More than 100,000 children were forced to become soldiers in state and non-state military organizations in at least 18 armed conflicts throughout the world, according to the advocacy group Child Soldiers International. According to the UN, the majority of these children were under the age of 15, with 40 percent of them being girls. The United Nations has identified 14 nations in which minors are often exploited as soldiers. Afghanistan, Colombia, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are the nations in question (Mulroy,2020). Therefore, this is a worldwide issue that is worsening, and it has to be addressed. In this sense, this article attempts to address various aspect of this crucial issue.
Statistics of Children in Terrorist Groups
Children recruited into terrorist organizations, like other child soldiers in armed groups, are subjected to harsh kinds of violence. They may carry weapons and engage in direct conflict, work as porters or spies, and be subjected to sexual and gender-based atrocities such as sexual slavery and forced marriages. They may also be involved in acts that are more commonly connected with terrorism, such as suicide bombings and hostage executions. As a result, they become accustomed to violence (Jørgensen,2019).
Since 2009, at least 8,000 children, have been recruited into Boko Haram, according to UN estimates. 6 Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, peer and familial pressure, as well as societal injustice, have all been listed as elements that facilitate recruiting, despite the fact that abduction is a common tactic for increasing group membership (UN,2017).
The UN Secretary-General reported on the actions of children in Boko Haram from 2013 to 2016 as follows (Ibid):
“Children were used in direct hostilities, for planting improvised explosive devices and burning schools and houses and in support roles such as cooks, messengers and lookouts. Children were also reportedly used as human shields to protect Boko Haram elements during military operations. Many children were also subjected to forceful religious conversions and forced marriage and used for sexual purposes. Predominately from mid-2014 to the end of the reporting period, children, including girls as young as 10, were used by Boko Haram in suicide bombings. A total of 90 children (70 girls and 20 boys; 27 in Cameroon, 16 in Chad, 3 in the Niger and 44 in Nigeria) were used in 56 incidents of suicide attacks. This number comprised 4 girls who were used in 2014, 40 girls and 16 boys in 2015 and 26 girls and 4 boys in 2016.”
Also, ISIS’ recruiting and training of children has been a prominent feature of its strategy, and video footage of minors functioning as executioners has surfaced. According to UN data, ISIL was responsible for 284 confirmed incidents of child recruitment and usage in 2017, a significant rise from the previous year. The report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic states that;
“The youngest recruit was four years of age. The boy, of foreign origin, was dressed in military fatigue, made to carry a weapon and featured in ISIL propaganda videos as a so-called “Cub of the Caliphate”. Of the boys recruited by ISIL (982), 92 per cent were used in combat roles, such as guarding checkpoints, participating in patrols and front-line operations and conducting suicide attacks; while the remaining 8 per cent were used in support roles, such as aides-de-camp, messengers, spies or prison guards. Children were also used to commit a broad range of atrocities, including executions. Sixty-eight girls as young as eight years of age were also associated with ISIL through their forced marriage with, most often, foreign combatants […]”
International Law and the recruitment and use of child soldiers
In many conflicts, children are directly involved in the fighting. Their duty, however, is not restricted to combat. Many girls and boys are also exploited in support roles, which are fraught with danger and suffering. From soldiers to chefs, spies, messengers, and even sex slaves, their jobs can be varied. Furthermore, the employment of minors in acts of terror, especially as suicide bombers, has become a modern-day phenomenon. Child soldiers, regardless of their function, are exposed to high levels of violence as bystanders, direct victims, and forced participants. Some people are injured and will be disabled for the rest of their life (UN,2021).
As a result, under international law, there are certain provisions which impose restrictions on the recruitment and use of children as soldiers. Human rights law establishes the age of 18 as the legal minimum for the recruitment and use of children in hostilities. International humanitarian law – treaty and custom – prohibits the recruitment and use of children under the age of 15 as combatants, and the International Criminal Court defines it as a war crime. Enlistment, conscription, or use in hostilities of children under the age of fifteen is considered as a war crime under Articles 8(2)(b)(xxvi) and 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court(Jørgensen,2019).
Also, the 1977 Protocols I and II Additional to the Geneva Conventions established limited humanitarian law requirements that applied to children involved in armed conflict. Parties to international armed conflicts are required by Article 77(2) of Additional Protocol I to “take all feasible measures to ensure that children under the age of fifteen do not take a direct part in hostilities” and to refrain from recruiting children under the age of fifteen into their armed forces, with priority given to the oldest children of those aged fifteen to eighteen (Ibid).
Children who have not attained the age of fifteen years shall neither be recruited in the armed forces or groups nor allowed to take part in hostilities, according to Article 4(3)(c) of Additional Protocol II, which applies in non-international armed conflicts. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the rule that ‘children must not be recruited into armed forces or armed groups’ is recognized under customary international law irrespective of armed conflict (Ibid).
Recommendations and Concluding Remarks
Children recruited into terrorist organizations, like other child soldiers in armed groups, are subjected to harsh kinds of violence. They may carry weapons and engage in direct conflict, work as porters or spies, and be subjected to sexual and gender-based atrocities such as sexual slavery and forced marriages.
Therefore, beyond endorsing UN treaties, the international community must take action and address this issue in higher level. Nevertheless, it must be bear in mind that the children are first and foremost victims and should be awarded special protected status in any domestic or international court.
Bibliography
Mulroy,2020, accessed 16 November 2021 < https://www.mei.edu/publications/begin-children-child-soldier-numbers-doubled-middle-east-2019 >.
UN,2017, “‘Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Nigeria’ UN Doc S/2017/304”.
Jørgensen,2019, “Children associated with terrorist groups in the context of the legal framework for child soldiers”, accessed 17 November 2021 < http://www.qil-qdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/02_Child-Soldiers_JORGENSEN_FIN-.pdf >.
UN, 2021, “ Child Recruitment and Use”, accessed 17 November 2021 2021 < https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/six-grave-violations/child-soldiers/ >.
By Mahmoud Refaat: The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
