child soldiers

Mon
29
Feb
2016
New translation available
Submitted by hannah

ElPais.com.co

On Wednesday the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas...

Wed
04
Feb

America's Child Soldiers: JROTC and the Militarizing of America

How we militarize our youth: JROTC

By Ann Jones

Congress surely meant to do the right thing when, in the fall of 2008, it passed the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA).  The law was designed to protect kids worldwide from being forced to fight the wars of Big Men. From then on, any country that coerced children into becoming soldiers was supposed to lose all U.S. military aid.

It turned out, however, that Congress -- in its rare moment of concern for the next generation -- had it all wrong.  In its greater wisdom, the White House found countries like Chad and Yemen so vital to the national interest of the United States that it preferred to overlook what happened to the children in their midst.

Tue
27
Jan

Myanmar military freed record 418 child soldiers in 2014, UN confirms

Myanmar's military freed more than 400 child soldiers last year, the United Nations has confirmed, a record number since the Tatmadaw army signed a 2012 pact with the UN on the issue.

There are no verifiable figures on how many children are currently serving in Myanmar's huge military, which has faced a slew of accusations over rights abuses, including the forced recruitment of children to work as porters or even human mine detectors.

Since the pact was signed, a total of 595 children have been freed, with 70 per cent of the releases - 418 - taking place in the last 12 months, including 42 on Friday, the UN said.

"Within a one-year period of time, this is a record number of children coming out of the armed forces, reflecting the accelerated efforts of the government of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw to put an end to the harmful practice of recruiting and using children," said Renata Lok-Dessallien, UN resident coordinator in Myanmar.

Wed
21
Jan

Bleak refugee camp life leads children to join armed groups

(Mweso) January 20, 2015 — "I joined twice, because I had nothing to do," explains Pierre, a 17-year-old former child solider in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "The first time was in 2006. The recruiters in the camp promised me food, a job, and a military career. It didn't take much to get me to go into the bush and try my luck."

A humanitarian organization found Pierre two years later and sent back him back to a camp for the internally displaced persons (IDPs). When asked which organization, Pierre shrugs, "white people."

Read the rest of the article at Jesuit Refugee Service

Mon
12
Jan

Child soldier numbers soar amid conflict in Central African Republic

The number of child soldiers recruited by armed groups in the Central African Republic have quadrupled since the outbreak of a bloody civil war two years ago, a report says.

Up to 10,000 children, some as young as eight years old, are being forced to fight, carry supplies and perform other frontline roles compared to around 2500 at the beginning of the crisis in December 2012, the research by aid agency Save the Children has found.

Children recruited by armed groups often become victims of physical and mental abuse, and some have been ordered to kill or commit other acts of extreme violence.

Mon
12
Jan

Illegal armed groups recruited more than 100 Colombian child soldiers in 2014

 

Dec 17, 2014

Illegal armed groups in Colombia have recruited 119 minors in 2014, the country’s Ombudsman’s Office said on Tuesday.

According to the government’s human rights office, guerrilla group FARC — currently engaged in peace talks with the government — allowed 51 minor into its ranks, while the smaller ELN group recruited 22.

Drug trafficking organizations and groups that were formed from the demobilized AUC paramilitary group recruited 55. The office did not report specify the number of recruits per group.

Fri
19
Dec

Save the Children Calculate Number of Child Soliders in the Central African Republic Has Doubled

The number of child soldiers in the Central African Republic (CAR) has more than doubled – and possibly quadrupled – since sectarian conflict erupted last year, putting them at risk of long-term psychological damage, Save the Children warns.

An estimated 6,000 to 10,000 boys and girls are currently members of armed groups, compared with around 2,500 at the beginning of the crisis, according to the charity.

Wed
17
Dec

Documentary: Moving on – Surviving Lord Resistance Army

Trigger warning: this video includes footage of people talking about abuse against children, murder and abduction.

Moving on – Surviving Lord Resistance Army is an intimate and honest documentary on what it means for children and youth to be forced into cruel situations. The documentary demonstrates the need for children to process their experiences, to find a way of living and their deep wish to contribute to a better society and future for all.

Annette Giertsen - Monday 2 June 2014

Documentary: Moving on – Surviving Lord Resistance Army
Mon
08
Dec

S. Sudan's Yau Yau pledges to demobilize child soldiers

The demobilization process, which is expected to end in February, is aimed at reintegrating former child soldiers into their respective communities.

World Bulletin/News Desk

An agreement has been reached to demobilize more than 2,000 child soldiers from the former rebel South Sudan Democratic Movement/Cobra faction (SSDM/Cobra faction) of David Yau Yau.

"More than 2,000 children are going to be released by the cobra faction," Ettie Higgins, UNICEF's deputy country representative, told The Anadolu Agency on Friday.

"There will be a need for psychosocial support for them. They need vocational training and they need to be reintegrated into community life," she said.

Thu
04
Dec

SOMALIA: 908 incidents of Child Recruitment and use of children in armed conflict in Somalia

Nairobi (RBC) All armed actors continue to recruit and use children in military operations, according to various reports released by international agencies.

The latest report by the UN Monitoring Group says that Al-Shabaab has been the most flagrant violator of the prohibition on using children in armed conflict. In 2013, the United Nations documented and verified 908 incidents of recruitment and use of children by Al-Shabaab.

Association with Al-Shabaab also left children more vulnerable to other violations of international law, including in the context of arrest and detention operations by State security forces.

Although the army expanded its efforts to vet personnel, its recruitment and use of children in armed conflict continued, in particular at the district level and in the context of checkpoint operations and other support functions. Children were also recruited and used by army-allied militias.

Thu
13
Nov

Abductions by Uganda's LRA rebels on the rise – UN

Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebels have launched a string of attacks across central Africa with a "steady increase" in abductions, the United Nations said in a report seen Thursday.

The elusive jungle insurgents, who raid villages and enslave residents, have abducted 432 people so far this year, a "steady increase" from last year and more than double the number in 2012, the report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) read.

Those captured, often children, are forced to work as fighters, sex slaves or porters.

Long driven out of Uganda, small bands of LRA fighters now roam forest regions of Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and South Sudan, launching over 150 attacks and killing at least 22 people this year.

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