and youth being displaced
from their homes, separated from their families and left orphaned in the streets,
all of which renders them attractive recruits for guerrilla groups frantically seeking
out combatants. In times when conflict is prolonged, children are used to sustain
large numbers of soldiers following heavy casualties, thus strengthening the
force of an armed group. When one or both parents die or are away fighting in
war, many children take on the role as head of the household, a task that
involves more responsibility than they can handle. During conflict, children are
left with little to do, as the activities they would normally carry out in times of
peace are hindered by the violence. Schools in which they used to spend their
days are either shut down or destroyed and the land they would help cultivate is
off limits due to warfare or mines. Children are often abandoned and left to fend
for themselves, as their family members, friends and neighbours are arbitrarily
arrested, humiliated, abused and even tortured. The loss of their families and
friends as well as the deterioration of social structures leaves children poor,
illiterate and stranded in rural areas. All these conditions cause them to be most
at risk for recruitment. Countries in which severe socio economic conditions have
resulted in children being forced to fight include Afghanistan, Burundi, Colombia,
Indonesia and the Philippines. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994)
One reason for which children become such attractive targets for armed groups
is that, in their desperation, they become easily persuaded by military ideological
propaganda that encourages them to enlist. More often than not, a gun equals a
meal ticket and joining an armed group seems like a more appealing alternative
to sitting alone at home in utter fear and helplessness. In some war torn regions,
many children view enlistment as the sole means of surviving. Many also enrol
after witnessing their parents and siblings tormented or murdered by armed
opposition groups and government forces.

In addition to psychological persuasion, a key reason for which child soldier use
has been made possible over the last two decades is that arms technology has
become so advanced that even little boys and girls can now manage to carry
small weapons, including M 16 and AK 47 assault rifles. Not only are these arms
easy to handle, but they are also very cheap, some costing as little as 10 pounds
a piece.
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There are several ways in which children wind up fighting for armed forces and
guerrilla groups. They range from forced and coerced recruitment to voluntary
involvement. There is a fine line that separates these forms of enlistment, as it is
very difficult to determine at what precise age a child or youth is capable of
volunteering in the same way that is accepted of an adult. While no one is
completely free of outside influence when making a decision, children are
particularly prone to different forms of pressure coming from people and other
social factors in their environment.

The first form of child mobilization to be discussed is forced recruitment. It entails

the threat or actual violation of the physical integrity of the youth or someone
close to him or her, practised by both armed opposition groups and national
armed forces. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994) Even in countries where enlistment
is under legal control, forced recruitment continues to occur, with underage
teenagers and young men being rounded up on a daily basis.
Until the early 1990s, armed forces in El Salvador and Guatemala would fill the
ranks by snatching adolescent males from buses and cars, rounding them up in
market places and churches or simply kidnapping them on the street. Because of
governmental corruption, neither country fully upholds its conscription laws, so
knowing ones rights does not necessarily prevent someone from being forcefully
enlisted. Many peasants do not possess identification cards certifying their birth
date, because either: a) their date of birth was never officially registered, b) the
registry office has been demolished in the war or c) the government fails to issue
them identification cards until they reach 18 years of age. As such, victims of
recruitment round ups seldom have a way of proving their age or that they
belong to categories excused from enlistment, including students and only sons
(that is, if anyone is actually willing to listen to them).
New conscripts are transported from training quarters to stations far from home,
making the search for an abducted son or husband extremely difficult and
expensive, especially for rural peasants. Sometimes family members protest to
no avail outside training centres and barracks. Even if they get a hold of
documents required for a conscripts release and impart them to the right official,
they have no guarantee of their loved one being released. As such, they may risk
losing important papers without receiving what they merited. In fact, it is nearly

impossible for such families to gain any sort of legal assistance in the search and
even bribes are of little aid. Also, as recruits become more and more involved in
the system, military officials become increasingly reluctant to liberate them.
Until 1992, two major reasons for forced recruitment in El Salvador were the
shortage of manpower and class discrimination. During the countrys civil war,
the government never made any efforts to enforce legislation for systematic and
fair conscription. People had very little motivation to enlist, as army salaries were
extremely low, especially in proportion to the enormous risks involved in being a
soldier. As such, even poor people were rarely attracted by the option to enlist,
thus lowering military numbers. Unfortunately, members of the lower class
became the main target of recruitment drives as they were most easily spotted in
public areas. Wealthier young men were less likely to ride the country buses
where recruitment sweeps would take place. In the rare cases that they
happened to be taking public transport, they could always escape recruitment by
paying bribes or unofficial fines, in exchange for a younger brother or son.
Between 1980 and 1986, forced recruitment by El Salvadors armed faction was
reported to be at its worst. In many villages, especially in the northeast part of the
country, children between 6 and 12 years old were obliged to attend guerrillas
schools; those between 12 and 15 were required to go through military training;
and anyone between 16 and 40 was forced to perform military service. As such,
countless Salvadorans fled their towns to protect their children from being
recruited. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994)
Population control is another source of forced conscription. It was the reason
behind which much of the recruitment of young indigenous Mayan villagers in
Guatemala took place. Children as young as 14 were forcefully recruited by the
paramilitary civil defence patrols (PACs or Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil). Even
though the PACs is described as voluntary organizations by article 34 of the
Guatemalan constitution, military authorities would justify their acts to the
Mayans by arguing that since the PAC is a pro democratic system, refusing to
join the organization is a clear sign of anti democratic attitudes. Therefore,
anyone resisting enlistment must belong to a rival communist guerrilla group and
should be disposed of. This left the young Guatemalan
(or
peasants) with no choice but to enlist. Participating in PAC would only require
one day of work per week (thus costing a days wage of work), but exemption
from duty would result in a fine much higher than a days wage. Furthermore, a
refusal to enlist could cost them their life. As such, enlisting seemed like the best
alternative given the choices.
Another form of forced recruitment is that of coercion and abuse. It includes
those circumstances where there is no proof of direct physical threat or
intimidation, but the evidence supports the inference of involuntary enlistment.
(Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994)

While force and coercion are sometimes used in recruiting children to join the
army, most young soldiers join as a result of elaborate persuasion done on
behalf of the military. Children are all too often manipulated into becoming
soldiers through subtle pressures and motivations, which are actually far more
difficult to resist than obvious forced recruitment. A general image of the child
soldier in a particular conflict zone may serve to explain why some children fight
and others do not, but it is harder to make broad generalizations when it comes
to understanding voluntary participation, as the motivating causes are so diverse.
For example, in studies conducted in El Salvador, children from urban upper
middle class families and those from poor rural communities had very different
reasons for volunteering for the FMLN. While each situation is distinct, it can be
possible to determine the underlying causes of children volunteering to fight by
determining the nature of the child soldier in the particular conflict at hand. As
such, gaining this understanding can be a catalyst for helping reduce, if not
eliminate, the causes that lead children to voluntarily take up arms.
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As demonstrated by the aforementioned case of El Salvador, children vary
widely, both within and across conflict zones. They differ not only in their
personalities, but also in the environments of their pre war and war related
experiences. Studies carried out in diverse conflict zones point out that many
children and youth join armed factions as a direct result of their personal
experiences and living conditions, and within the framework of their subjective
evaluation of deciding to volunteer.

The
of daily life has a strong influence on a childs
decision to join the army. Some aspects of militarization include armed police or
soldiers guarding the streets or public institutions such as schools; military staff
holding top positions in government; military control of social life; public curfews;
and armed checkpoints on roads. Even when outright violent conflict does not
erupt, militarization continues to be a part of childrens lives. Such was the case
in El Salvador around the 1980s, and, until recently, continued to be the case in
the mountainous regions of Guatemala and the cities of South Africa. In Sri
Lanka, the militarization of education by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam) continues to be of particular concern, especially since its dramatic rise
in1987, when manpower was low and fighting was escalating. The LTTE has
been reported to air violent Rambo type movies on TV, which included live
combat as well as military training. They have also been known to organize
parades of child soldiers in front of school children leaving classes, perform
military training routines within school grounds, and give school presentations
expressing the need for young combatants. There is even one school in the
LTTE controlled area which has a memorial hall combined with a playground.
The area is replete with photos of children who died fighting in combat, and the

see saws have toy guns mounted unto them. In addition, every day Tamil
children spend at least one hour per day digging trenches as a way of completing
their militarized civic duty. With all this military inundation at school, children are
eventually required to join the LTTE.
A similar type of educational militarization has been taking place in Peru, where
some 60% of school children live in zones partly controlled by the Sendero
Luminoso, a national guerrilla group. In such areas, the curriculum includes
military style callisthenics and labour education, wherein children learn to sew
bandages, backpacks and uniforms. Classes are often cut short for popular
assemblies, some courses are banned, students are recruited for the army and
teachers who do not teach in accordance with the Sendero Luminosos demands
are punished. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994)
Childrens lives outside of school are also often influenced by military thinking,
particularly in refugee camps. This is because refugee camps are located in
areas open to combat and are centerfields for political exploitation. Many
humanitarian aid organizations deliver weapons to refugee sites, where under
aged youth end up using them. In 1992, over 2000 Sudanese displaced children
disappeared from a refugee camp in Kenya and are suspected to have been
recruited into the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994)

In addition to living in militarised environments, the experience of direct physical

or structural violence also leads children to join armed factions. Children who
have either personally endured or witnessed abductions, executions, massacres,
torture, sexual abuse, arbitrary arrest, deportation, and bombings of their homes
or other property, often later choose to become soldiers. This is because such
sufferings tend to create feelings of revenge and a sense of responsibility for
continuing the efforts of their murdered loved ones. Girls may join the military to
run away from domestic slavery or forced marriage or to flee domestic violence,
exploitation and abuse. Violent experiences may often produce the conviction to
replace a devastated family or social structure and the need to take control over
the circumstances affecting ones plight.
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Social and economic inequalities also inspire both children and adults to take up
arms, either in hopes of bringing about change or simply getting some food to get
them through the day. Forces that recruit children often promise that they will
fulfil their basic needs, including food, shelter and protection from other opposing
groups. They also offer minimal financial incentives. As such, some children
volunteer for recruitment to gain a subsistence wage. They may even be
pressured by their parents to join in instances where wages are paid directly to
the family. This occurs mostly when families are in desperate situations, living in
poverty and dying of hunger. In situations where survival is the driving force,
children are unlikely to leave the ranks until their basic needs, or those of their

families, are met. Such cases were documented by the Red Cross in Liberia in
1990, where children as young as 7 were picking up arms because those with
guns could eat. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994) Such cases also demonstrate how
large gaps in socio economic status can often be the root causes of children
taking up arms. Social injustice leads to indiscriminate poverty, which leads to
insurgence, which in turn reduces the fulfilment of peoples basic needs, which
gives rise to volunteerism among youth for armed factions. Finally, girls may be
pressured into joining if their parents feel that they their marriage prospects are
poor.

Childrens individual perceptions of reality are shaped by their developmental

processes, as well as their environments. Childrens parents, families, friends,
schools, religious communities and other communal institutions, can all
potentially play a role in sending messages and putting forth pressures that direct
them towards taking part in violence. People within their communities can also
influence the manner in which children assess the decision to get involved in
aggression or not.
Childrens developmental stages intrinsically affect their appraisals of objective
incidents, and can thus stimulate them to react to particular experiences by
joining armed factions. Likewise, developmental processes influence a childs
assessment of the choice to join. For example, during the stage of adolescence,
in which identity formation is the main process, youth are likely to join armed
factions, as they offer them a sense of belonging. Adolescents are also
particularly prone to joining those armed groups that appeal to different ethnic,
religious, or political ideologies. Under certain circumstances of societal
instability, young adults are inclined to create a false sense self by practically
replacing their identity with nationalist ideology. In such cases, youth develop an
excessive sense of nationalism, which is often the only thing remaining that gives
meaning to their lives. In refugee camps, the fight for reclaiming ones homeland
serves as motivation for living when all else in the environment seems to
deteriorate ones sense of purpose. For example, the Palestinian intifada (the
national resistance movement) provides a source of meaning and power to
Palestinian refugees who would otherwise become utterly depressed and
hopeless if they were to stay in the camps. It has also been noted that
Palestinians typically establish their identity based on their association with
greater political groups. The importance that adolescents attach to different roles
presented in conflict, including soldier, victim, hero or leader, can also
affect their choice to join armed groups. At this stage of development, choosing a
particular role in the conflict can also give youth a sense of control over their
futures.
Childrens attributional styles are also major contributors to the decision making
process. For instance, those who naturally attribute the source of negative
incidents to external issues may be more apt to take up arms in the aim of

seeking revenge. Children who view outside influences as being responsible for
their degree of well being are more likely to react through physical force.
If family and community violence are prevalent, a childs rational decision making
process may become jaded, overriding his/her ability to non violently react to
conflict. As such, children may see violence as the only option in responding to
the structural and political troubles of their countries. Dr. Martin Baro, a
Salvadoran psychologist, proposed the idea that too much militarization within a
society results in mental militarization, wherein hostile responses to societal
difficulties are seen as the norm. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994) Children are also
prone to picking up conflicting messages from adults. For example, in the
Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, some Palestinian parents are proud of
their armed children, albeit they constantly fear for their safety. Likewise, in Sri
Lanka, some Tamil families support the LTTE while at the same time doing
everything possible to protect their own children from getting involved. Prior to
1990, during their peak time of popularity, the LTTE were highly respected for
their discipline, including prohibiting the use of alcohol, as well as their fair
practices of taking money only from those who could afford it. Because children
recognized these qualities as ones valued by their communities, they were
probably more likely to join the LTTE rather than other military Tamil factions.

Peer pressure is extremely persuasive in children joining armed forces. For

countless Palestinian children and youth to throw a stone is to be one of the
guys, to hit an Israeli car is to become a hero and to be arrested and plead
innocent is to be a man. In Liberia, children are also among the first to join
armed groups due to peer pressure. The phrase everyone is doing it is
commonly cited by Liberian children who have volunteered to join armed forces.
In fact, peer pressure is so pronounced in Liberia that Charles Taylor had no
difficulty recruiting children to join his military units. Similarly, my friends are
joining is a common reason for which Tamil children in Sri Lanka claim to have
joined the LTTE. A clever, though immoral, strategy used by the LTTE in
recruiting child soldiers involves taking boys out of schools, training them and
then returning them to their daily lives. The boys then spend their days at school
raving about guns, inspiring others to join this glamorous military training they
keep hearing about.
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Childrens hopes, in addition to feelings of empowerment and capability (or lack
thereof) also influence their decision to volunteer for combat. When children feel
helpless, they perceive joining armed groups as a way of escaping danger and
gaining some sort of security. They also view it as an outlet for feeling trapped,
defenceless and voiceless, thinking that being part of an armed force will
somehow help them influence the issues controlling their lives. Such sentiments
are prominent in refugee camps where an atmosphere of powerlessness tends to
prevail. Around the 1980s, when El Salvadors death squad was carrying out

mass killings, many youth between 15 and 25 years old joined the FMLN (Frente
Farabundo Mart para la Liberacin Nacional) in hopes of evading abduction.
Similarly, Sri Lankan youth who are plagued by hopelessness and see but a futile
future working on privatised tea fields, also seriously consider joining the LTTE.
In conflict situations, feelings of helplessness are almost always accompanied by
feelings of vulnerability, which are another root cause of child soldier
volunteerism.
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Children who have served as soldiers face various psychosocial consequences,
which can be both positive and negative. This section will focus on the negative
impacts that direct involvement in war has on children. Each childs experience in
violent conflict is distinct, including the nature and degree of their participation in
hostilities. These unique experiences, thus, produce varying psychosocial
consequences for different children. The economic and social conditions of
childrens pre and post war environments as well as their unique war related
experiences play a role in the way children respond to conflict. This is because
each child subjectively processes these experiences in a distinct fashion. As
such, similar experiences may end up affecting children very differently.
One severe consequence that children face following their involvement in armed
conflict is that of emotional trauma. Children who have been victims of war (as
part of civilian casualties) are often able to regain a considerable level of
psychosocial health. However, those who have served as soldiers and have
themselves been perpetrators of violence find it far more difficult to recuperate
and to recover their mental strength. Such was the case with a 15 year old boy
who spent four gruesome years serving in the Khmer Rouge army of Cambodia.
After having spent one month in a camp in Thailand, he began hearing two
voices that were quarrelling inside his head. The first voice was that of a Khmer
Rouge leader, who was angry with the boy for having left the army. The second
was that of a Buddhist priest who said the boy would be punished for his actions
when he dies. In another case of a former Khmer Rouge cadre, a 13 year old
boy had recurrent visions of one of his victims intestines transforming into
snakes and strangling him. (iEARN)
During clinical sessions with child soldiers in such parts of the world as
Guatemala and Ethiopia, it was found that childrens mental turmoil became most
severe once they gave up their guns and tried to re integrate into their former
communities. Their psychological suffering seemed to be provoked by their being
reminded of killing as a moral wrongdoing, and not just a physical act of inflicting
pain. Similar trauma was experienced by Mozambican ex child soldiers who had
escaped from rebel forces. Thousands of such children reported experiencing
flashbacks in which past events of their combatant days would unexpectedly
come flooding back to haunt them. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994)

Children who have been used to killing not only members of opposing forces but
also their friends and relatives, including their own parents, undergo intense
feelings of guilt. Girls who have been raped and forced into prostitution are
particularly prone to suffering guilt in addition to feelings of confusion,
depression, anger, loss of trust in others and extremely low self esteem. Not only
do children feel blameworthy for having committed atrocities but they are also
afraid of being rejected by their own communities or subject to physical or legal
retribution. Sometimes, these feelings may be subjective reactions, while at other
times they are a legitimate reaction to these childrens brutal realities. Some
young ex combatants are so fearful of being discovered for the crimes they
committed that they resort to changing their names and even their personal
histories. This may occur to such an extent that these children may risk going
through an identity crisis.
A more evident impact of war on child soldiers is that of physical injury. It may
include anything from the loss of limbs, eyes and other body parts to superficial
scars. The types of injuries suffered are innumerable and may be distinct for
each conflict. For example, Liberian children who fought in Charles Taylors
small boys units had a high incidence of hernias, which most probably resulted
from carrying arms that were far too heavy to be supported by their little bodies.
Girls who took part in war and were forced to perform sexual favors often
contracted sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, or were impregnated.
Pregnancies may subsequently result in young girls giving birth or having
abortions, which are often dangerous and even life threatening given the poor
quality of health care in war torn areas.
Another important consequence of childrens participation in war is its effect on
their education, in particular, lost school time. While many children are denied the
opportunity to go to school even when there is peace, participation in combat
may completely eliminate their prospect of ever studying. In wartime, schools
may be closed or even destroyed, leaving children stranded without an
opportunity to further their education, even after the war is over. In the Israeli
occupied territories, Palestinian childrens schooling suffers for two reasons.
Either the rebelling leaders may order strike days or persuade youth into
participating in
related events during school hours or security forces may
close down schools for security reasons. Public schools in this region have
become the hub for PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) and extremist
Islamic meetings as well as convention centres for students involved in
violence. The schools have even served as centres for both forced and voluntary
recruitment. On several occasions, PLO activists have interrupted classes,
forcing students to leave the classroom and join street riots. For this reason, the
Israeli government decided to close down schools for the childrens safety.
However, closing down schools created another danger of children roaming the
streets during periods of political upheaval. It also caused many adolescents,
who were frustrated and going through an emotional and difficult period in life, to
join alternate organizations like military groups.

Childrens participation in combat also holds serious repercussions for their

families, communities and even entire societies. In the Israeli occupied territories,
Palestinians were faced with houses being destroyed or barricaded, public
curfews, arbitrary arrests as well as mass deportations. In the 1980s, some 500
000 people were displaced and forced out of El Salvador due to the militarys
efforts to drain the fish from the sea. At the same time, army roadblocks were
imposed to prevent food from reaching communities believed to have been
harbouring FMLN (Frente Farabundo Mart para la Liberacin Nacional) troops.
In Peru, the governments security forces wiped out entire communities and both
kidnapped and assassinated countless individuals on the mere suspicion that
some among them favoured the countrys rebel group, the Shining Path.
Active youth participation in war also affects societies by increasing juvenile
delinquency and diminishing discipline among children. Following El Salvadors
armed cease fire in 1992, juvenile delinquency has reportedly increased. Some
speculate that this is a result of amplified media coverage, while others attribute it
to the increase in highway armed robberies after soldiers became aware that
their release from duty was nearing. In the same year, RENAMO (Resistncia
Nacional Moambicana) forces in Mozambique were struggling to manage the
8000 boy combatants who were freely roaming rural areas, armed and hungry.
Liberia is also experiencing an unsafe future, as humanitarian aid workers are
predicting an increase in juvenile delinquency among former Liberian child
soldiers. One reason for the rise in rebellion among ex combatants is that many
children feel frustrated being trapped working for armed forces, without any
authentic control over their circumstances. Also, parents who live in violent
societies become overwhelmed by the daily problems they are faced with and, as
a result, tend to raise their children in a more authoritarian fashion. Likewise, civil
strife, such as the Palestinian
, often disrupts family structures, wherein
the authority of fathers and grandfathers diminishes. This often forces children to
take on the authoritative roles in the household, placing less importance on
obedience to their parents. In Northern Ireland, children raised in violent
environments are considered to have been stripped of their sense of fear and
any notion of peace, thus becoming difficult to discipline.
War torn societies which use child soldiers are also burdened by the great
number of orphaned children. In Uganda, for example, where the Lords
Resistance Army recklessly recruits child soldiers, communities are faced with
the problem of housing and caring for those young ones that have been left to
fend for themselves. A similar situation is taking place in Mozambique, Somalia
and Liberia. While there are more orphaned child victims than soldiers, those
orphans that have fought in war are much more difficult to find homes for,
considering their traumatized backgrounds.

8
! !( !
. *!%! ! ! ! "
While taking up arms and joining a violent conflict has countless detrimental
effects on the children involved, there is also a positive side to participation.
Many young people who are not forced into participation take up arms because
they perceive to have greater personal security within, rather than outside armed
factions. They feel safer being united with other orphans, refugees and street
children who have also been recruited to fight. By being a part of an armed
group, they cannot be against it and therein lays their sense of safety. Often,
military units may serve as sorts of surrogate families for orphaned, war affected
children.
9
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There are enormous challenges facing the demobilization and reintegration of
child soldiers into society. These processes of achieving a sustainable solution
are long and complex and must be given extra care due to the delicate nature of
the problem. One of the main issues that must be addressed is the reaction of
the returning soldiers home communities. These reactions vary from complete
rejection to the false assumption that the ex combatants will effortlessly return to
their previous lives. Child soldiers often dread coming back to their villages
because of the atrocious acts they were forced to commit against their families
and communities at the time of recruitment. These strategic acts were used by
armies precisely to prevent the child soldiers from ever being welcomed back into
their home communities. As such, children fear being denied and blamed by their
own communities for the crimes they were coerced into committing. Child
soldiers return home carrying heavy burdens resulting from being so brutally
exposed to war. Having suffered extreme abuses, child combatants come back
with extensive emotional scars and physical injuries that render the reintegration
process a highly difficult one. Girls carry the additional weight of sexual abuse
involving rape and forced prostitution. Those who have conceived children out of
wedlock after being raped by rebel leaders face the added stigma imposed on
them by traditional societies. Not only are they looked down upon for bearing
illegitimate children, but they are also disgraced for having been targets of
sexual abuse. Many girls suffer such strong feelings of shame that they become
reluctant to seeking any type of medical assistance or emotional support for fear
of being humiliated. The particular circumstances of returning female soldiers are
seldom properly dealt with, nor are they given sufficient attention in
demobilization and reintegration programs. Girl soldiers who have served as sex
slaves and commanders wives are frequently hidden from humanitarian
workers, making it extremely difficult to track and educate them.
A serious problem faced by all returning child soldiers is diminished economic
opportunity. Children serving in war may spend years away from their families,
and schools as well as job training opportunities. Rather than receiving education
and professional training, they have developed skills in the area of combat,
including fighting, killing and other war related tasks. Because of their restricted

skills, they are pressured into quickly adapting to substantial changes in every
aspect of their lives in order to protect themselves from being recruited again into
another armed force. Returning soldiers are often attractive targets for re
recruitment as they are likely to lose patience during the long and arduous
reintegration process and resort to a life of violence.
Because of their frustration and dissatisfaction with the reintegration programs as
well as their previous military training, young ex soldiers are at a high risk of
being swept up by armed forces for a second or even a third time. They are also
likely to turn to crime for employment. Another difficulty in the successful
reintegration of ex child soldiers arises in cases where children have undergone
a religious conversion during their military term. For example, in Sudan, Christian
child soldiers who converted to Islam were of particular concern to the leaders of
their primarily Christian communities during demobilization and reintegration
procedures. In fact, these Christian village chiefs are taking into account the
possibility of re converting the children to their original faith in order to maintain
societal stability. (Cohn & Goodwin Gill, 1994)
:
33 " ! " $
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! "+%
In this section, the peace building model known as the ABC Conflict Triangle will
be used to better understand and come up with viable solutions to the problem of
child soldier use. The triangle, which was formulated in the 1960s by the
Norwegian peace researcher Johan Galtung, depicts the key aspects within a
conflict as (A) attitudes, (B) behaviors and (C) contradictions. In the model:
A) Attitudes

B) Behaviour

C)

C) Contradiction

(Johan Galtung, 1969)

&
refer to assumptions, cognitions and emotions that one party may have
about the other. A common attitude in conflicts is one of superiority and self
righteousness, refusing to put oneself in the shoes of the other. In other words, it
is failing to make an effort to take the other parties views into account. Such an
attitude contributes to the growing rift in the relationship. The peaceful option
would be to work with the attitudes of the parties and their relation with each
other. This entails encouraging the different sides to take on an attitude of
empathy by creating constructive dialogue between them. This can be done by
building on common interests and identities so as to humanize the parties in

each others eyes and to guide them out of a state in which they perceive each
other as enemies incapable of dialogue.
' ( )
refer to the mental, verbal or physical expressions put forth in a
conflict. In other terms, they are the thoughts, words and actions demonstrated
when a contradiction occurs. Violent behaviors include anything that reveals
hatred, or a lack of respect toward the opposing party. This may come in the form
of verbal insults, physical abuse or the outright denial of peoples basic human
rights. Behavior is the only feature of the triangle that is visible, as it is an overt
action. The main focus of the peaceful approach is to stop violent behavior by
creating nonviolent thoughts, words and actions in order to achieve a lasting
solution to the conflict.
*
are the incompatibility or clashing of goals between two or more
parties. The contradiction is the root conflict. It is the core issue that is causing
the violent attitudes and behaviors. A conflict of interests (both within oneself and
between parties) can cause repression of feelings, leading to frustration, stress,
and other violent outcomes. Peaceful approaches to contradictions include taking
a step back and figuring out what the conflict is actually about. Namely, asking
the question: What are the underlying root causes that are fueling the disparity
in goals and points of view? By first understanding the conflict on a deeper level,
parties can then proceed to come up with creative solutions to transcend it.
As illustrated in the above definitions, each of the features triggering a conflict
(attitudes, behaviors and contradictions) can also serve as possible gateways to
influence the conflict peacefully and work toward a resolution. The above also
suggests that each of these elements influence one another. While attitudes
influence both behaviors and contradictions, the opposite can occur, with
behaviors and contradictions affecting attitudes, and also each other. Because of
the interconnectedness among these three aspects of conflict, it is important to
address each one in order to reach a sustainable solution. Addressing attitudes
is important as it helps people become aware of and better understand the
contradictions. The more profoundly a contradiction is understood, the easier it is
to come up with creative solutions to overcome it. Addressing both attitudes and
contradictions, in turn, influences changing behaviors. Finally, behaviors also
affect attitudes. More concretely, the behaviours of people working toward
positive change influence the attitudes of those whom they are trying to reach out
to and can determine how successful they are in doing so.
While demobilizing, disarming and reintegrating children involved in war is
extremely long and difficult, the process
be undertaken to prevent the
continuing plight of child soldiers around the world.
This is done primarily through the adjustment and implementation of laws aimed
at fulfilling childrens basic human needs. The United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child states that all children have the right to special protection in

time of conflict and should not take a direct part in hostilities. In recent years,
several steps have been taken to create a legal and policy structure aimed for
the protection of children involved in violent conflict. In May of 2000, the General
Assembly of the United Nations adopted The Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child (also known as the Child Soldiers Treaty) concerning
the participation of children in armed conflict. Officially entering into force on
February 13, 2002, the treaty aims to strengthen the legal protection of children
and to prevent and abolish their use in armed conflict. Specifically, the Protocol:
Requires state parties to "take all feasible measures" to ensure that members of
their armed forces under the age of 18 years do not participate in hostilities;
Prohibits the conscription of anyone under the age of 18 into the armed forces;
Requires states to raise the age of voluntary recruitment from 15 and to deposit a
binding declaration of the minimum age for recruitment into its armed forces; and
Prohibits the recruitment or use in hostilities of children under the age of 18 by
rebel or other non governmental armed groups, and requires states to criminalize
such practices.
(Stohl, 2002)
While 111 countries have already signed the agreement, only 46 have actually
begun implementing it and have made obligatory legal commitments to uphold it.
While the Optional Protocols ratification is an important step in protecting
childrens human rights, it
is not adequate for ending the use of children as
soldiers. In order for it to have a greater impact, it must be universalized to
support the rising international standard that children are entitled to protection in
times of conflict. States must be closely monitored by international bodies to
ensure their compliance with the Optional Protocol. Also, emphasis on childrens
rights must be placed not only during violence but also after it ceases. In addition
to the continued support and spread of the treaty, long term, all encompassing
programs of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration must be carried out
in war affected societies. Just as important is the inclusion of preventative
measures in areas where children are at risk of military recruitment.
+
)
( ,
*( "
Prevention strategies must take into account the various ways in which youth
wind up participating in armed conflict. They must attend to the general conflict
issues, as well as the subjective, personal experiences of the child. In terms of
the ABC model, prevention strategies involve changing the contradictions of the
conflict, while altering childrens attitudes toward the issue. One way of
reinforcing the local capacity to prevent the use of child soldiers is by raising
community awareness of the national and international laws regulating the
minimum recruitment age. This can be done through massive education
campaigns targeting both affected and non affected communities. Factors that
contribute to forced and voluntary recruitment must be diminished or eliminated.
In other words, to achieve the sustainability of efforts, contradictions must be
determined and handled appropriately. Issues that motivate forced recruitment
include population control, as well as ethnic, racial and class discrimination. Most

children taken as soldiers are young, vulnerable, poor, under educated and come
from indigenous, rural communities. Aspects contributing to the generation of
conflict, such as social injustice and discrimination are mirrored in the forced
recruitment strategies of governments and armed groups. As such, in order to
reduce forced recruitment, the root causes of conflicts must first be addressed.
One step towards this is organizing grass roots interventions or movements that
pressure local governments into stopping the recruitment of children. These can
then serve as catalysts towards addressing larger issues such as poverty and a
culture of militarism.
In 1992, an indigenous NGO was created in the region of Solola, Guatemala to
deal with human rights violations related to forced recruitment. The initiative
consisted of open meetings in different villages and the gathering of some 9,845
signatures for a petition declaring that mandatory military service infringes on
cultural and human rights. The petition proposed social service as an alternative
to military duty, and required putting an end to the intimidation and punishment of
indigenous people who refused the draft. It also specified that local military units
would be held accountable for any harm inflicted on youth refusing conscription
or on people who signed the petition. The petition was distributed to the local
governor and mayor as well as the Federal Congress, the Ministry of Defence,
the President and the Human Rights Regulator. Within a year, a settlement
between the indigenous people and the human rights commission was
negotiated, guaranteeing the abolition of recruitment in the Solola area. Similar
successes have been reported in El Salvador, Guatemala and Paraguay, where
ethnic groups and mothers of young soldiers have united to pressure authorities
into discharging under age combatants and ending compulsory military
enrolment. In these cases, behaviours and contradictions were addressed at the
same time and a change in one correlated with a change in the other. More
precisely, grass roots movements aimed at directly and immediately altering
behaviours simultaneously dealt with the sources of the problem (or
contradictions) to achieve a sustainable solution (i.e. the complete abolishment of
child recruitment).
In addition to mass protests and community organization, legal methods are also
necessary and have proven useful in preventing violent behaviours in countries
like Guatemala. In cases where children have no identification cards
documenting their age, advocates ought to demand the recruits personal
appearance and insist that the minors under age status be fully respected.
NGOs have served an important function by providing alternate forms of
community service to potential recruits. They have also initiated campaigns for
legal reform and are encouraging popular resistance to emerging recruitment
techniques. With regards to the PACs, local activist groups are raising
awareness as to why the faction exists and how it abuses the human rights of
those whom it forces into participation. It does so through the use of pamphlets,
community based education campaigns, marches and petitions to administrative
authorities. In addition, the CERJ (Council of Ethnic Communities) has been

translating article 34 of the Mayan Constitution into Mayan languages and

distributing it on a mass scale. The article grants people freedom of association
and protection from forced involvement in the civil defence patrols. The CERJ
also provides seminars on human rights for community leaders of approximately
120 villages, educating and supporting individuals in actively defending their civil
and political rights. Furthermore, the NGO is offering legal assistance to families
wanting to be released from military duty and to minors serving with the PAC who
are legally exempt from service.
The above deals with interventions to eliminate recruitment by government
forces. However, it is also important to determine prevention measures for forced
recruitment by armed opposition forces. While these non governmental groups
are not legally entitled to instituting a draft, they must still comply with national
and international law. Sometimes, negative publicity in the media can pressure
armed groups into following international recruitment standards. In the aims of
gaining legitimacy and a positive image, armed forces may sometimes conform
to even stricter regulations. Local NGOs, religious associations and civil society
leaders should establish ethical frameworks (including local customs, values and
traditions) that deem the use of child soldiers unacceptable. Appeals should be
formulated based on this moral agenda and presented to leaders of the
opposition. This approach proved successful in Peru, where forced recruitment
decreased significantly in areas where parish churches condemned the activity.
This method is also particularly useful when armed groups strongly depend on
the civil society for support and protection. In such cases, the changing of
behaviours is largely dependent on the altering of attitudes. As illustrated in the
examples, changing peoples attitudes such that they cease to accept the use of
children as soldiers leads to a change in behaviour among those responsible for
recruitment. Because society can often be a primary supporter of the violent
actions carried out by the perpetrators of crime, changing its attitudes toward the
involvement of children in war is bound to result in behavioural changes on the
part of recruiters. Society often dictates that which is permissible. Consequently,
changing its views of what is acceptable determines the types of behaviour that
will be carried out by its members.
Like the immediate, local society, foreign aid donors who support armed groups
also possess a lot of power in eliminating the problem by being able to pressure
their clients into stopping child soldier use. Donors could place sanctions on
those who fail to adhere to international law through the suspension of military
assistance or weapons. In fact, the UN is currently lobbying to strengthen laws
on selling guns to prevent them from attaining combat zones where child soldiers
are fighting. Campaigns exposing the use of child soldiers could be carried out in
countries inhabited by expatriate support groups of the armed group at hand. For
example, lobbies exposing the use of children in the LTTE could be publicized in
countries like Norway, France, the United Kingdom and Australia, where there
are many Sri Lankan emigrants who support the armed force. (Cohn and
Goodwin Gill, 1994) However, such an attempt could be risky as it could create

tensions between different ethnic groups (in this case, the Singhalese and the
Tamils, who are on opposite sides of the issue). Advocacy must also be carried
out in countries where tensions are low and which have a strong influence on the
developments of the UN in afflicted areas. For example, World Vision has
introduced a campaign in Canada which urges the government to use its
diplomatic and political power to influence the UN in taking appropriate action for
helping child soldiers in Northern Uganda. The Canadian public is encouraged to
write letters and make phone calls to the federal government to demonstrate
support for the cause, ensuring the message is loud and clear. In addition to this
campaign, World Vision has been promoting and organizing the Gulu Walk. It is
an international March for Peace whose aim is to raise awareness about and
demonstrate solidarity with the 50 000 children which commute from the Gulu
district of Northern Uganda to avoid being abducted by rebel forces. Many walk
as far as 11 km every night to seek refuge while they sleep. The demonstration
has proven to be tremendously successful. In October 2005, 15 000 people in 40
cities around the globe flooded the streets to walk the same distance as a night
commuter (about two hours). Many went out with signs showing support for the
children, and urging the government to take action. (Lejtenyi, 2006) The more
pressure Canadians put on their own government in these types of advocacy
campaigns, the more authorities will feel compelled to influence the decisions of
the UN in urgently assisting children involved in war. If each country belonging to
the UN were to adopt one or several nations that use children as soldiers, and
were to carry out similar advocacy campaigns, the UN, along with the
governments of the affected states would be under significant pressure to truly
do something about the problem! This demonstrates that, although individuals
living in peaceful nations may feel very far removed from those living in violent
societies, they actually have a significant impact on the fate of those who are
suffering, including the way they are treated by their governments and
international governing bodies. As such, changing peoples violent behaviours
by changing their attitudes (through advocacy campaigns) is crucial in bringing
about sustainable, positive change.
Protecting the basic human rights of child refugees could also significantly
reduce the use of children as soldiers, as they are often the main target of forced
recruitment. Most often, protecting children involves addressing the
behaviours aspect of the ABC model. In other words, it consists of changing the
violent behaviours of those who carry out crimes against children. In 1987,
UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) began paying extra
attention to violations committed against refugee children and took radical steps
in addressing the problem. In addition to condemning the use of child soldiers as
an infringement on human rights (i.e. addressing attitudes), UNHCR called for
national and international action, which included the creation of special needs
and education programs. In August of 1988, UNHCR came up with Guidelines on
Refugee Children, which guaranteed the organization to intervene with
governments to ensure they were protecting the safety and freedom of young
refugees. In addition, the guidelines sanctioned the organization to take action if

a breach of policy was detected. UNHCR regional offices were directed to

promote positive camp conditions, such as setting up camps far enough from the
border so as to defend refugee children from being attacked and forcefully
enlisted. This action, in the context of the ABC model, involved tackling a
contradiction, which consisted of the unsafe location of refugee camps. UNHCR
was also instructed to record all incidents of recruitment by government, guerrilla
and rebel forces and report them to the officials of the asylum country as well as
the UNHCR head office. (Cohn and Goodwin Gill, 1994)
According to the ABC Triangle, preventative measures that deal with voluntary
child recruitment must, above all, address the root causes of armed conflict and
strife. Priority must be given to the deep structural inequalities and violence that
bring about societal instability. Childrens environments as well as their
assessment of the decision to participate need to be targeted. This involves
encouraging parents to see the negative consequences of childrens involvement
in conflict and helping them overcome the preconceived notion that the use of
child soldiers is inevitable and that the dangers are overshadowed by the
pressing nature of the conflicts root causes. Psychologists in the Philippines
have underlined the necessity to strengthen the extended family and community
through material and emotional means. This, in turn, serves as a support network
for adults, who have a huge influence on childrens capacities to cope with
traumatic events. The ways in which adults react to childrens questions
regarding issues of social and economic injustice often decides how the children
will deal with their situations. Therefore, it is essential to change the importance
that some adults place on involving youth in hostilities as a way of responding to
such issues. However, even if this is done, adults can still assess the objectives
of a conflict as prevailing over the dangers posed to children involved in war.
Perhaps a change in, or enforcement of laws can alter adults views on the use of
child soldiers. The illegality of child soldiers could pressure military leaders into
stopping recruitment of under aged youth as they would be held lawfully
accountable for their actions. While tightening of regulations is necessary, value
advocacy could also prove highly beneficial. Campaigns based on moral
agendas that encompass culture, religion and/or history could be set up in
violence affected communities to spread ethical principles. People who have
control over territory are held responsible to the general population and should,
thus (despite their own plans), protect children as a way of upholding basic
human rights. This type of value promotion should be carried out prior to
violence, as it is very difficult to do once conflict has erupted due to the survival
mechanism that emerges in people. At this stage, often only practical restraints
on military tactics have the potential of being obeyed. As such, providing military
leaders with evidence that using young soldiers is disadvantageous to their
military strategies could be effective in reducing child soldier use. The changing
of attitudes (through value advocacy) would lead to a change in behaviour (of
military leaders) and would eventually result in the eradication of some
contradictions, such as the culture of violence.

To a certain degree, the ABC model can also be used to change the attitudes of
victims, in hopes of attaining a sustainable solution to the conflict. Empowering
children by reinforcing their feelings of security, competence and strength could
contribute to decreasing voluntary enlistment. However, because of the severity
of the problem, changing childrens attitudes is not sufficient. What must be
changed are childrens violent environments through the removal of violent
behaviours. Children affected by war feel helpless and vulnerable not because of
individual perception problems, but because that is their reality. Thus, the only
way to truly make a child feel empowered and safe is by actually ending their
oppression and improving their personal security. This may be done through the
use of international condemnation or pressure on governments that are
responsible for kidnapping, torturing, and intimidating children. It can also be
accomplished by strengthening international monitoring to increase security in
conflict zones as well as other affected areas like refugee camps. Part of the
solution could be to present children living in war areas with alternate activities.
For example, schools could continue to operate and recreational activities could
be provided. As such, youth would be more occupied and would feel less bored,
frustrated or desperate for change. By simply keeping schools open, children
would be safe in the classroom, rather than aimlessly roaming the streets just
waiting to be recruited. The more value that is placed on education in a society,
the less attracted children may be to joining armed forces.
+ )
&
.
*( "
A pressing priority is to demobilize all soldiers under 18 years of age from armed
factions. In light of the ABC model, the demobilization of soldiers is a form of
stopping violent behaviour. This is a difficult task, because even when children
regret having volunteered to fight, they find it nearly impossible to safely escape
an armed force. Taking Sri Lanka, for example, children serving in the LTTE are
not permitted to pass from the northern Tamil parts of the country to the
southern, predominantly Singhalese areas. Children trying to escape the rebel
faction risk being detained by the police as they attempt to cross to the south. In
addition, those simply showing interest in leaving, face the danger of being
beaten and tortured in front of the other troops. The safe demobilization of child
soldiers requires national and international intervention that puts pressure on
both governments and rebel groups to release their young combatants. Failing to
do so should result in dire consequences, including detainment of military leaders
and the imposition of economic sanctions. Successful demobilization can only
take place if children are guaranteed security in the repatriation process. As
illustrated, there are many factors that must be considered in the process of
changing behaviours. If efforts are made to change behaviours, and yet children
continue to live in danger, such attempts will remain futile. From this follows that
changing behaviours can be a very delicate process and must take into account
outside environmental factors in order to be effective.
The ABC model often proposes to change contradictions as a means toward
conflict prevention. Appropriately reintegrating children into society could serve

as a successful method of changing certain contradictions. It would involve

changing those factors that lead children to being recruited in the first place.
Reintegration procedures must assist ex child soldiers in creating a new
groundwork for their lives. Providing ways in which children can restore
relationships with their families and communities is vital. This is because child
soldiers have been raised far from their parents and have been denied the
opportunity for physical, emotional and intellectual development. New
reintegration programs must be set up and existing ones must be strengthened
to promote health and nutrition, as well as psychosocial wellness and education.
Such programs must take into account the unique circumstances generated by
violent conflict. These include children and their families forced to flee their
homes, being displaced within their countries or traveling across borders as
refugees. Special attention must be given to those who are most at risk in a
conflict, yet often forgotten. Children and women are most likely to be sexually
humiliated, raped and forced into prostitution. Therefore, demobilization and
reintegration programs must be sensitively designed so as to appropriately
respond to the needs of vulnerable populations, particularly girl soldiers. The
special requirements of adolescents who are in the process of forming identities
and ideologies must also be attended to. In 2004, World Vision set up a Child
Mothers Centre in Uganda. The institute is aimed at fulfilling the physical and
emotional needs of young women and girls who have been impregnated by LRA
rebel leaders. It assists girls who are still pregnant as well as those who have
already given birth and are facing the challenges of motherhood. At the centre,
the girls are taught vital skills for supporting and caring for their children. (World
Vision, 2006) More establishments such as this one are required in nations
where females are likely to be recruited into armed forces.
An important aspect of assistance programs is providing returning soldiers with
educational and vocational opportunities. This can prove useful, not only in
helping them readapt to civilian life and increasing their families economic
security, but also in preventing children from rejoining armed units. Education
and skills training renders children more equipped for finding employment, which
also contributes to making them feel more accepted and included in their
communities. Educational opportunities can also assist in normalizing childrens
lives and giving them the chance to create an identity apart from that of the
soldier. One challenge to reintegrating soldiers into schools is that many have
fallen behind in their education during military service and may, thus, wind up in
classes with students far younger than themselves. To address this concern,
special classes could be set up for former child combatants, which could serve
as a transition for re entering the regular school system. Once they are caught
up, they can re enter the regular school system and attend classes appropriate to
their age. Within education programs, ex soldiers should be encouraged to use
their energies, ideas and experiences in positive ways when contributing to the
renewal of post violence societies. The emphasis should be placed on
channelling childrens energies into positive actions. This is because their
gradually increasing involvement in atrocities desensitizes them to affliction and,

consequently, makes them more prone to being violent themselves. As a result,

children adopt the idea that violence is an acceptable method of reaching ones
goals. Governments and civil society, thus, have an important role to play in
altering this ideology and helping children transform their negative values into
constructive ones.
The processes of demobilization and reintegration are long and complex. While
they are being carried out, concrete practical steps must be taken towards
slowing down the recruitment of children for war. Otherwise stated, immediate
steps must be taken to prevent violent behaviour from continuing to run its
course. Since the proliferation of lightweight weapons is enabling military leaders
to arm children, the UN and other international bodies should make it a priority to
draft stricter global standards for limiting the small arms trade. Also, countries
producing small weapons should immediately stop exporting them to areas
where the use of child soldiers is prevalent. Without the supply of manageable
arms, rebel groups and armed government forces will not be able to provide their
young combatants with the equipment they need for killing. The sooner arms
manufacturing countries will cease to export their weapons, the quicker the use
of child soldiers will become a thing of the past. As such, it is the responsibility of
many European and other technologically advanced countries to help stop the
exploitation of children in some of the most remote areas of the world.
/;
" %& ! "
War affects everyone. Unfortunately, too often it is the most vulnerable, innocent,
and weak members of society that are most severely affected by violence.
Those members happen to be children. They reap the consequences of war, and
yet have nothing to do with its beginnings: they are not in the least responsible
for its eruption. Because of their low status in society, children are forced to
suffer the consequences of the most destructive of actions carried out by
authorities and governments. Not only do children undergo physical and
emotional torment because of armed conflict, but they are also frequently directly
involved in battle as soldiers, messengers, spies, and wives of armed leaders.
Regardless of the type of involvement, taking advantage of children in such a
way is completely unacceptable and goes against their rights as outlined in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. Whether they be forced or persuaded,
recruiting children into joining armed factions destroys their innocence, sense of
love, and even sense of self. It tears them apart from their families and causes
them to commit one of the most barbaric acts known to man: murder. In other
words, it crudely strips them of their childhood and turns them into perpetrators of
violence. This must be stopped
. Awareness must be raised about
the atrocities that are carried out against children by involving them in armed
conflicts. More than ever before, attention must be given to the subject of child
soldiers, especially with the increase in small arms trade. NGOs, governments,
civil society as well as the international community need to coordinate their
efforts to prevent the recruitment of children as soldiers, secure their

demobilisation and ensure their proper reintegration into society. As evidenced in

this chapter, one way to do this is by applying the basic concepts of the ABC
triangle. By addressing peoples attitudes and behaviours and tending to the root
causes of the conflict, significant changes can be made in creating a more
peaceful environment for children involved in war. Through the use of such
peace building tools as the ABC model, there remains hope for war affected
children who find themselves in the bleakest of situations.

!)%! +

Amnesty International USA website. May 2, 2006:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/children/crn summary.html
Brett, Rachel and Stohl, Rachel. Youth Advocate Program International, 2004.
March 15, 2005: http://www.yapi.org/conflict/
Cohn, Ilene and Goodwin Gill. Guy. Child Soldiers: The Role of Children in
Armed Conflicts: A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1994.
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers Website, 2004. March 15, 2005:
www.child soldiers.org
Child Soldier Use 2003: A Briefing for the 4th UN Security Council Open Debate
on Children and Armed Conflict. Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers,
2004. March 13, 2005: http://www.child soldiers.org/document_get.php?id=691
Galtung, Johan. Transcend and Transform: An Introduction to Conflict Work.
London: Pluto Press, 2004.
Human Rights Watch. Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. New York: Human Rights
Watch, 2004 (Updated: 2006). March 20, 2005:
http://hrw.org/campaigns/crp/index.htm
Human Rights Watch Website: Children's Rights, Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.
March 17, 2005: http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/crp/index.htm
iEARN. March 14, 2005: http://www.childsoldiers.org/ourwritings/03Brima.asp
Lejtenyi, Patrick. Exodus by Night. Child View: World Vision Canada Spring
2006:
16 21.
UNA Canada Website: Monitoring the UN Soldiers. March 22, 2005:
http://www.unac.org/en/link_learn/monitoring/Childrights_solders.asp

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Tuschl, Ronald H. (Project Co ordinator & Editor); Sabiiti, Stella (Supervisor);

Czyz, Magdalena (Author): EPU Research Papers, Issue 02/08, European
University Center for Peace Studies (EPU), Stadtschlaining, Austria, 2008.