Salt of the Earth:Armed and dangerous. . .at 7?

Stat house
July 2001

Armed and dangerous. . .at 7?
The death penalty and the mentally retarded

Armed and dangerous. . .at 7?
More than 300,000 children, some as young as 7, are currently fighting armed conflicts in 41 nations, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers said in a report released in June.

The international group's 450-page survey, billed as the most comprehensive report on child soldiers to date, details the official government and irregular forces recruitment of under-age combatants in 180 countries. The coalition found a decline in the use of child soldiers in Latin America, the Middle East, and the Balkans, but it found a marked increase in Africa. More than 120,000 children are currently fighting in Africa.

Under international standards, military participants younger than 18 are considered child soldiers. While the majority of child soldiers are between 15 and 18, the Coalition found recruits of 7 through 14 as well. The United States acknowledged it deployed 17-year-olds in the Gulf War and its operations in Somalia and the Balkans.

More statistics from the Coalition’s report:

Burundi and Rwanda have the lowest legal recruitment age in Africa: 15 or 16 for volunteers.

In certain areas of Sierra Leone, up to 30 percent of the soldiers in the government-sponsored militia Citizens Defense Forces are between 7 and 14.

The conflict in Sudan has created one of the worst child soldier problems in the world. Thousands of children as young as 12 have been forced into government-aligned and separatist groups. The government has supported and protected the Lords Resistance Army, responsible for the abduction, abuse and sexual slavery of 10,000 children from Uganda since 1987.

In Algeria and Egypt, Islamic rebel groups have reportedly recruited children younger than 15. Kurdish groups in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey have used soldiers as young as 10.

In October 1999, 49 children, including 32 girls between 11 and 15, were killed in a battle between an armed opposition group in Sri Lanka and government security forces.

Military schools in Latin America enroll tens of thousands of teenagers a year. In Chile, the students are considered members of the armed forces.

U.S. military custom has been to assign soldiers to units, including combat units, after basic and technical training. If a soldier has not turned 18 by the end of training, he or she may still be deployed into combat.

At least 73 countries officially refuse to recruit children under 18; in the last year 80 nations, including the United States, have signed the U.N.'s Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The agreement limits direct military participation to those 18 and older. Only five nations, Canada, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Andorra, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have ratified the treaty.

Many governments and armed groups claim to use children only when adult recruits are not available, but, according to the report, "often children are recruited because of their very qualities as children—they can be cheap, expendable and easier to condition into fearless killing and unthinking obedience."

Some children serve as messengers, spies, or sentries, but others fight on the frontlines, the coalition report says. Most children can handle an assault rifle or semi-automatic weapon by the time they turn 10. While some children are forced into the military or armed opposition groups, others volunteer to escape poverty, alienation, or discrimination, the report says. Many, especially girls, suffer physical and psychological abuse once they join.

On Pentecost Pope John Paul II advocated an international effort to end the use of child soldiers. "I appeal to the international community to increase its efforts and rehabilitate all those who live in such tragic conditions," the pope said at the end of a mass. "May the children, who are humanity's future and hope, grow up at last far away from the flagellation of war and every form of violence."

Armed conflicts killed, wounded, or dislocated 20 million children in the 1990s, according to the Vatican mission at the U.N.—Anne Graber

More info:
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
The coalition's report: "Child Soldiers: A Global Problem"
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
The U.S. Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

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