All articles

Tue
23
Jun

Young People, the Military, and the Aftermath of the UK’s General Election

It has been more than a month since the General Elections in the UK which ended up with a Conservative Party majority in the Parliament. We asked Forces Watch* to review these results and their implications on the militarisation of youth in the UK for Antimili-Youth.

Mon
22
Jun

"War Is Not Family Entertainment"

"The Armed Forces Day 'family fun' extravaganza in Colwyn Bay's Parc Eirias went ahead on Saturday in intermittent drizzle and behind a prominent banner near the main gate stating what you'd have thought would be bleedin' obvious, but apparently to many punters wasn't: 'WAR IS NOT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT'. "

It was Armed Forces Day in Wales last Saturday and a group of peace activists had some brilliant ideas to turn it into a day of peace and resistance! Here is their report from their direct action last weekend, which also includes their call out for actions as such in other cities of the UK on the official Armed Forces Day this Saturday:  

Background

Mon
22
Jun

Welsh Gov told to review the way British military recruits in Welsh schools

By Daily Wales correspondent

The Welsh Government has been told to review of the way the British Armed Forces are allowed to recruit in Welsh schools.

A Welsh Assembly report raises concerns about the high level of visits made to Welsh secondary schools when compared to other parts of the UK.

It also questions whether the regular visits are providing pupils with a fair and balanced view of military life.

An investigation was carried out in response to a Welsh Assembly petition from a group called, Cymdeithas y Cymod (Fellowship of Reconciliation).

The petition highlighted the fact that Britain is the only state within NATO or the European Union to allow the military into schools.

Britain is also alone within the Europe in recruiting 16-year-olds into the armed forces.

Read more...

Mon
22
Jun

War veterans call for rethink on recruitment of 16-year-olds

Former professionals condemn recruitment of teenagers by ‘pushing the notion of a noble military career to children’

A group of British war veterans will launch a campaign this week against enlisting 16-year-olds into the military.

Britain is the only state in Europe or Nato that still enlists minors, a policy criticised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the parliamentary joint committee on human rights and other groups including Child Soldiers International and British Quakers. The organisation Veterans For Peace (VFP) is demanding change, but the MoD says it depends on 16-year-olds for a quarter of the intake needed to sustain UK forces.

Thu
18
Jun

Russia unveils new military park for children

By Rory Challands, Al Jazeera

Kids can learn to shoot, climb on tanks and learn of past military glories in the Park Patriot.

When the doors of Park Patriot open to the public next year, the families who flock here will be treated to an exciting array of activities. The youngsters will be able to fire weapons, clamber on battle tanks, and drive military equipment. Then, once they're suitably tired out, everyone can settle down to watch a reenactment of a famous Soviet battlefield victory. And of course there'll be a recruitment centre for military age boys and girls to join the armed forces. 

English translation unavailable for .
Tue
16
Jun

Many Yemeni Children Carry Guns Instead of Pens

By Samar Qaed, Al-Fanar Media

SANA’A—Hussein Ahmed goes with his friend Ali Daily to an inspection point next to the Olympic Center, North Sana’a, where he was recruited at age 16 by the Houthi Movement.

“The movement gave us weapons and a daily schedule for our guard duty at the checkpoints,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed, who is supposed to serve as a soldier for two years, is not the only one who joined the armed groups at an early age. Unicef has reported that more than 10,000 children have been  recruited for armed forces in Yemen since 2011.

In April of this year alone, Unicef said, at least 140 children were recruited by armed groups, 115 children died in fighting, and 172 were injured. All that happened as a result of the conflicts that began on March 26 between the forces led by Saudi Arabia, the Houthi Movement, and the proponents of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Tue
16
Jun

250,000 children starving in South Sudan: UN

A quarter of a million children face starvation in war-torn South Sudan, with an end to the 18-month conflict as distant as ever, the expelled UN aid chief warned Tuesday.

"Six months ago, we thought that violence and suffering had peaked and that peace was on the horizon. We were wrong," said Toby Lanzer, who was barred from the country earlier this month after warning of economic meltdown.

"Political intransigence left peace ever more distant; war raged on and is leading to economic collapse."

Civil war began in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of planning a coup, setting off a cycle of retaliatory killings across the country that has split the poverty-stricken, landlocked country along ethnic lines.

It has been characterised by ethnic massacres, rape and the use of child soldiers.

Mon
15
Jun

Nobel laureate Satyarthi says up to 500,000 child soldiers worldwide

Geneva (AFP) - There are up to 500,000 child soldiers around the world, Nobel laureate and child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi said Friday, terming it the worst form of child abuse.

Satyarthi, who is attending an International Labour Organization summit in Geneva, said global funding for education -- the best means to fight child labour and servitude -- had gone down dramatically over the past four years.

"There are between 400,000 and 500,000 child soldiers across the world but the actual numbers could be far higher because there are hidden militant groups kidnapping children and forcing them to use guns," he told reporters.

Sat
13
Jun

U.S. Muslims Take On ISIS’ Recruiting Machine

 Humera Khan, the founder of Muflehun, a think tank that focuses on countering violent extremism, during a youth leadership and safety conference in Avon, Conn., in November. Credit Katherine Taylor for The New York Times

By

STERLING, Va. — Imam Mohamed Magid tries to stay in regular contact with the teenager who came to him a few months ago, at his family’s urging, to discuss how he was being wooed by online recruiters working for the Islamic State, the extremist group in Syria and Iraq.

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