"It hurt to kill them, obviously," Nicolás said, bowing his head as his voice started to tremble. "But an order is an order. I couldn't think about that."

Nicolás had been with Colombia's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, since he was 12. Some of his condemned brothers in arms were as young as 14. Their crimes included trying to desert, and falling asleep during lookout. One had ruined the camp's food. Burning rice is an executable offence in the jungle. Refusing to carry out the executions would have got Nicolás killed himself.

Nicolás is able to tell the tale because, a year later in April 2015, he deserted himself.

Fri

May

Soldiers at 16: Sifting fact from fiction

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 06/05/2016 - 12:05

Fewer than 20 countries worldwide still allow their armed forces to recruit young people from age 16. The UK is among them; it is the only major military power and the only European state to recruit from such a young age.

Across British society – from children’s organisations to veterans to parliamentary committees – this policy is now being challenged. Most of the public agree that change is due – only one in seven thinks that 16 is an acceptable age to train as a soldier.

Despite this widespread unease, a number of common misconceptions still lead many 16 and 17 year olds to leave their education early and enlist. Here, we examine these ‘myths’ in light of the evidence available (click the link below to see the full report).

Thu

Apr

Sierra Leone 'Helped Deploy Ex-Child Soldiers to Iraq', Academic Says

Submitted by antimili-youth on Thu, 21/04/2016 - 17:47

By Tom Esslemont, allAfrica

London — Sierra Leone's government helped British private security service firms recruit former child soldiers to work as guards in Iraq from 2009, said a Danish academic who has spent years investigating the issue.

Thousands of children were forced to fight in Sierra Leone's 11-year civil war, which ended in 2002. More than 50,000 people were killed in the fighting and many tens of thousands more mutilated or raped by rebels.

By 2009, with Iraq in chaos, impoverished Sierra Leone was looking for a way to engage its workforce, said Maya Mynster Christensen, a researcher at the Danish Institute Against Torture who made repeated trips to the West African country.

Tue

Apr

UK firm 'employed former child soldiers' as mercenaries in Iraq

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 19/04/2016 - 17:36

By Alice Ross, The Guardian

A former senior director at a British firm says that it employed mercenaries from Sierra Leone to work in Iraq because they were cheaper than Europeans and did not check if they were former child soldiers.

Sun

Apr

UK firm 'employed former child soldiers' as mercenaries in Iraq

Submitted by Gary on Sun, 17/04/2016 - 19:07

A 2000 image of a 14-year-old soldier in Sierra Leone Photograph: Adam Butler/AP

Alice Ross -

Former director acknowledges Aegis Defence Services may have recruited former child fighters in Sierra Leone

James Ellery, who was a director of Aegis Defence Services between 2005 and 2015, said that contractors had a “duty” to recruit from countries such as Sierra Leone, “where there’s high unemployment and a decent workforce”, in order to reduce costs for the US presence in Iraq.

Mon

Dec

Uganda: Visiting the rehabilitation centre using art as therapy for children freed from a brutal militia

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 21/12/2015 - 16:30

By Jacqui Thornton, The Independent

The pictures are drawn in a childish hand, but they are visions that no child should have to witness: militia shooting captives tied to trees; army helicopters above firing on their enemy; the central African bush in flames.

These are all artworks produced by children held in captivity after they, or their parents, were abducted by the feared Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda. Many of those taken spent years in the bush, constantly on the move to evade capture, walking barefoot carrying heavy loads for the commanders and even fighting for the militia.

Fri

Dec

British Army urged to stop using armed teenagers to guard barracks

Submitted by antimili-youth on Fri, 18/12/2015 - 13:10

By Shiv Malik, The Guardian

ForcesWatch report calls on UK military to stop recruiting minors altogether, as armed forces bill due for third reading

Britain’s military should stop using armed under-18s to guard soldiers’ barracks, a report into Ministry of Defence recruitment practices is set to say.

Tue

Dec

As Civil War Rages in South Sudan, Kids Struggle to Hold On to Their Youth

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 15/12/2015 - 13:12

Nonviolent Peaceforce staff members gather with a group of children in Ulang. (Photo: Fellipe Abreu)

By Fellipe Abreu, TakePart

At least 16,000 children have been recruited into the military since the conflict began in 2013.

As herds of cattle come and go on a narrow trail across a row of huts made from straw, mud, and wood, they pass a boy of about 15 sleeping in a chair near the main entrance. He is wearing black pants, rubber sandals, and an Ethiopian soccer team shirt. In his lap: an AK-47 rifle folding stock.

Fri

Dec

Myanmar army releases 53 more child soldiers: UN

Submitted by antimili-youth on Fri, 04/12/2015 - 17:25

By Joshua Carroll, Anadolu Agency

(YANGON) Myanmar released another 53 child soldiers from its notorious armed forces Monday, according to the United Nations' children's agency.

The 53 are the latest to be discharged under a deal signed in 2012 between the former pariah state and the UN to end the recruitment and use of children by the military.

Renata Lok-Dessallien, UN resident coordinator, said in a statement that Monday's release "is the result of continued efforts of the Government of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw [army] to put an end to the harmful practice of recruiting and using children."

Lok-Dessallien, who also serves as co-chair of the UN task force for monitoring and reporting violations against children, said she was "delighted to see these children and young people returning to their homes and families," The Irrawaddy news service reported.

Fri

Nov

How many child soldiers are there in Africa?

Submitted by antimili-youth on Fri, 06/11/2015 - 16:32

By Shirley de Villiers

The year 2014 was a “devastating” one for children in armed conflicts, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

Worldwide, 230 million children lived in countries affected by armed conflicts; 15 million were caught up in violent conflicts in countries such as the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan; hundreds were kidnapped; and tens of thousands were recruited or used by government forces and armed groups.

The recruitment and use of children by armed groups is one of “six grave violations” against children identified by the United Nations Security Council. Yet the practice is pervasive, despite various legal instruments that aim to protect the rights of children in conflict.

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Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.