VilaWeb - Diari escola: Against the Use of Child Soldiers

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diumenge, 28 d'abril de 2024

> What is Meant by the Term 'Child Soldier'?

> Countries

> Legislation

dimarts, 12 de febrer de 2008

Today, 12 February, is Red Hand Day, set up to raise international awareness of the tragic situation of child soldiers, recruited to fight in wars and armed conflicts.

Red Hand Day was initiated on 12 February 2002, when the optional protocol regarding the involvement of children in armed conflict came into force. The protocol, ratified by more than 100 countries, condemns the participation of children under the age of 18 in armed conflicts.

Red Hand Day is the initiative of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. Since 1998, the coalition has strived to prevent a problem that affects some 250,000 children and young people all over the world.

The coalition's management committee is made up of various humanitarian and human rights organisations: Amnesty International, Defence for Children International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation Terre des Hommes, International Save the Children Alliance, Jesuit Refugee Service and the Quaker United Nations Office (Geneva).

The committee has close links with organisations that fight for the rights of children: UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Labour Organisation.

+ Webs relacionades dins Nosaltres.Cat: Drets dels infants.
+ Child Soldiers: pàgina de Human Rights Watch.
+ La niñez y los conflictos armados: documents i vincles aplegats per la UNICEF.

What is Meant by the Term 'Child Soldier'?

+ Some 250,000 children are being recruited to fight in armed conflicts.

The term 'child soldier' is understood to refer to any person under the age of 18 who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force, irrespective of their role. Such tasks include armed combat, placing mines or explosives, espionage, cooking, acting as a messenger, and procuring materials. Subject to cruel treatment, child soldiers run the risk of suffering sexual abuse, particularly girls: it is estimated that a third of children recruited as child soldiers are girls. Needless to say, the recruitment of child soldiers causes enormous damage, both physical and mental.

Countries

+ Red Hand Day is the initiative of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

According 'Children and Armed Conflict', a recently published United Nations (UN) report, there are some 250,000 child soldiers who have been recruited in 13 countries: Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Nepal, the Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Uganda. According to the report, refugee camps are often favourite places to recruit children, particularly when there is poor security.

Legislation

+ The UN has passed six resolutions against the use of child soldiers.

To put an end to this situation, the international community has approved a number of measures. Besides the more general ones such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Geneva Conventions, there is the optional protocol regarding the participation of children in armed conflict. The protocol establishes a minimum age of 18 before a person can take part in armed conflicts. Then there are the six Security Council resolutions (1261, 1314, 1379, 1460, 1539 and, passed in 2005, 1612), and the Paris Principles, signed last year by some 60 nations, some of which are directly affected by armed conflict. Today, the UN Security Council is set to discuss the 'Children and Armed Conflict' report, a debate that may lead to the adoption of new measures.

MATERIALS

Red Hand Day
Format:Web
Instituït per a conscienciar sobre la xacra dels infants soldat.
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Format:Web
Promotora del Red Hand Day (Dia de la Mà Vermella). En anglès, espanyol i francès.
El sou de soldat, me'l vaig gastar en una bicicleta
Format:Web
Entrevista de VilaWeb TV amb Lucien Badjoko, un dels trenta mil infants que va lluitar amb l'exèrcit congolès de Laurent Kabila.
Los niños y los conflictos armados
Format:PDF
Informe de l'ONU, del 21 de desembre de 2007.
Children and Armed Conflict
Format:Web
Pàgina del representant especial de l'ONU. Temes, legislació, accions... En cinc llengües.

QUE HO SABIES?

The practice of recruiting child soldiers goes back many years. In fact, the word 'infantry' is derived from the Latin word 'infans', meaning child.
The humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières publishes an annual report of the world's ten most-forgotten crises. Six of the countries included in the 2007 report use children to participate in armed conflicts: the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of China, Burma, Somalia and Sri Lanka.