International Legal Status of Child Soldiers as participants of Armed Conflicts

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Sergey E. Smirnykh

The article deals with the international legal status of child soldiers as one of the gaps in International Law. It is noted that in a number of cases children are forced to participate in armed conflicts due to the use of violence against them. The voluntary recruitment of children into the armed forces is also possible due to the fact that they see no alternative sources of subsistence other than participation in wars. International Law was the basic and universal guarantee of the rights of children in armed conflicts. The most important guarantee of children's rights in armed conflicts is International Law. Individual states and their officials cannot fully guarantee the rights of children, as they are entitled to act within the framework of national legislation. Cooperation among states on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations can guarantee the exercise and protection of the rights of children in armed conflicts. One of the important guarantees for the protection of children's rights during armed conflicts must be the right to peace, which implies strict compliance by states with the prohibition of war in international relations.


Author(s):  
von Heinegg Wolff Heintschel

This chapter evaluates legal developments and practice with respect to armed conflict at sea. The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea has progressively developed the law and contributed to the emergence of multiple differing regimes, some of which are now customary in character. The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1995) provides a contemporary restatement of the law of armed conflict at sea, together with some progressive development. The chapter provides an overview of the different acts of naval warfare, comments on special provisions concerning means and methods of naval warfare, and explains the legal status of hospital ships including conditions of their protection.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-213
Author(s):  
Maryla Fałdowska

The article presents issues concerning juvenile prisoners of three special camps in Kozielsk, Starobielsk and Ostashkov. The author draws attention to the lack of definition of the legal status of minors after 1918, and thus — the lack of provisions on ensuring the safety of children in the international standards governing the treatment of prisoners of war in force during World War II and internal legal acts of the Soviet Union. The article emphasizes that the participation of children in armed conflicts was regulated as late as ten years after the outbreak of World War II in international humanitarian law, adopting on 12 August 1949 “The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War” (Fourth Geneva Convention), under which children are entitled to special treatment or protection measures. The provisions of conventions protecting children during the war included, among others, regulations concerning the creation of special zones and sanitary facilities, evacuation from the besieged zone, provision of necessary food and clothing, provision of medical and hospital care, education or transfer to a neutral country. The author notes that the Fourth Geneva Convention does not contain a provision on special protection and care for juveniles, and that children during warfare are classified exclusively as civilian population. The circumstances of the Soviet captivity of minors after September 17, 1939, their stay in and leaving the camps, the reasons for selection, after which they were left alive and not included in the “death transports”, described in the article, make it possible to determine the number of rescued and murdered.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 256
Author(s):  
Gnamien Yawa Ossi

The phenomenon of «child soldier» has become very rampant these last years. In Africa, they are very common in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in Chad, in Uganda, in Sierra Leone, and in Côte d’Ivoire. More recently, they are in Mali and in the Central African Republic. However, armed conflicts have imposed various situations on populations. The children are the main victims. The focus of this study is on child soldiers during times of war. The main objective of this study is to analyze the ways they join the armed groups and the difficulties of their social reintegration. The objective of this study is to analyze the recruitment conditions of children and the difficulties of social reintegration. The hypothesis postulates that there is a link between the passage of the children in armed groups and their psychosocial outcome. The study took place in Sierra Leone. The quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The results of the study show that: the mode of recruitment of children has an influence on their social reintegration. Also, the violent practices in armed conflicts are obstacles to their social reintegration.


Author(s):  
Jacqueline Bhabha

This chapter examines the transport and exploitation of child labor in situations of armed conflict. It first considers some of the main reasons why children are recruited and used in armed conflicts before discussing the process of bringing children within the scope of international criminal law as part of efforts to prosecute political leaders and senior military figures responsible for war crimes. In particular, it looks at the Special Court for Sierra Leone and describes its conviction of war criminals for the recruitment of child soldiers as an important human rights milestone. It then explores the human rights entitlements of former child soldiers and how transitional justice is implemented through the DDR (disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration) process, along with its shortcomings. The chapter concludes with an overview of enforcement of long-term social and economic rights of former child soldiers after the conflict.


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