Child Soldiers

Abstract

Children, defined under international law and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under 18 years of age, are widely exploited by state actors' armed forces (e.g., government troops) and by non‐state actors' armed groups (e.g., rebel groups and paramilitaries). Although the term child soldier typically evokes images of male combatants, many girls are associated with armed forces or armed groups. Child soldiers include not only combatants but also children who perform non‐combat roles such as spies, cooks, porters, and servants.

Surviving in the shadows of war: Polyvictimised children in post-conflict Angola

“…These wars, like similar conflicts in several other African countries, for example Mozambique, Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Liberia involved the use of children as soldiers, (Wessells, 1997; Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, 2004 a, b; Wessells and Monteiro, 2006).…”

Child Abuse and Neglect: Counseling and Healing Practices with People of African Ancestry

“…A chief vehicle for child protection legislation is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (Wessells, 1997). Full ratification of the Convention clarifies the country's standpoint, and increases the country's accountability.…”

“…Trafficked and child soldiers are likely to have experienced long periods of separation from their own families and communities, whilst others may suffer rejection for being perceived as impure or spiritually contaminated. For proper development they need to be united with their families (immediate or nuclear) and/or extended and communities, and offered transition programmes that would facilitate easy integration into schools and the world of decent and gainful employment (Wessells, 1997).…”

“…Africans believe that a person who kills comes to be troubled by the vengeful spirits of those who were killed. In this case, a former child soldier is viewed as spiritually contaminated because s/he was involved in killings, therefore cannot be united with family or community without undergoing a purification ceremony (Wessells, 1997). Such a ceremony will help release excess stress and alleviate some troubling fears, restore spiritual harmony and facilitate reintegration into the community (Parks, 2003;Wessells, 1997).…”

‘Death is painful so it is better to be holding a gun’: the socio-ecologically situated dis/rearmament decisions of formerly abducted persons in northern Uganda

“…Social ecology is a term used to broadly encompass factors including personal security and the environment of war, relationships with family, community and peers, psycho-social well-being, economic security, educational and livelihood opportunities and political influences. 3 As Michael Wessells explains, this approach recognises that war can serve as a 'source of opportunities for children, who willingly join armed groups to obtain things-protection, a sense of family, education and training, power, money, or a sense of purpose-denied to them in civilian life' . 4 Through a social ecological lens, the conditions and conflict in northern Uganda are reframed as an environment through which formerly abducted persons exercise choice, albeit tactical or constrained choice.…”