Recruitment Of Child Soldiers Research Articles

Civil War in Yaman: Do Women and Children Have Human Rights Protection?

Introduction: This article delves into the intricacies of the Yemen civil war, focusing on the human rights situation affecting women and children. The analysis underscores the severe challenges in safeguarding their rights due to limited access to essential services caused by the conflict. The article examines ongoing programs and policies to strengthen protection measures and reinforce global awareness of vulnerable populations in Yemen. Purposes of the Research: The research is dedicated to analyzing the gravity of the human rights crisis in civil war, especially for women and children. Highlighting the hardships they experience, proposing pragmatic solutions, and increasing international recognition of their plight. Identifying gaps in existing protection mechanisms, this research advocates for cooperative strategies that can ease the burden faced by the Yemeni and nurture a more promising future.Methods of the Research: Utilizes normative and legal methodologies to comprehensively explore the protection of human rights. A complete understanding of the challenges faced through a descriptive methodology, incorporating a literature review and case studies. Research information was drawn from relevant legal documents, media reports, and policy analysis.Results of the Research: The findings of this research unequivocally reveal that Yemeni women and children face enormous obstacles in securing their human rights in armed conflict. Acts such as murder, rape, and recruitment of child soldiers exacerbate this already dire situation. Engaging government and civil society efforts are urgently needed to advocate for and ensure the well-being of Yemeni women and children during this protracted conflict.

Civil War in Yaman: Do Women and Children Have Human Rights Protection?

Introduction: This article delves into the intricacies of the Yemen civil war, focusing on the human rights situation affecting women and children. The analysis underscores the severe challenges in safeguarding their rights due to limited access to essential services caused by the conflict. The article examines ongoing programs and policies to strengthen protection measures and reinforce global awareness of vulnerable populations in Yemen. Purposes of the Research: The research is dedicated to analyzing the gravity of the human rights crisis in civil war, especially for women and children. Highlighting the hardships they experience, proposing pragmatic solutions, and increasing international recognition of their plight. Identifying gaps in existing protection mechanisms, this research advocates for cooperative strategies that can ease the burden faced by the Yemeni and nurture a more promising future.Methods of the Research: Utilizes normative and legal methodologies to comprehensively explore the protection of human rights. A complete understanding of the challenges faced through a descriptive methodology, incorporating a literature review and case studies. Research information was drawn from relevant legal documents, media reports, and policy analysis.Results of the Research: The findings of this research unequivocally reveal that Yemeni women and children face enormous obstacles in securing their human rights in armed conflict. Acts such as murder, rape, and recruitment of child soldiers exacerbate this already dire situation. Engaging government and civil society efforts are urgently needed to advocate for and ensure the well-being of Yemeni women and children during this protracted conflict.

YOUNG PEOPLE AND FASCISM PROPAGANDA IN IRAN: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ANTHEM ‘HAIL COMMANDER’

Since its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has enormously capitalized on exploiting youths, from the recruitment of child soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war to deployments of underage boys and girls for political socialization. Political socialization, in this sense, has involved reinforcing Shia/Revolutionary ideologies through mobilizing young people for various cultural activities and propaganda campaigns. As part of these efforts, and in line with IRI’s mounting domestic and international struggles, since March 2022, the government has heavily invested in propagating ‘Hail Commander’, an anthem produced and broadcast by the state-run media. Exclusively performed by 7-14 years old children in uniforms, the content of this anthem (lyrics and visual features) bears a close resemblance to the lyrics of Giovinezza (Juvenility) of fascist Italy (1924-1943) and the political ideals promoted by Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) in Nazi Germany (1926-1945). By drawing on theories of fascism, propaganda, and political socialization, and using comparative critical analysis, this study reveals the underlying propagandist messages in Hail Commander and its relations to the fascist/Nazi praxis and ideologies. It is further argued that the creation of Hail Commander should be seen as the revival of the child soldier phenomenon, albeit in the form of media representation.

CHILD SOLDIERS AND PEACE AGREEMENTS

AbstractFor societies transitioning from conflict to peace, the phenomenon of child soldiers poses significant challenges. These include quandaries associated with assisting in the reintegration of serving child soldiers, determining how to prevent future recruitment of child soldiers, and pursuing accountability of those who utilize child soldiers. In addition, questions are also raised as to whether and how child soldiers responsible for crimes committed during conflict are to be held to account. While no one mechanism or response can adequately and sufficiently address the multifaceted issues that arise, peace agreements, as foundational documents that serve as the blueprint for peacebuilding and the post-conflict State, can make a useful contribution to some or all of them. Drawing on all references to child soldiers in 77 peace agreements signed between 1990 and 2022, this article examines the ways in which peace agreements address the issue of child soldiers.

The Geneva Convention on Laws of War and the Sudan Armed Conflict

The Geneva Convention contains regulations that govern the conduct of war and the treatment of individuals affected by war. However, despite the existence of this regulation created to guide the conduct of hostilities and protect civilians in international and non-international armed conflict, there are still recorded cases of actions by state and non-state actors that run contrary to the dictates of the convention. Records show that in modern day conflict, indiscriminate attacks and the use of unauthorized weapons are still being launched against civilian population, recruitment of child soldiers in insurrections, the use of weapons with indiscriminate effects, genocide, among others. It is against this backdrop that this paper examined the Sudan conflict and the application of the Geneva Convention on the laws of war. From the findings, a wide range of violation of the dictate of the Geneva Convention in the Sudan conflict was observed. The paper concludes that while the Geneva Convention continues to be relevant today, its provisions are still violated in modern day conflict such as Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar. The international community must continue to uphold the principles of the convention and hold those who violate it accountable.

Child neurodevelopmental disorders in armed conflict country, case of DR Congo: long-term trauma impact on brain development in childhood: review

Child neurodevelopmental disorders in armed conflict country, case of DR Congo: long-term trauma impact on brain development in childhood: review

The Legal Complexities of Terrorism as an International Crime Following the Recruitment and Enlistment of Child Soldiers in the Cabo Delgado, Mozambique Insurgency War

The conscription of children in military conflicts within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region was more peculiar to the Democratic Republic of Congo after the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars subsided into peace during the late 1990s. The resurgence of child soldiers in Mozambique under a new Islamic-inspired terrorist phenomenon adds a terrifying dimension that brings legal complexities around defining terrorism and resituating it separately as a crime within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The spectre of terrorism—as the current prime inducement of children into hostilities in Mozambique—has regional, political, economic and security implications, given its magnitude and recurring nature. This research is qualitative in form and its objective is broadening the understanding of terrorism, addressing the recurring recruitment of children into armed conflicts within the SADC region, and making a case for the inclusion of terrorism in the Rome Statute. This is important for the SADC, which had sloughed off the heinous side of civil wars. Research demonstrates that systemic violation of child rights takes an enormous toll on societies, given its extensive physical and psychological harm, and that often children in war-torn societies make up half the population. The findings are that the inclusion of terrorism within the scope of the ICC broadens international accountability mechanisms and acts as a deterrent for the future enlistment of children into armed conflicts.

Labor Markets in Contexts of War: Recruitment and Trafficking of Child Soldiers in Colombia

Objective/context: The article aims to analyze child recruitment as a form of human trafficking. Beyond the theoretical perspectives that focus on security or rights, it addresses the topic as a form of unfree labor. By means of a case study focused on child recruitment by right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia, the paper analyzes how children entered and exited illegal armed groups, the functions they performed, and the exploitation they endured. The research argues that child recruitment operates as a large-scale labor-market uptake in the wartime social order, where the “employers” are paramilitary groups, and the labor force, in part, consists of children and adolescents. Methodology: This case study relies on different sources of information: a database on child recruitment provided by the special Justice and Peace Unit of the Colombian Attorney General’s Office (989 cases between 1981 and 2005), sentences of Peace and Justice, testimonials given by victims in judicial processes, and semi-structured interviews with different actors. Conclusions: The paper shows that child recruitment as a form of trafficking is functional to wartime social order in contexts of poverty and inequality. There is demand and supply; thus, both girls and boys, who worked as soldiers, are not only victims but also agents that make decisions in challenging conditions. Therefore, if the socioeconomic options for these children, even after their demobilization from the armed group, are still a choice between bad and worse, joining a violent (no longer “armed” but “criminal”) group will remain a feasible alternative. Originality: The article contributes to the academic literature on a recent topic, such as the overlapping between child recruitment and human trafficking in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. It also contributes to the literature on “unfree labor,” as the study focuses on an actor (illegal armed groups) that has not been analyzed until now. Finally, the research demonstrates the limits of understanding human trafficking (and child recruitment as a form of trafficking) as a problem of security or rights entitlement. It highlights the analytical and political advantages of categories such as “unfree labor” to provide effective solutions for the prevention and reintegration of child soldiers.

The Vancouver Principles - A Moral Grammar for Empowered Witness

In June 2014, General (retired) Romeo Dallaire opened a speech on the subject of child solders to the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service with these words: “Religion is insufficient to attenuate the evil.1 This paper responds to General Dallaire’s statement by examining how The Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers (hereafter The Vancouver Principles) meet the need for new language to address the encounter with children on operations. It argues that a particular set of agreed upon terms to support soldiers throughout the deployment cycle is needed, not only for ending the recruitment and use of children and youth as participants in war, but also to provide the basis for a moral grammar to help peacekeepers and other actors in theatres of operations remain empowered and healthy on mission and afterwards.

Early Warning and Predictive Analytic Systems in Conflict Contexts: Insights from the Field

ABSTRACT Early warning systems purport to help decision makers act more effectively. But what does it take to develop, deliver and use warnings or predictions for rare and uncertain events in data-poor and rapidly changing environments? What key lessons can be learned from teams who have confronted these challenges over the last 10 years? The paper answers these questions using in-depth analysis of the experiences of teams developing and applying early warning systems (EWS) for coups, organised violence, mass atrocities, and child soldier recruitment. The purpose of this paper is to improve understanding of the development and use of conflict-related EWS.

The Pitfalls and Potential of the Systematic Collection of Data on Child Soldier Recruitment

ABSTRACT The recruitment of children to be used as soldiers by conflict actors continues to be a regular occurrence globally and is associated with numerous negative effects. The debatable efficacy of current efforts to combat child recruitment gives rise to the idea that scholars and policymakers should cultivate preventive tools, including the development of early warning systems. However, such development has been hampered by the difficulties associated with collecting precise and systematic large-scale data. In this study, we discuss three important pitfalls related to data collection and provide several potentials for overcoming these challenges in the development of early warning alerts.

Cooperation of the Government of the Central African Republic and UNICEF in Handling Cases of Recruitment of Child Soldiers in the Central African Republic

Abstract
 Continous humanitarian crisises in the Central African Republic are instigated by the armed conflicts involving underage combatants also known as child soldiers. Set against this phenomenon, the Goverment of Central African Republic is trying to overcome the issue by initiating collaboration with UNICEF, hoping to put an end to the use and recruitment of said underage soldier operating and fighting throughout the territory of the Central African Republic. The objective of this research is to analyze the existing collaboration between the Republic of Central Africa and UNICEF by firstly, describing the conflict in the Central African Republic and then followed by tabling the factors that enable the recruitment of the children of the war, and as well providing anlayses on the UNICEF’s role in hattling the case of child soldier recruitment and the obstacles that the organization has to endure from its attempt of doing so in the region of Central African Republic. This research employs qualitative method by collecting data from books, NGO’s reports, and mass media. The explanation about the collaboration between UNICEF and the Central African Republic is given by utilizing the standpoint of Liberalism together with the perspectives of the concepts of Cooperation and International Organization, respectively. This research concludes that the presence of a number of obstacles in the collaborative work between UNICEF and the Goverment of Central African Republic has been the primary reason that made the collaboration between the two actors, arguably, has not been entirely and fully succesful.

The impact of climate variability on children: The recruitment of boys and girls by rebel groups

Environmental changes place severe pressure on individuals and societies. Vulnerable segments of the population, especially children, are likely to be first affected. We examine the impact of climate variability on the recruitment of children by rebel groups during conflict. We argue that changes in climate patterns increase both the supply of children willing to work as soldiers and rebel groups’ demand for them. To empirically examine this association, we combine global data on temperature and precipitation shocks with information on child soldier recruitment by rebel groups. Our findings suggest that climate variability shapes child soldier recruitment in systematic and significant ways. Additionally, we show that this relationship is not gender-neutral: it has a strong impact on the level of girls recruited by rebel groups. This research has important implications for our understanding of how climate variability can influence conflict dynamics, how environmental changes may worsen the circumstances of the most vulnerable individuals of conflict-affected societies, and how a non-gender-neutral effect of climate change may materialize.

Children at risk of being recruited for armed conflict, 1990–2020

AbstractAlthough armed conflicts and crises affect people of all ages, children are particularly susceptible to the effects of war. One significant consequence of armed conflict that is especially critical for children's well‐being, is when the belligerents use tactics specifically focused on harming children, including child soldier recruitment. Despite the increased attention of policy‐makers, we still lack systematic knowledge of how many children are directly and indirectly at risk of being recruited by state and non‐state actors. In overcoming this gap, we have collected data on the use of children by state and non‐state actors from 2010 onwards. Moreover, we estimate the number of children at risk of recruitment. The results of our mapping and estimation sketch a dark picture. According to our estimates, in 2020, approximately 337 million children (or 14%, or more than one in eight of all children globally) were living in a conflict zone with reported child soldier recruitment—that is less than 50 km from ongoing conflict, which involved at least one actor who has been reported to recruit children. We close the paper by taking stock of the current knowledge on the root causes of child soldiering, and we discuss some policy implications.

Reparations as Reinforcement: The Function of Compensation in Affirming the Recruitment and Deployment of Child Soldiers as Forced Labor of the Worst Kind

Reparations as Reinforcement: The Function of Compensation in Affirming the Recruitment and Deployment of Child Soldiers as Forced Labor of the Worst Kind

THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) TO DECREASING A NUMBER OF CHILD SOLDIER IN SOUTH SUDAN

This study aims to determine The Performance of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The method used in this research is a qualitative method with descriptive research type. The data collection technique used in this research is library research in the form of books, reports, journal articles and internet sites. The theory used is Diplomatic Termination Theory. In this regard, there is a role for the ICRC in reducing child soldiers in South Sudan during the 2014-2019 period, which in the eyes of international humanitarian law is illegal. This role is in the form of humanitarian programs for South Sudan which indirectly reduce the recruitment of child soldiers in South Sudan in the 2014-2019 period. The results of the study explain that in carrying out its role by reducing child soldiers in South Sudan, the ICRC has proven to play an active role and can carry out its role well.

Understanding perennial recruitment of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Recruitment of child soldiers in armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has become a perennial problem despite efforts by local and international actors to put a stop to it. This paper launches a critical investigation into the underlying causes behind the continued recruitment of children as soldiers. More so, in light of economic challenges in a war tone country, where there is no school, no recreational facilities and no proper services, this paper seeks to establish how the implementation of the Vancouver Principles can be made a total success in such conditions.

‘Little people do little things’: the motivation and recruitment of Viet Cong child soldiers

ABSTRACT Children have comprised a significant part of past and present military conflicts; however, attempts to understand their motivations have generally focused on coerced recruitment. When children join military groups without physical coercion, they are portrayed as being driven by economic and social deprivations. This article investigates factors that have been disproportionately overlooked as motivators for child soldiers – social contexts, relationships, and personal histories. To this end, I use a relational approach to analyse life histories of former Viet Cong child soldiers. I explore their lives prior to joining the Viet Cong guerrillas and trace how their choice to do so had been shaped by societal factors including family, perceptions of a good childhood, and previous war exposure. My interviews further indicate that children actively reproduced and appropriated the same practices that predisposed them to take up arms. Evaluated against the backdrop of their social and internal lives, the decision of child soldiers to participate in the Vietnam War is understood to be a product of their personal and social histories. These findings challenge the stereotypical image of the passive child soldier. Such historisation of children’s recruitment helps to destigmatise child soldiers’ experience and allow for a more nuanced understanding of their decisions.

Cooperation of the Government of the Central African Republic and UNICEF in Handling Cases of Recruitment of Child Soldiers in the Central African Republic

Continous humanitarian crisises in the Central African Republic are instigated by the armed conflicts involving underage combatants also known as child soldiers. Set against this phenomenon, the Goverment of Central African Republic is trying to overcome the issue by initiating collaboration with UNICEF, hoping to put an end to the use and recruitment of said underage soldier operating and fighting throughout the territory of the Central African Republic. The objective of this research is to analyze the existing collaboration between the Republic of Central Africa and UNICEF by firstly, describing the conflict in the Central African Republic and then followed by tabling the factors that enable the recruitment of the children of the war, and as well providing anlayses on the UNICEF’s role in hattling the case of child soldier recruitment and the obstacles that the organization has to endure from its attempt of doing so in the region of Central African Republic. This research employs qualitative method by collecting data from books, NGO’s reports, and mass media. The explanation about the collaboration between UNICEF and the Central African Republic is given by utilizing the standpoint of Liberalism together with the perspectives of the concepts of Cooperation and International Organization, respectively. This research concludes that the presence of a number of obstacles in the collaborative work between UNICEF and the Goverment of Central African Republic has been the primary reason that made the collaboration between the two actors, arguably, has not been entirely and fully succesful.

Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Afghanistan: Cultural Traits as Pivotal Factor

This paper explores the cultural values that prevailed in Afghanistan to understand the recruitment and use of underage soldiers in the long-lasting armed conflict while comparing the existing domestic and international law. The study analyzed the effect of the traditions of Afghans on child soldiering. The method was doctrinal, and therefore, the collected and analyzed data was qualitative. The analysis was thematical, where each related idea was subjected to review and evaluation. The research found that since time immemorial, the Afghan culture traditions were conducive to underage soldiering for various reasons, including peace and justice where male and female child warriors are treated as heroes, perhaps more than any other member of the Afghan society. Due to the stated reasonings, the study established that more underage soldiers were used and recruited during the period of the British Empire, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the civil war that caused the Taliban and Northern Alliance to resume control and in the post 9/11 phase of armed conflict in Afghanistan irrespective of domestic and international law that prohibited the recruitment and use of underage soldiers as it violated their basic fundamental rights of childhood.