Military use of children

The military use of children refers to children being placed in harm's way in military actions, in order to protect a location or provide propaganda. This is sometimes referred to as child sacrifice, though not equivalent to the religious variety. It may also refer to the use of children as child soldiers or saboteurs.

Red Hand Day on February 12 is an annual commemoration day to draw public attention to the practice of using children as soldiers in wars and armed conflicts.

History

Throughout history and in many cultures, children have been extensively involved in military campaigns even when such practices were supposedly against cultural morals.

The earliest mentions of minors being involved in wars comes from antiquity. It was customary for youths in the cultures of the Mediterranean basin to serve as aides, charioteers and armor bearers to adult warriors. Examples of this practice can be found in the Bible (such as David's service to King Saul), in Hittite and Egyptian art, and in Greek mythology (such as the story of Hercules and Hylas), philosophy and literature. In ancient Greece the practice was formalized as part of the pederastic educational tradition, and man/boy couples were considered to make an especially effective fighting force. See Sacred Band of Thebes

Also in a practice dating back to antiquity, children were routinely taken on campaign, together with the rest of a military man's family, as part of the baggage. This of course exposed them to harm from rearguard attacks, such as the one at the battle of Agincourt where the retainers and children of the English army were massacred by the French.

The Romans also made use of youths in war, though it was understood that it was unwise and cruel to use children in war, and Plutarch implies that regulations required youths to be at least sixteen years of age.

In medieval Europe, young boys from about twelve years of age were used as military aides ("squires"), though in theory their role in actual combat was limited. The so-called Children's Crusade in 1212 recruited thousands of children as untrained soldiers under the assumption that divine power would enable them to conquer the enemy, although none of the children actually entered combat; they were instead sold into slavery. While most scholars no longer believe that the Children's Crusade consisted solely, or even mostly of children, it nonetheless exemplifies an era in which the entire family took part in a war effort.

Young boys often took part in battles during early modern warfare and modern warfare, perhaps most popularly as the ubiquitous "drummer boy" – the film Waterloo (based on the Battle of Waterloo) graphically depicts French drummer boys leading Napoleon's initial attack only to be gunned down by Allied soldiers.

During the age of sail, young boys formed part of the crew of British Royal Navy ships and were responsible for many important tasks including bringing powder and shot from the ship's magazine to the gun crews. These children were called Powder Monkeys.

By a law signed by Nicholas I of Russia in 1827, a disproportionate number of Jewish boys, known as the cantonists, were forced into military training establishments to serve in the army. The 25-year conscription term officially commenced at the age of 18, but boys as young as eight were routinely taken to fulfill the hard quota.

In World War II, children frequently participated in popular insurrections like the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 and other anti-fascist resistance movements across Nazi-occupied Europe.

On the opposite side, Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend or HJ) was an official organization in Nazi Germany that trained youth physically and indoctrinated them with Nazi ideology. By the end of WW2, members of the HJ were taken into the army at increasingly younger ages. During the Battle of Berlin in 1945 they were a major part of the German defenses.

In some cases, youth organizations were, and still are, militarized in order to instill discipline in their ranks, sometimes to indoctrinate them with propaganda and prepare for subsequent military service. For some examples, see Scouting movement, the Boy Scouts of America, Eastern Europe's Pioneer Movements (such as Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union), and Red Guards (China).

International law

International Human rights law

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 38, (1989) proclaimed: "State parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities." The Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict to the Convention that came into force in 2002 stipulates that its State Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons below the age of 18 do not take a direct part in hostilities and that they are not compulsorily recruited into their armed forces.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1261 "strongly condemns... recruitment and use of children in armed conflict in violation of international law." (UN Sec. Council Res. 1261 (1999), art. 3, 8, 13.)

International humanitarian law

According to the Additional Protocol I and Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions, adopted in 1977, children who have not attained the age of 15 years shall neither be recruited in the armed forces or groups nor allowed to take part in hostilities. For persons older than 15 but younger than 18 years, the State Parties to the Geneva Conventions shall endeavour to give priority to those who are oldest. (Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, June 8, 1977, art. 77; Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts), June 8, 1977, art. 4)

The Fourth Geneva Convention forbids the use of any civilian as a shield. (Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Aug. 12, 1949, 6 U.S.T. 3516, 75 U.N.T.S. 287, art. 28).

International labour law

Forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, is one of the predefined worst forms of child labour in terms of the International Labour Organisation's Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999, adopted in 1999.

In terms of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation ratifying countries should ensure that forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict is a criminal offence, and also provide for other criminal, civil or administrative remedies to ensure the effective enforcement of such national legislation (Article III(12) to (14)).

Modern developments

Children have been both participants in and victims of atrocities. The recruitment of children as soldiers is a practice that has survived into modern times.

Children have been used as spotters, observers, message-carriers, and even as human shields. The last case is particularly problematic: if the hostage value of the child is respected, children will be increasingly used as human shields, and the soldier is placed at a tactical disadvantage. If not, soldiers must suffer the morale effects of wounding and killing children in self-defense. In any case, a great deal of propaganda value can be gained from publicizing different (and often false) accounts of such events.

Usually, girls are made to perform as sex slaves and aides, while boys' fate is combat, although recent reports indicate that girls have been forced to perform combat as well, and that boys are routinely used for sexual purposes.

To counter their reluctance, the children are dulled by forcing them to commit brutalities and to take drugs that inhibit guilt and fear. Propaganda, revenge and fear of being left alone influence children to "voluntarily" stay in the army.

The US vs. Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, American soldiers reported (and US military sources documented) a number of incidents where Vietnamese children were given hand grenades and/or explosives and used as weapons against American troops. In one variation, a young girl is instructed to throw a hand grenade (with or without pulling the pin to activate it first, depending on whether direct or psychological casualties are intended.) In another variation, children had explosives strapped to their bodies and were encouraged to mingle with American soldiers, with detonation either by a mechanical device or by remote control. Incidents such as these were cited by the military to justify use of deadly force against children, much to the disgust of peace activists. The frequency of such incidents, and whether deadly force was necessary as often as it was actually used, is hotly debated.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Professor of Georgetown University William O'Brien wrote about active participation of Palestinian children in the First Intifada: "It appears that a substantial number, if not the majority, of troops of the intifada are young people, including elementary schoolchildren. They are engaged in throwing stones and Molotov cocktails and other forms of violence." (Law and Morality in Israel's War With the PLO, New York: Routledge, 1991)

According to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers 2004 Global Report on the Use of Child Soldiers, there have been at least nine documented suicide attacks involving Palestinian minors between October 2000 and March 2004, "was no evidence of systematic recruitment of children by Palestinian armed groups. However, children are used as messengers and couriers, and in some cases as fighters and suicide bombers in attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. All the main political groups involve children in this way, including Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine." [http://www.child-soldiers.org/document_get.php?id=945. According to Israeli security forces, there have been 229 cases of minors involved in militant activity.

Arab journalist Huda Al-Hussein wrote in the London newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: "While UN Organizations save child-soldiers, especially in Africa, from the control of militia leaders who hurl them into the furnace of gang-fighting, some Palestinian leaders... consciously issue orders with the purpose of ending their childhood, even if it means their last breath." (Oct. 27, 2000, translated by MEMRI, Arab Journalist Decries Palestinian Child-Soldiers Special Dispatch 146, Nov. 1, 2000)

In an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Azzaman (June 20, 2002), Mahmoud Abbas condemned the practice, saying that he opposed "that little children go to die", stating that "is a horrible thing. At least 40 children in Rafah became cripples after their hands were blown off by pipe bombs. They received 5 shekels Jordanian newspaper Alrai) ^*" target="_blank" >[http://honestreporting.com/graphics/abumazen.gif.

On May 23, 2005, Amnesty International reiterated its calls to Palestinian armed groups to put an immediate end to the use of children in armed activities: "Palestinian armed groups must not use children under any circumstances to carry out armed attacks or to transport weapons or other material." ^* ɕ

Iran

During the later stages of the Iran-Iraq War, both sides were accused of using teenaged children to fill out the ranks of soldiers depleted by years of warfare. During that war, Iran was accused of using children to clear minefields by having them run in front of the soldiers.

Other conflicts

In some conflicts, the recruitment of children is still a regular occurrence. Guerrilla movements, in particular, are often accused of recruiting or even forcing children into military campaigns, such as the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. In some African conflicts, such as in Sierra Leone and Uganda, child soldiers continue to be common.

The military use of children by western countries

United Kingdom

Among developed countries, the United Kingdom has been criticised for its practice of allowing boys to join the armed services at the age of 16, and to fight at 17, something which human rights campaigners decry as hypocritical, given Britain's stance against human rights violations elsewhere. In the United Kingdom, approximately forty percent of its military forces joined when they were just sixteen or seventeen years of age.

Boy soldiers were part of the military establishment of the British Army from the formation of Lord Cromwell's New Model Army (c1640). Given the authorized strength of boys in all units, one computes the total number of boys from 10 to 16 in the British Army at the height of the Peninsular Campaign (1811). There were 180 battalions of infantry, each with a total of 20 boys for a total of, say, 3,600. Added to this, roughly 100 boys were allowed to the regiments listed in a January 1811 Adjutant-General (AG) circular. Some of these regiments were single battalions; others had two battalions. Allowing 30 battalions for the 22 regiments specified in the AG order computes 3,000 boys. In 1811, therefore, the infantry of the line had some 6,600 soldiers who would currently be considered underage in its ranks. Add to this figure the boy soldiers strengths of the Royal Artillery, cavalry and miscellaneous units such as the Sappers and Miners, and the total number of boy soldiers in the British was probably in the order of 11,000.

As computed from the 'morning report' of the British Army for 18 June 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, an estimated 4,000 boys soldiers were on the field of battle. The Army of Napoleon Bonaparte had a similar number, and the Prussian Army of General Blucher about half that number. An estimated 10,000 underage soldiers took part in the battle (see Sons of the Brave, 1984, by A. W. Cockerill, pub Secker & Warburg).

Lady Butler's painting 'Stand fast the 57th' depicts the surviving 11 boy drummers and fifers of the 57th Foot at the Battle of Albuhera (16 May 1811) during the Peninsular Campaign. The youngest boy soldier on record was James Wade of the 9th Foot, who enlisted on his seventh birthday, 10 July 1800, and was discharged after 21 years service at age 28 years.

This military service is voluntary, leading some to suggest that the argument turns on whether a teenager has the free will and clear mind to consent to join the army. Children's right advocates claim that children should not be exposed to the risks of military life even if they appear to be willing to do so.

United States

The United States currently uses youths of seventeen in its armed forces, though not in combat situations. Furthermore, seventeen year olds are not eligible for conscription, and must have their parents approval before they enlist. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch reported:

The United States has emerged as the most vigorous opponent of establishing eighteen as the minimum age for military service, even though fewer than 3,000 members of its 1.3 million active duty force are minors.

In order to preserve its ability to make use of minors in the armed forces, the United States has refused to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a convention ratified by every other recognized country in the world with the exception of Somalia.

Movement to stop military use of children

According to Amnesty International,

"An estimated 300,000 children under the age of eighteen are currently participating in armed conflicts in more than thirty different countries on nearly every continent. While most child soldiers are in their teens, some are as young as seven years old."

Recently, a strong international movement has emerged to put an end to the practice. See, for example, Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

After the war, bringing children or former child soldiers into civil society is difficult, as they have received little education, are accustomed to the use of violence, and they have lost ties to their families.

External links

ChildVoice International
Teach Kids Peace
Amnesty International campaign
Human Rights Watch campaign
HRW list of child soldier incidents
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
BBC report: Sex slavery awaits Ugandan schoolgirls
BBC report: Ugandan army recruiting children
BBC report: Criticism of British child soldier recruitment
The Guardian report: Armies of girls caught up in conflict
Children and armed conflict - UN Security Council resolution 1539 (2004). PDF
Child Soldier Projects
The Use of Palestinian Children in the Al-Aqsa Intifada
PA Indoctrination of Children to Seek Heroic Death for Allah
The Childhood Origins of Terrorism
The International Labour Organisation's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour on child soldiers
EU guidelines on children and armed conflict adopted at the General Affairs Council meeting on 8 December 2003
War Child International Child Soldier links & resources
War Child UK's report on Child Soldiers in Democratic Republic of CongoPDF

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