No Child Soldiers

I realize this post is a bit lengthy, but I want you to be well informed on the issue of child soldiers. Below is information that comes from World Vision. Toward the end of the piece there are ways that you can be directly involved in ending this horrific practice.


Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
According to UNICEF, some 250,000 children — boys and girls younger than 18 — are involved in armed conflicts worldwide, some as young as 7. In the last decade, more than 2 million children have been killed in conflict situations, and an estimated 6 million children have been seriously injured or permanently disabled. Children conscripted into military service are forced to become:

Sex slaves (especially girls)
Spies
Front-line combatants
Suicide bombers
Mine sweepers

Where Does It Occur?
In Africa up to 100,000 children, some as young as 9, were estimated to be involved in armed conflict in mid-2004. Children are also used as soldiers in several Asian countries and parts of Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. For instance, in 2004, an estimated 14,000 girls and boys were used as child soldiers by illegal armed groups in Colombia.

Who Are the Most Vulnerable?
Children most likely to be forced into military service include those who are:
-Separated from their parent or caregiver
-Living alone without a supportive adult
-Living on the streets
-From minority groups
-Who are isolated or have limited social skills
-Living in or near conflict zones

What Are the Driving Factors?
The driving factors for forced child soldier conscription include:
-Abduction and enticement by armed groups
-Government complicity
-Abundance of small arms and light weapons
-Absence of work and education

What Is the Impact on These Children?
Children affected by war experience traumatic events such as:
-Violent death of a parent or close relative
-Separation from family
-Witnessing of loved ones being killed or tortured
-Forced participation of violent acts

Experiences of this magnitude can lead to:
-General poor health (malnutrition and infectious diseases, including HIV)
-Serious war injuries
-Physical abuse or deprivation
-Drug addiction
-Sexual abuse and exploitation
-Serious psychological and social problems
-Unwanted pregnancy (particularly dangerous for girls who are often malnourished, physically immature and living in unsanitary conditions)
-Death

In addition, girls and boys associated with armed groups and fighting forces often face:
-Uncertain futures and a loss of hope
-Rejection by families and communities
-Loss of identity outside the armed group
-Loss of childhood

What Is World Vision Doing?
World Vision strives to address not only the immediate needs but also the long-term needs of all children affected by war, which includes prevention, demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers. Specific interventions include:

-Assessing the physical and emotional condition of former child soldiers, and providing adequate medical attention and psychosocial support to them
-Providing Child-Friendly Spaces where children can meet with other children to experience their grief and loss together
-Coordinating with other agencies for family tracing and reunification
-Raising awareness in communities about the need to protect children from exploitation
-Sensitizing communities for children reintegration, and follow-up on children who have been reintegrated
-Providing educational and skills training opportunities
Addressing the specific needs of girls who have been affected by armed conflict (i.e. sexual abuse -and the consequences including pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases)

World Vision believes that the protection of all children from armed conflict is essential, and addresses this concern through:

-Humanitarian assistance to children and their families during and after conflict
-Child-focused community development
-Peace building activities for children and adults
-Advocacy to prevent the enticement and abduction of children by armed groups

What Can the U.S. Do?
World Vision strongly believes that U.S. tax dollars should not be used to support the exploitation of children as soldiers. Moreover, U.S. weapons should not end up in the hands of children. The U.S. government provides military assistance to eight of nine countries that are reportedly implicated in child soldier usage:
Burundi
Chad
Colombia
Cote d’Ivoire
Democratic Republic of Congo
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Uganda

U.S. military assistance to these countries ranges from small amounts of funding for military training to hundreds of millions in weapons, training and military financing.

A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would put restrictions on U.S. military assistance for governments that use child soldiers. World Vision urges support for this legislation to encourage governments to prohibit, demobilize and rehabilitate child soldiers from national forces and government-supported militias.

Introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), S.1175 Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 would curtail U.S. military assistance to governments that fail to take steps to demobilize and stop recruiting children into the armed forces or government-supported militias. Countries that take steps to demobilize child soldiers would be eligible for certain forms of assistance in that process for up to two years, to help professionalize their forces and ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to finance the exploitation of children in armed conflict.

Learn More
Read more about the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007. Read the testimony of World Vision’s director of public policy and advocacy before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law.

What You Can Do
Speak out. Ask Congress to support the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 (S.1175), which would encourage other governments to disarm, demobilize and rehabilitate child soldiers from government forces as well as government-supported forces.

You can also add your name to the No Child Soldiers Declaration. Request a Children of War Mobilizer's Toolkit This omprehensive DVD toolkit includes a compelling documentary, a guide to effective advocacy, a reading list, posters to advertise your event, and more. Make a monthly financial pledge to help provide for the needs of children affected by war.

PRAY for children around the world who are deeply harmed by conflict. Pray for those trying to help these children and pray for a transformation of those who are forcing children into becoming child soldiers.

stay off the paved road... -craig