Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone Essay

The Revolutionary United Front of sierra Le unrivaled (RUF/SL) invaded sierra Leone from Liberia in March 1991. Initially they claimed to be a political movement bread and butter liberation and democracy. Instead the RUF, in reality, was an insecurely combined organization of generally rebellious young people that inflicted mortal disaster with with(predicate)out the rustic of sierra Leone. The political revolution message failed to attract popular patronage, the RUF scorecard on a barbarian ten-year cultured state of war that had devastating consequences for civilians, in particular squirtren.General Information about electric s devoter spendsThe numbers of nipper passs ar continually variable effrontery the growth of diverse arm conflicts. The number of children infra the age of 18 who take been laboured or induced to leave up arms as child soldiers is normally thought to be around of 300,000. Non- organisational military organizations tend to recruit soldiers under the age of 15.Governmental build up forces, on the other(a) hand, argon more than likely to recruit soldiers under the age of 18. From what is known the age of 7 is the youngest a child soldier can be. Over 50 countries currently take on children under the age of 18 into their militia.picFigure 1. The African fleck since Africa has without any doubt the largest number of child soldiers1What is a Child Soldier?UNICEF, The United Nations Children Fund, defines child soldiers as any child boy or girlunder eighteen old age of age, who is part of any kindly of unbendable or irregular fortify force or armed group in any capacity2.According to the Coalition to Stop the expenditure of Child Soldiers Child soldiers perform a range of tasks including participation in combat, laying mines and explosives scouting, spying, acting as decoys, couriers or guards training, drill or other preparations logistics and support functions, portering, cooking and interior(a) labour and se xual slavery or other enlisting for sexual purposes.3Girls argon in any case called child soldiers and this is the slickness for numerous reasons. Girls usually fulfil numerous roles. While they are ordinarily recruited and exercisingd for sexual purposes, they are almost always also caught up in other military responsibilities. These include fight, laying explosives, portering, and performing domestic tasks.How many a(prenominal) child soldiers are there?It is difficult to give a worldwide number of child soldiers at any one time. thither are various reasons as to why exact figures cannot be calculated. An good example is that military commanders frequently mask children or do not cater access to observers. fortify groups regularly operate in dangerous, unapproachable zones to which observers do not grant access and many children carry out support roles and are therefore not visible in military operations.How do children become soldiers?A special report on the impact of a rmed conflict on children which was created in 1996 explained how children become soldiers. In the report it is verbalize Hunger and poverty may drive parents to offer children for service or attract children to volunteer as a way to guarantee regular meals, clothing or medical attention. Some children become soldiers to protect themselves or their families in the face of violence and chaos around them, while others, in particular adolescents, are lured by ideology. Children also identify with social causes, religious expression, self-determination, national liberation or the pursuit of political freedom, as in southbound Africa or the occupied territories.4 Another reason emphasizes the efficient value of children, oddly for tedious tasks. An important explanation to keep in mind could be that child soldiers may be valuable for signalling purposes. A rebel loss leader may hope to show significance, commitment or terror through abduction of a child5. Finally, some people verif y that young children are more malleable, adaptable, and obedient, as well as more easily persuaded and deceived. Therefore they are said to be easier to manage and retain6. If children are as productive as adults, we should find a disproportionate number in armed groups.The hobby two case studies give examples of what a girl and a boy have gone through during Sierra Leones devastating civil war. By describing their tasks, the reasons as to why these violate merciful Rights can be clearly seen.Case Study FatmataFatmata was one of only two survivors from her hamlet in Sierra Leone. She was barely six years old when she was captured by the cruel rebel groups. She was taken to a rebel stronghold and forced to work under harsh conditions as a servant. In Fatmatas own words We had to work all day while they would detestation my mother and abuse me. When she got older, Fatmata was forced to become the second wife of one of her rebel captors, therefore meaning she was raped and gave bi rth to the child of a rebel.7Case Study Ishmael BeahIn A desire way gone(p) Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a successfully enthralling story of his life as a child soldier. At the age of twelve, he fled from rebel attacks and wandered a lower caused to be unrecognizable by brutality. By thirteen, he had been captured by the government army, and Beah, even though he was a gentle young boy at heart, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. At sixteen, he was taken away from fighting by UNICEF. Beah, like many other child soldiers, had gone through devastating psychological traumas and through the answer of the staff at his rehabilitation centre, he intoxicateed how to pardon himself, to regain his humanity and was finally able to heal.8Human RightsAccording to the fair playfulness and Reconciliations commissions report the use of local as well as transnational human rights mechanisms in responding to the shocking criminal act s that took place in Sierra Leone during the previous decade is important to the development of international human rights law9. Sierra Leone became a member of the United Nations in 1961 and is a signatory to most of the important human rights committees including the convocation of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The Government of Sierra Leone has also ratified the optional protocol. Children Rights travel has been enacted in Sierra Leone quite recently in 2007. The Government of Sierra Leone signed and ratified the protocol on 8 September 2000 and 15 May 2002.Convention to the Rights of a ChildThe Convention to the Rights of a Child (CRC) is built on diverse legal systems as well as cultural traditions. The Convention is a universally agreed set of better standards and obligations. These human rights set the least amount of pre-emptive declaration and freedoms that should be value by governments. In Article 38, th e Convention on the Rights of the Child insist that governments to take all possible measures to guarantee that children under 15 have no direct conflict in warfare. The Convention also sets 15 years as the minimum age at which a individual can be willingly recruited into or willingly signs up in the armed forces.10 nonobligatory ProtocolThe Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the contribution of children in armed conflict symbolizes a progressive leap in the international law in bless to defend children from the damaging effects of recruitment and use in warfare. The Protocol requires States who authorize it to obtain all practicable measures to make sure those members who are part of their armed forces and are under the age of 18 do not have a direct involvement in the fightings. States must also raise the minimum age for voluntary recruitment into the armed forces from 15 years but does not require a minimum age of 18.The Protocol reminds States that children under 18 years are entitled to distinctive protection and so any voluntary recruitment under the age of 18 must include adequate protection. despotic recruitment below the age of 18 is fully banned and States parties must also take legal measures to forbid self-governing armed groups from recruiting and utilise children under the age of 18 in conflicts.11 ARTICLE 1 of the Optional Protocol States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that members of their armed forces who have not attained the age of 18 years do not take a direct part in hostilities. This shows that the Protocol raised the age that children are allowed to be a member of an illegal or legal armed force from 15 years to 18 years.UNICEF and The outside(a) legal transfer Committee and how they have helpedIn Sierra Leone, UNICEF was the lead position for child protection, which worked with its colleagues to reduce arms, and to release and reconnect process for child soldiers from 1998 to 2002.They construct tutelar and healthy educational environments where former child soldiers obtain the opportunity to contemplate how to live without weapons, gain new skills which enables them to be prepared for their future and to learn how to become prolific citizens in their society.Most importantly they are given a second chance to learn how to be children again. Demobilized children were moved to flitting care centres supported by UNICEF where they were given health care and also psychosocial counselling. They also participated in educational and recreational activities while family tracing reunion was going on. A vast majority of former child soldiers have been get togetherd with their families. Access to education and family and community support programmes have been the key to their success to help the former child soldiers12.With headquarters in Freetown and tercet field offices in Kono, Kenema and Kailhaun districts, the International Rescue Committee proposes pro grams that focus on child protection, education, and health, specifically for former child soldiers after the civil war ended in 2000. The IRC works to increase local participation in project activities, build local capacity, promote and protect human rights, match with local communities and organizations, and address relief and development needs in a holistic fashion. The Revolutionary United Front rebels released 600 child soldiers. The International Rescue Committee provided education, skills training, and psychosocial care to 100 of them13.ConclusionTo conclude, there have been many programmes that have been created to reduce and assist former child soldiers. Off pedigree it is not possible to help every single child soldier and there are many reasons for this. Some of the reasons are that there are still a number of these soldiers that may still be snarled and their whereabouts are not known. During the civil war, many of the parents of these children were killed, so it is d ifficult to reunite them with their families, and if they are lucky another family member may still be alive in order to look after them. Organisations, like UNICEF, provide homes for former child soldiers who are unlucky to not have anybody. By education and counselling, children learn to forgive themselves for violent crimes they were forced to commit and help themselves to progress in the future.REFERENCES Beah, I (2007). 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