We received an excellent briefing today on children associated with armed conflict from fellow UNHCR intern Siobhan Sparkes McNamara. The term is expanded from that of Child Soldiers to include children that are used in all aspects of armed conflict; cooks, sex slaves, messengers and combatants. The issue is of concern to UNHCR because refugee children are particularly vulnerable to be recruited.
A few facts:
-Latest estimates say that more than 250,000 children are currently serving as child soldiers.
-Children are recruited for many reasons; shortage of adults to fight, they seek adventure, they do not threaten leadership, they are quick to learn, children pose a moral challenge for the enemy, recruiting children breaks down community.
-Ex-child combatants face tremendous challenges to reintegrate into society; they often have stunted growth and back/shoulder problems from intense training, they suffer psychological challenges from sexual abuse and the fact that they've committed violent acts, they often feel their life as combatants was glamorous, that they had power and protection.
Here is a film which profiles child soldiers:
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