Transcript of “War violates every right of a child – the right to life, the right to be with family and...
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- War violates every right of a child the right to life, the
right to be with family and nurtured and respected, (Grace Machel,
UN, 1996).
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- List of Countries with Child Soldiers Fighting in Recent and
Ongoing Conflicts Colombia (P,O) Mexico (P,O) Peru (O) Russian
Federation (O) Turkey (O) Yugoslavia (former Rep. of) (P,O) Algeria
(P,O) Angola (G,O) Burundi (G,O) Chad (G) Republic of Congo (G,O)
Dem. Rep. of the Congo (G,O) Eritrea (G) Ethiopia (G) Rwanda (G,O)
Sierra Leone (G,P,O) Somalia (all groups) Sudan (G,P,O) Uganda
(G,O) Iran (G,O) Iraq (G,O) Israel and Occupied Territories (G,O)
Lebanon (O) Afghanistan (all groups) India (P,O) Indonesia (P,O)
Myanmar (G,O) Nepal (O) Pakistan (O) Philippines (O) Solomon
Islands (O) Sri Lanka (O) East Timor (P,O) Tajikistan (O) Papua New
Guinea (O) Uzbekistan (O) G: government armed forces P:
paramilitaries O: armed opposition groups
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- There are estimated to be 250,000 child soldiers in the world.
40% of child soldiers are girls
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- Most child soldiers are aged between 14 and 18, While many
enlist "voluntarily" research shows that such adolescents see few
alternatives to involvement in armed conflict Some enlist as a
means of survival in war-torn regions after family, social and
economic structures collapse or after seeing family members
tortured or killed by government forces or armed groups. Children
as young as nine have been involved in armed conflicts
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- In October 2008 President Bush signed into law the Child
Soldiers Accountability Act, which will allow the US to prosecute
persons in the United States who have knowingly recruited or used
children under age 15 as child soldiers, even if the children were
recruited or served as soldiers outside the United States. It also
allows the United States to deport or deny entry to individuals who
have knowingly recruited children as soldiers.
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- Organizations fighting against the use of child soldiers