Child Soldiers

By: Carolyn Kelly ... Click on author's name for more of their articles

All over the world children are being used in combat war; children are exceptional susceptible to military recruitment and also manipulation to violence since they are naive and impressionable. The children are either enticed or forced to join the armed groups. Despite on how the children are recruited into the armed force, child soldiers are victims, and their taking part in conflicts brings serious implication to their physical as well as emotional welfare. The child soldiers are in many cases abused and many of them witness killing, sexual abuse and death. Many of these children participate in the killings and many do suffer severe long lasting psychological consequences.

Military activities
Throughout history, children have been used a lot in military activities, the activities of children in the military involves participating in warfare directly, taking support duties and roles like spying, or porter or being used in war propaganda and at times as human shields. These practices are unethical and go against many cultural moral values. Way back in 1970s the world has been trying to enact several international conventions to prevent children from taking part in armed conflicts. However, this practice has continued despite the fact that it is unethical. (Millard, 2001)

Ethical issue of child soldier
The issue of child soldier raises the ethical issue about using child soldiers and how they should be ethically treated. Ethical values are main beliefs for instance duty, respect and integrity that inspire actions and attitudes of a person. Some values are unethical, ethical values do relay what is considered right and what is seen as wrong. Thus, ethical values do take priority above none ethical values. Child soldier ethics therefore deals with the code of conduct of armed groups be it the state military or other paramilitary groups that are involved in child soldier. (Millard, 2001)

The recent past has witnessed an increase of conflicts in the world; ethical issue of child soldiers has become an important issue today. Many of the general ethical issues that govern combat prohibit recruitment of children less than 15 years into armed combat. However, by 2003 over 500 000 children currently are involved in armed conflicts; this is according to the United Nations statistics. (Millard, 2001) This there fore brings the issue of ethical becomes more important and crucial.

Child soldier
There is no ethical reason why armed groups should use children in their wars. Unfortunately fighting gangs have come up with sophisticated and brutal techniques in order to separate children from their families and communities. The groups normally terrorized children into obeying their orders. The child soldier comes to recognize that being absolutely obedient is the only way to survive. In many cases this children are forced to kill other children or even family members. The children are forced to realize that there is no going back home. This is unethical behavior that should not be done to the children. These child soldiers undergo a lot of trauma, at the same time the communities that these child soldiers have been forced to assault also undergo trauma too.

Dealing with armed child soldiers
The ethical and moral dilemma that surround child soldiers have been scarcely been discussed. The question that arises is should a professional soldiers deal with armed children soldiers just like any other enemy and go for victory when they are confronted with them? For example, in 2002 British peacekeepers in Sierra Leone were confronted with such dilemma, when then a squad commander was not willing to fire at the group of children soldiers when they surrounded them. The children militias called “West side boys” were armed with AK -47s. The British peacekeepers were taken hostage, and when two weeks later they were rescued around 150 “West side boys” were killed in the rescue operation. (Brett and Margaret, 1998)

Thus, the ethical and moral dilemma that professional soldier is as tricky as they encounter. Military troops currently face real and dangerous threats from enemy from whom they basically would wish not to harm. What is worse is that, fighting children is even bad than fighting in a normal welfare as it leaves severe psychological after war effects, which includes depression, stress and post trauma disorder. (Brett and Margaret, 1998)

Child soldier ethical behavior
On the other hand how do you deal with the ethical issue of child soldier when you are confronted by child soldiers who kill in cold blood or brutally torture their victims? Are these child soldiers being used or are they responsible agents and carrying out rational choices? To they have ethical obligation to right given a choice? These question illicit different answers. Thus, ethics of child soldier deals with the exceptional moral demands of the child soldier. Cohn and Guy (1994) observers that, if a child voluntary gets in to the armed conflict and he/she is recruited then it is also important that the child soldier follows the code of military. Military services have some of most deep values and principles of human life and the society as a whole. The child will have to learn also to be ethical to deserve ethical treatment from the enemy However, while the military do produce people with excellence virtues and characters; the child soldier lacks the professional training the military officers get. (Cohn and Guy, 1994)

Ethical laws protecting children
Millard (2001), states that, there are many laws, international convections and regulation which clearly eliminate the use of child soldier, in 2002 another new protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, was enforced, this convention prevents the signatories of the convection from recruiting children to the. The signatories thus have a moral and ethical obligation to ensure that children are not recruited in their armies. In another development, the International Criminal Court rules recruitment and or use of children below 15 years in warfare a criminal offence that is punished by the law.

Sexual abuse
Many cases of been reported where children especially girl have been abducted by armed groups to be sexually abused. Such girls end up getting unwanted various sexual transmitted diseases or at time pregnancies. These child soldiers, who are abused, develop traumas and suffer emotional. Though, it is very unethical behavior, many armed groups all over the world abuse children. These groups lack the moral that communities preach and at lack any justification. (Cohn and Guy, 1994)

Conclusion
Child soldier is an unethical and should be stopped; the international community should come up with more effective convections and rules that protect the child. Children participating in warfare undergo a lot of suffering both mentally, physically, emotional and socially. The life of such children is badly affected and as adults it becomes hard for them to live a normal life. The children suffer long lasting traumas and fail to recover. As we observe the number of conflicts in the world increase, the world is faced with a challenging of protecting the child rights in this complex situation.

Reference:

Brett, R and Margaret M (1998): Children: The invisible soldiers, Radda Barnen (Save the Children),

Cohn, I and Guy S. G (1994): Child Soldiers: The Role of Children in Armed Conflict, Oxford: Clarendon Press,

Goodwin-Gil, S and Ilene, C (1994): Child Soldiers; a Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute; Geneva, Oxford University Press.

Millard, A S., (2001): Children in Armed Conflicts: Transcending Legal Responses, Security Dialogue, vol.32,

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

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Note: The content of this article solely conveys the opinion of its author, Carolyn Kelly

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