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Armed opposition groups within Iraq are also known to use child soldiers. In 1998, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) was believed to have 3,000 child soldiers in its forces, more than 10 percent of which were girls. Reports indicate that the PKK has used children since 1994 and even developed a children’s battalion named Tabura Zaroken Sehit Agit. A child as young as seven was reported in the PKK’s ranks. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), another Iraqi opposition group is also believed to use children as soldiers. Reports have indicated children as young as 10 serving within the PUK’s ranks.

Armed opposition groups within Iraq are also known to use child soldiers. In 1998, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) was believed to have 3,000 child soldiers in its forces, more than 10 percent of which were girls. Reports indicate that the PKK has used children since 1994 and even developed a children’s battalion named Tabura Zaroken Sehit Agit. A child as young as seven was reported in the PKK’s ranks. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), another Iraqi opposition group is also believed to use children as soldiers. Reports have indicated children as young as 10 serving within the PUK’s ranks. As the United States sends more troops to the region and plans for a possible ground invasion, occupation, or other kind of operation, the fact that Iraq has thousands of military trained children should not be taken lightly or ignored completely. U.S. military forces may come into contact with child soldiers in the course of military operations in Iraq, as the number of children in the Iraqi military and opposition groups will increase during times of active fighting. The U.S. military needs to provide training to its soldiers before deploying to Iraq to help troops prepare for the reality of facing children in combat. The first U.S. casualty in Afghanistan was reportedly due to the gunfire of a 14-year-old child. The U.S. military would be well served to address the likelihood of direct combat with children before troops are deployed to avoid the shock and horror of seeing armed children renders U.S. troops defenseless.

Child Soldiers

The camp director said that when the youths had been given drugs-most likely, amphetamines-while soldiering, they "would do just about anything that was ordered." Some, he added, were proud of having been effective killers.

Many of the boys, ranging from nine to 16 years of age, had killed people as they fought in a civil war that paused with a fragile cease-fire in 1995.

The child soldiers of Sierra Leone

Abducted by Sierra Leonean rebels as a child, he was forced to fight alongside them in the bush.

Revolutionary United Front (RUF)

Australia Signs Protocol on Child Soldiers

Australia has signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

Our signature demonstrates Australia's continuing commitment, not only to the promotion and protection of children's rights in this area, but also to the Convention's broader objectives.

With guidance from United Nations, including UNICEF and the Office of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and with the assistance of War Child Holland and the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN, NYPAW will use education and art - including writing, public speaking, poetry, music, painting, storytelling and theatre - to raise awareness to the plight of children living in conflict zones and provide them with the necessary support.

Abductions of children by Iraqi armed groups related to the sectarian violence increased significantly, in addition to the number of children abducted for ransom. A survey conducted by several local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Baghdad indicated that at least 20,000 people had been abducted throughout the country in 2006, half of them women and children.6

Article 9 of the 2005 Iraqi constitution stated that “[t]he Iraqi Armed Forces and Security Services will be composed of the components of the Iraqi people with due consideration given to its balance and its similarity without discrimination or exclusion and shall be subject to the control of the civilian authority”, and that “[m]ilitary service shall be regulated by law”.

The government, through the Commission of Child Care, began to address the challenges confronting children in Iraq. The Commission established a committee, which recommended that the government sign the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.28

Although Yemen’s laws specified 18 as the minimum recruitment age, under-age recruitment to the armed forces reportedly remained common.

he Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to monitor nations and rebel groups that abduct and abuse children or enlist them as soldiers and to consider sanctions against offenders, including travel restrictions, asset freezes and denial of amnesty provisions to military and political leaders. The United Nations said that in the last decade two million children were killed and six million disabled or injured in situations of armed conflict.

The Council had before it the report of the Secretary-General on Children and armed conflict (document S/2007/757), which covers progress in the implementation of resolution 1612 (2005) on that topic, from October 2006 to August 2007, and includes information on compliance in ending grave violations, such as the recruitment and use of child soldiers, as well as cross-cutting issues that have arisen due to the changing nature of conflicts.

MAGED ABDELAZIZ ( Egypt) said that the monitoring mechanism should be extended to situations related to children in occupied Palestine, as reflected in the report, as well as to the sufferings of Lebanese children from the extensive and unprecedented use by Israel of cluster bombs during the 2006 conflict in southern Lebanon.  All violations should be treated on an equal footing, and no child should be left under those or any other conflicts without international protection.   Egypt supported most of the Secretary-General's recommendations especially that equal weight be given to all categories of grave violations. He also supported the recommendations aiming at making adequate resources and funding available by donors to national Governments, the United Nations and partners to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of children in armed conflicts and address immediately the grave humanitarian, human rights and development consequences of cluster munitions.  In the annexes, it was necessary to include a reference to the violations of Israel of its commitments as an occupying Power, particularly those related to guaranteeing peace and security of children in the Occupied Arab Territories, in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Egypt appreciated extensive efforts by the Working Group, according to its current mandate, without expanding it to include the imposition of targeted measures on parties who committed grave violations against children in all situations of concern.  Such an expansion of the mandate might affect the balance needed to deal with all aspects of situations of concern listed in the annexes, whether they were included on the Council agenda or not, without concentrating on a certain aspect at the expense of others.  To accomplish all targeted goals, the office of the Special Representative should coordinate with the new office of the Special Representative for Violence against Children.

Yemen

Yemen

Yemen

On 9 May 2007, UNICEF and the Government of Chad signed an agreement for the demobilization of child soldiers throughout the country. The accord follows Chad’s commitment at the Paris Protocols, agreed in February 2006, to demobilize children enrolled in armed forces and groups. Since February 2007, 555 children have been released.  The recruitment and use of children under the age of 15 is defined as a war crime in the statute of the International Criminal Court. Lured into conflict The estimated number of children involved in armed groups in Chad remains in the thousands. Vulnerable children are often lured into recruitment after suffering from poverty or the loss of family members. "When the men in nice uniforms came to our village promising food and clothes – and that I would get my own weapon – it sounded like a great opportunity," said Hachim. After he was demobilized, it still took some time for Hachim to feel comfortable returning to a life outside of conflict. "In the beginning, I didn’t want to leave my troops and I thought about returning every day," he said. "But then, one month after my arrival in the centre, our social worker found me a place with a local mechanic. This week, my supervisor informed me that they will give me a real job.” Ongoing conflict in the country has hampered the most recent demobilization process, but UNICEF continues to push for the release of children who are already involved with armed groups and is working to prevent the recruitment of additional minors.