Child rights advocates call for increased efforts to eliminate child soldiers
Child rights advocates have said there is still room for expansion of the definition of 'children involved in armed conflict' and formalizing both preventive and protective measures to address the issue, twenty years following the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 11 years following the Optional Protocol (OP) and two years consequent to the Paris Principles (PP).
Now, there are rapid changes in the nature of conflicts such that powerful state armies struggle with the harsh reality of engaging children on the battlefield.
A Human Rights Lawyer, Ms Priyadharshini Dias noted the unlawful recruitment of children and exposing them and / or involving them in warfare amounts to a denial of majority of the rights spelt out in the CRC and other international human rights instruments.
"It is an express loss of the all important childhood, family life, education and the inherent right to dignity and self-respect", she said.
Ms. Dias stated this when she presented a paper, "Framework for Addressing the Issue of Children in Armed Conflicts and Suggestive Preventive Measures", at an international child soldier conference in Oslo, Norway, to mark the 20th anniversary since the adoption of the CRC.
Networkers SouthNorth and the Dag Hammarskjold Programme, Voksenaasen, organized the conference to evaluate the UN CRC and other UN instruments, particularly children involved in armed conflict.
The CRC is an international treaty that recognizes the human rights of children, defined as persons up to the age of 18 years. In 41 substantive articles, it establishes in international law that States Parties must ensure that all children - without discrimination in any form - benefit from special protection measures and assistance; have access to services such as education and health care; can develop their personalities, abilities and talents to the fullest potential; grow up in an environment of happiness, love and understanding; and are informed about and participate in, achieving their rights in an accessible and active manner.
A significant political-level initiative is the strong commitment expressed by 76 Member States, including a number of conflict-affected countries, to the Paris Commitments and the Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated With Armed Forces or Armed Groups, which provide guidelines on the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of all categories of children associated with armed groups.
Child recruitment has been defined as - 'compulsory, forced and voluntary conscription or enlistment of children into any kind of armed force or armed group.'
In spite of the universal condemnation and prohibition on the use of children as soldiers, in too many contexts, children as young as eight years continue to be enrolled into armed forces, armed groups, paramilitaries and other militant groups. These children are separated from their families, killed or maimed, abused sexually or otherwise exploited, causing a devastating impact on the physical and mental well being for their entire lifetime.
Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict estimates over two million children have been killed in situations of armed conflict, six million have been permanently disabled and more than a quarter of a million children continue to be exploited as child soldiers.
The growing involvement of non-state actors / rebel groups and the use of non-traditional forms of warfare add to the difficulty of quantifying the impact of war on children. According to Graca Machel?s strategy review, the number of conflicts in 2005 ranged from 17 to 56 worldwide. Ms Machel was the head of the organization that produced the UN Report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children.
Ms Dias deduced children are recruited for warfare because they are easier to abduct, subjugate and manipulate than adults. She said they are more vulnerable to indoctrination; they learn skills quickly, are fast and agile on a battlefield, more willing than adults to take risks and are seen as more loyal and less threatening to adult leadership.
She bemoaned that war violates every right of the child."?Their direct involvement in hostilities results in enormous emotional, physical, developmental, social and spiritual harm. The tragic cost of children's involvement in armed conflict exposes them to be frequently killed or injured during front line combat operations or while carrying out other tasks."
She added that child soldiers are usually forced to live under harsh conditions with insufficient food and little or no access to healthcare.
Twenty years ago, the CRC recognized the obligation of the states to ensure that children under the age of 15 years do not directly participate in hostilities. It also required states from recruiting any person who is under age 15 into their armed forces.
Eleven years after, the OP to the CRC required states parties to take all feasible measures to ensure that members of the armed forces who have not attained the age of 15 years do not participate directly in hostilities.
However, careful perusal of the OP reveals that it does not make 18 the uniform minimum age for recruitment and participation in hostilities. For e.g., 15 year olds may still join government armed forces voluntarily.
As opposed to state parties, the OP sets a different standard for non-state armed groups by imposing outright prohibition from recruiting children less than 18 years of age either forcibly or voluntarily from using them in hostilities.
Ms Dias argued that in a context of non-international armed conflict where the armed group and / or warring factions have total control over certain geographical territories, it is a near impossibility for states to take criminal action against perpetrators and / or preventive measures to monitor the recruitment of children.
Thereby, she said the OP leaves the burden on the state parties and does not in any way address the heinous crime committed on a daily basis in the most brutal fashion in many parts of the world today.
"Categories of participation is yet to be included in the definition; recent times have demonstrated the involvement of children with violence, arms and crimes not typically falling within the Geneva Convention definitions of an international or non-international armed conflict, but perhaps closely related to a certain aspect of an ongoing conflict.
Piracy (a war like act committed by private parties that engaged in acts of robbery and / or violence at sea.), organized crime and private military groups, child fighters as drug carriers and human shields, suicide attacks among others are yet to be considered by the international community within the context of improving the safeguards provided in the CRC and / or its OP or the Rome Statute", she elaborated.
Ms Dias recommends a child soldier programming should comprise of three components; prevention of recruitment, demobilization, release and reintegration focusing both before, during and after warfare / conflict.
According to her, the OP does not detail standards in relation to preventive measures, although it requires the state parties to cooperate in the implementation of the present protocol, including the prevention of any activity contrary to the protocol.
She stated that as a preventive measure, states are obliged to ratify international human rights and humanitarian law instruments, protecting children in armed conflict and incorporate the provisions into domestic legal systems.
She indicated other preventives measures would be to address the likely risks associated with recruitment from all angles, such as keeping schools open as long as possible, taking immediate action to provide relief to prevent hunger, assisting in the safe movement of populations and ensuring that internally displaced camps provide safe havens for children and their families who are fleeing to avoid the fighting forces.
"The all important task is to make every effort to end conflict as soon as possible, and together with the international community to negotiate with armed groups and forces to stop them from recruiting children", she emphasized.
During times of armed conflict civil society and non-government organizations have a role to play as neutral humanitarian actor present on the ground.
Ms Dias said they could expand opportunities for alternatives to prevent children from recruitment and reintegration of former child soldiers.
"Alternatives could include micro-lending and vocational skills and form a positive self-identity, and make positive choices about their future without turning to armed groups for survival. CS could further organize life-skill and psycho-social programmes where children can be encouraged to participate via children?s clubs, child friendly spaces in competitions, performances, guided discussions and educational activities".
In the words of Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, "Children are innocent and especially vulnerable. Children are less equipped to adapt or respond to conflict. They are least responsible for conflict, yet suffer disproportionately from its excesses. Children represent the hope and future of every society; destroy them and you have destroyed a society."
Author: Ama Achiaa Amankwah, Oslo, Norway
AMA Child Panel visits DOVVSU
Accra, Oct. 22, GNA - A seven-member committee of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly's (AMA) Child Panel, which was inaugurated about three months to oversee the well-being of children in the metropolis, on Thursday paid a courtesy call on the Domestic Violence and Victim support Unit (DOVSSU).
Addressing the executives of DOVVSU, Nii Adjebu Lamptey, Chairman of the Panel, said the visit was to formally inform DOVVSU of the formation of the panel and its readiness to collaborate with the unit in handling issues that pertain to children.
He said the main objective of the panel was to work to bring peace into homes in the metropolis and to ensure that children took their proper place in the society.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Owusuah Kyeremeh, Regional Commander of DOVVSU, praised AMA for the initiative adding that it would help to complement the work of the unit.
She appealed to the panel not to hesitate in referring all criminal cases to the unit for the necessary action.
"We will plead with you to refer all juvenile cases that are of either first or second degree felony to us for the needed action to be taken," she added.
DSP Kyeremeh pledged to occasionally invite members of the panel to some of its outreach programmes and also work with any organization that had the well being of children at heart.
The Panel presented a copy of the Children's Act to DOVVSU.
GNA