Topic > child soldiers - 781

Africa is home to the largest population of child soldiers based on the prevalence of armed conflict on the continent. Some of the regions where child soldiers have become the norm rather than the exception include Chad, Somalia, Sudan and the Central African Republic. Based on statistics developed by the United Nations in 2013, eight government armies had pledged to stop the process of recruiting children for use in warfare (Tiefenbrun 420). While statistics are high on the African continent, other regions of the world such as Bahrain, Afghanistan, and greater Asia and Oceanic areas kidnap and force children into submission through acts of cruelty. This involves violence and forced killings, while in other cases some children voluntarily join together in an attempt to fight poverty, a cause for revenge and sometimes in defense of their neighborhoods and villages (Macmulin 460). Child recruitment is an unacceptable practice and relevant parties and actors must work together to stop it at all costs. It is easy to recruit child soldiers due to their vulnerability, which makes them easy to manipulate and brainwash. Children in war-torn regions of the world are easily intimidated by their older colleagues, and because they do not have much control over their situation, older soldiers take advantage of their humility (Tiefenbrun 419). In other cases, parents or older siblings who had most likely recruited themselves as child soldiers sacrifice younger children as a means of earning extra money for survival or as a way to ensure their own safety (Tiefenbrun 431). This cycle continues over time and, unfortunately, in a region often ravaged by war, the practice has become accepted and tolerated. Child s...... middle of paper ......reements have collaborated to ensure that the recruitment of child soldiers is completely eliminated. These agreements focus on integrating child soldiers into the community through demobilization and disarmament to provide them with a socially acceptable lifestyle. Works Cited Jézéquel, Jean-Hervé. Child soldiers in Africa: a singular phenomenon? On the need for a historical perspective. (2006).Macmulin, Colin. Investigation of the psychosocial adaptation of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone and Uganda. Oxford Journals, journal of refugee studies. (2004)17 (4): 460-472. Tiefenbrun, Susan. Child soldiers, slavery and child trafficking. (2007). 31 (2):417-439 Young, Aaron. Prevent, demobilize, rehabilitate and reintegrate child soldiers in African conflicts. The journal of international political solutions. (2007) (4): 1-24