GENEVA: A global campaign to ban child soldiers stepped up a gear on Tuesday with the entry into force of a treaty against under 18-year-olds being used to fight.
Over 300,000 children, mostly between 15 and 17 but some as young as 10, are thought to be waging war in some 40 different conflicts around the world, ranging from the guerrilla struggles of Colombia to Africa’s often gruesome civil wars.
Under the international pact, signed by 94 countries and given vocal backing by a number of rebel movements, these children should lay down their arms and withdraw from frontlines even though the older ones can remain with the armed forces.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, who attended a special ceremony to mark the event in Geneva, said the treaty crowned years of effort “to fight one of the major causes of human rights violations in the world.”
Human rights officials say that, whereas in the past children were used to make up troop shortages, in parts of the world they are being recruited for the advantages they offer.
“They are cheap, obedient and can be easily brainwashed to commit acts of extreme violence,” said Rory Mungoven, coordinator of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, an alliance of rights groups and non-governmental organisations.
Despite the huge numbers of child soldiers, particularly in Africa, Mungoven said the treaty marked a turning point in the battle to stamp out the practice. In Africa, where children have been sucked into conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the situation worsened every time fighting flared.
But in other regions, notably Central America and the Middle East, there had been improvements. “Thankfully, the tide is turning...we are making progress. But it is one step back for every two steps forward,” he said.
Sudanese former child soldier Napoleon Adok, now 28, told of how he had seen children “being grabbed right and left” by both rebels and government forces during a recent visit to the south of Africa’s largest country, where some two million people have died in two decades of civil war.
The movement against child soldiering can point to some notable successes, with the Congo, one of the first states to ratify the pact, having barred recruitment of anyone under 18 into its armed forces.
But while applauding the pact, human rights activists in Africa worry that it may be difficult to enforce. Silas Sinyigaya, Executive Secretary of the Federation of Human Rights Leagues and Associations in Rwanda, said lack of monitoring mechanisms in Africa’s chaotic Great Lakes region were an obstacle.
“In principle it is a very important step forward in this region as it sets an international standard for governments and armed groups. That is valuable in itself,” he said. “But it’s true that in reality it will be very difficult to measure. We need effective mechanisms,” he added.—Reuters