Children in Armed Conflict

2020 ◽  
pp. 656-674
Author(s):  
Mark Drumbl
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Former Child Soldiers ◽  
The Law ◽  
Child Soldiering

This chapter addresses a particularly vulnerable population of children, namely, children associated with armed forces or armed groups. These children are colloquially known as child soldiers. This chapter begins by surveying the prevalence of child soldiering globally. It then sets out the considerable amount of international law that addresses children in armed conflict, in particular, the law that allocates responsibility for child soldiering and the law that sets out the responsibility of child soldiers for their conduct. The chapter identifies significant gaps between the law and the securing of positive outcomes for former child soldiers, notably when it comes to post-conflict reintegration. The protective impulse that envisions militarized youth as faultless passive victims may not always reflect how youthful fighters see themselves nor necessarily support an emancipatory and empowering vision of how international law should promote the rights of children.

scholarly journals TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE: THE REINTEGRATION OF CHILD SOLDIERS THROUGH POST-CONFLICT METHODS OF JUSTICE

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 474
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Barbosa-Fohrmann
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Made In

<p>This paper examines the problematic of child soldiers, based on inter alia the strategy of research <br />and study of the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for <br />Children and Armed Conflict and on the priorities of the Machel Study. Here, national and international <br />law will be applied on countries where children are recruited by armed groups. Concerning domestic <br />jurisdiction alternative or traditional methods of justice as well as formal legal methods will be <br />addressed. Specifically, this paper will focus on three main subjects: 1) the possibility of prosecution <br />and judgment of adolescents, who participated in armed conflicts; 2) prosecution and judgment of war lords <br />and 3) civil reparation proportional to the damage caused by an armed conflict. These three subjects will <br />be construed according to (traditional or alternative and formal) national and international law. Finally, <br />some recommendations will be made in order to improve the system of reintegration of child soldiers in <br />post-conflict countries.</p>

Coping with the trauma of war: Former child soldiers in post-conflict Sierra Leone

2010 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 791-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myriam Denov
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
After Effects ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Former Child Soldiers ◽  
Depth Interviews

Children across the globe have been implicated in armed conflict as both victims and participants. During Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war, thousands of children, both boys and girls, participated directly in armed conflict or were recruited for labour or sexual exploitation in armed groups. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 80 children formerly associated with Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front, this paper explores children’s experiences of violence during the armed conflict, traces the realities that children faced in the aftermath of the war, and examines the ways in which participants attempted to cope with the war’s profound after-effects. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for social work.

The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict

2014 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

TheHandbookconsists of 32 Chapters in seven parts. Part I provides the historical background and sets out some of the contemporary challenges. Part II considers the relevant sources of international law. Part III describes the different legal regimes: land warfare, air warfare, maritime warfare, the law of occupation, the law applicable to peace operations, and the law of neutrality. Part IV introduces key concepts in international humanitarian law: weapons and the notion of superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering, the principle of distinction, proportionality, genocide and crimes against humanity, grave breaches and war crimes, internal armed conflict. Part V looks at key rights: the right to life, the prohibition on torture, the right to fair trial, economic, social and cultural rights, the protection of the environment, the protection of cultural property, and the human rights of the members of the armed forces. Part VI covers key issues such as: the use of force, terrorism, unlawful combatants, the application of human rights in times of armed conflict, forced migration, and issues of gender. Part VII deals with accountability issues including those related to private security companies, the need to focus on armed groups, as well as questions of state responsibility brought before national courts, and finally, the book addresses issues related to transitional justice.

Personal Self-Defense and the Standing Rules of Engagement

2018 ◽  
pp. 109-124
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Ford
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
The Law ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. military Standing Rules of Engagement (SROE) restrict the use of force in armed conflict to either self-defense or “mission-specific” rules of engagement, which refer to the use of force against members of enemy armed forces or organized armed groups that have been “declared hostile.” This bifurcation of authority works well in an international armed conflict, where the enemy force is uniformed and easily distinguished. In these circumstances, the overwhelming number of engagements are against identified hostile forces. In many non-international armed conflicts, however, combatants actively attempt to camouflage their status, and U.S. forces find themselves engaging enemy forces under a self-defense framework. This creates problems. Consider, for example, a situation where three individuals of unknown affiliation launch an attack against a U.S. military convoy in Afghanistan. After a short engagement, the attackers get in a van and speed away from the attack site. The U.S. convoy is disabled, but an unmanned aerial vehicle tracks the van as it retreats into the desert. Thirty minutes later an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter arrives on scene above the still-retreating van. Can the Apache attack the vehicle? The van is retreating and poses no threat, thus self-defense principles would not allow for the use of force, despite the fact that the occupants are clearly directly participating in hostilities. This chapter addresses three questions: Why are the SROE drafted in this manner? What is the basis in the law for the SROE’s approach to self-defense? What are the problems presented by this approach?

Classifying the conflict: a soldier's dilemma

2009 ◽  
Vol 91 (873) ◽  
pp. 143-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Carswell
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Military Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
The Law ◽  
Riot Control ◽  
The Military

AbstractModern armed forces are employed in a wide array of operations that range from peacetime riot control to outright international armed conflict. Classifying these various scenarios to determine the applicable international law is rendered difficult by both the lack of clarity inherent in the law and the political factors that tend to enter the decision-making process. The author describes the major challenges of legal classification facing the military leadership, and proposes a solution to ensure that the intended beneficiaries of the law – from soldiers to civilians – do indeed receive its protection.

In Search of Legal Grounds to Detain for Armed Groups

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelleke van Amstel
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
The Law ◽  
Legal Grounds

Arbitrary deprivation of liberty is prohibited by international law; hence even during armed conflict internment of adversaries must have a legal basis in international humanitarian law or national law. The law of non-international armed conflict contains an inherent power to intern. Nevertheless, a further legal source is needed to ensure detention is not arbitrary, outlining grounds and procedure of detention. Such legal grounds do not exist for internment by organised armed groups. This article will outline the possible consequences for members of armed groups when interning without a further legal basis, thus in violation of the prohibition of arbitrary detention, and will subsequently suggest solutions to overcome the imbalance between obligations imposed upon and instruments granted to these actors.

Targeting Child Soldiers: Striking a Balance between Humanity and Military Necessity

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Pack
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Military Necessity ◽  
Additional Protection ◽  
The Law ◽  
Self Defence

Children are often the victims of armed conflict. One way in which international law seeks to protect them is by prohibiting their recruitment as child soldiers. Once recruited, however, the question arises as to whether they may or should be targeted and killed in the same manner as an adult in the same position. In this respect, there is relatively little discussion as to what the law is, and – aside from a 2013 think-piece by Frédéric Mégret – even less about what the law should be. This article attempts to kick-start that debate. A survey of international law confirms that child combatants and participants in hostilities may be targeted in the same manner as adults. Mégret’s proposed reform, whereby child soldiers would only be targetable while participating in hostilities, is problematic, but child soldiers should arguably be entitled to some form of additional protection. As such, this article proposes that child soldiers under the age of 12 only be targetable in self-defence, a reform which would better balance the competing considerations of humanity and military necessity.

Children, Not Soldiers

2020 ◽  
pp. 443-473
Author(s):  
Francesca Capone
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Crime ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Legal Foundations ◽  
Child Friendly ◽  
State Actors

Recruiting children under the age of 15 years and using them to actively participate in hostilities is forbidden under international law and amounts to an international crime. Nonetheless, parties continue to enlist and conscript children, putting their lives in danger by exploiting them, very often not only for military purposes. After outlining the legal foundations of the prohibition on recruiting and using children, this chapter aims at providing an overview of the tools and strategies, including the UN architecture on children and armed conflict, designed and implemented to thwart the phenomenon of child soldiering. The chapter offers some critical reflections on the necessity to implement effective child-friendly post-conflict and peace-building efforts, in particular disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration processes. In fact, those efforts are still predominantly concerned with adult male fighters and, in most instances, they are unable to adequately address the specific needs of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed non-state actors, including groups labeled as terrorist.

scholarly journals Children in Armed Conflict: A Human Rights Crisis in Somalia

Global Jurist ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador Santino Jr. Fulo Regilme ◽  
Elisabetta Spoldi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
False Sense ◽  
Alternative Sources

Abstract Despite the consolidated body of public international law on children’s rights and armed conflict, why do armed rebel groups and state forces deploy children in armed conflict, particularly in Somalia? First, due to the lack of alternative sources of income and livelihood beyond armed conflict, children join the army due to coercive recruitment by commanders of armed groups. Their participation in armed conflict generates a fleeting and false sense of material security and belongingness in a group. Second, many Somali children were born in an environment of existential violence and material insecurity that normalized and routinized violence, thereby motivating them to view enlistment in armed conflict as morally permissible and necessary for existential survival.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document