1. Jessica Burns

2. “Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. These boys and girls, some as young as 8 years old, serve in government forces and armed opposition groups. They may fight on the front lines, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts. Girls may be forced into sexual slavery. Many are abducted or recruited by force, while others join out of desperation, believing that armed groups offer their best chance for survival.” -Human Rights Watch Child Soldiers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2015, from https://www.hrw.org/topic/childrens-rights/childsoldiers

3. “The internationally agreed definition for a child associated with an armed force or armed group (child soldier) is any person below 18 years of age who is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities.” -Child Soldiers International Child Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers International. Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://www.child-soldiers.org/about_the_issues.php

4.  Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by a state or non-state armed group and used as fighters, cooks, suicide bombers, human shields, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes.  In the last 15 years, the use of child soldiers has spread to almost every region of the world and every armed conflict. Though an exact number is impossible to define, thousands of child soldiers are illegally serving in armed conflict around the world.  Some children are under the age of 10 when they are forced to serve.  Two-thirds of states confirm that enrollment of soldiers under the age of 18 should be banned to prohibit forced child soldiers, as well as 16- and 17-year- old armed force volunteers. 11 Facts About Child Soldiers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2015, from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts- about-child-soldiers

5.  Children who are poor, displaced from their families, have limited access to education, or live in a combat zone are more likely to be forcibly recruited.  Children who are not forced to be soldiers volunteer themselves because they feel societal pressure and are under the impression that volunteering will provide a form of income, food, or security, and willingly join the group.  In the last 2 years, 20 states have been reported to have child soldiers in government, government-affiliated, and non-state armed groups. Additionally, 40 states still have minimum age recruitment requirements under 18 years.  Girls make up an estimated 10 to 30 percent of child soldiers used for fighting and other purposes. They are especially vulnerable when it comes to sexual violence. 11 Facts About Child Soldiers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2015, from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-child-soldiers

6.  A few of the countries who have reported use of child soldiers since 2011 are Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Mali, Pakistan, Thailand, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.  Despite a government agreement in the District of Chad to demobilize the recruitment of child soldiers, there were between 7,000 and 10,000 children under 18 serving in combat and fulfilling other purposes in 2007.  The recruitment of child soldiers breaks several human rights laws. Children who have committed crimes as soldiers are looked upon more leniently, crimes committed voluntarily are subject to justice under the international juvenile justice standards. 11 Facts About Child Soldiers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2015, from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-child-soldiers

7.  The psychological trauma of soldiering is undoubtedly severe. Robbed of their childhood, these children witness the worst of humanity on a daily basis.  Children exposed to rampant violence and death through involvement in armed conflict may suffer flashbacks, nightmares, sleep disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder, in addition to desiring revenge and fearing retribution from the communities they have hurt.  During the last decade, it is estimated that 2 million children have been killed, 4-5 million disabled, 12 million left homeless; more than 1 million orphaned or separated from their parents and some 10 million psychologically traumatized. Rehabilitation or Revenge: Prosecuting Child Soldiers for Human Rights Violations. (2007). Georgetown Journal of International Law.

8.  Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC): Adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 May 2000, entered into force on 12 February 2002. OPAC sets 18 as the minimum age for direct participation in hostilities and for compulsory recruitment by state armed forces. States may accept volunteers from the age of 16 but must deposit a binding declaration at the time of ratification or accession, setting out their minimum voluntary recruitment age and outlining certain safeguards for such recruitment. OPAC also prohibits the recruitment or use in hostilities of under- 18s by non-state armed groups. Child Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers International.

9.  Convention on the Rights of the Child: Adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989, entered into force on 2 September 1990. The Convention on the Rights of the Child generally defines a child as any person under the age of 18. However, Article 38 uses the lower age of 15 as the minimum for recruitment or participation in armed conflict. This language is drawn from the two Additional Protocols to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. Article 38 requires state parties to prevent anyone under the age of 15 from taking direct part in hostilities and to refrain from recruiting anyone under the age of 15 years. OPAC was drafted in order to raise the minimum ages set out in the Convention.  Implementation by State Parties of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and of its optional protocols to the Convention, including OPAC, is monitored by the (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child. Child Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers International.

10.  Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: The Rome Statute establishes a permanent criminal court to try persons charged with committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. In its definition of war crimes the statute includes "conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into national armed forces or using them to participate actively in hostilities" in international armed conflict; and in the case of an internal armed conflict, "conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities". The statute also defines sexual slavery as a war crime and a crime against humanity. Child Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers International.

11.  International Labour Organization (ILO) Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 182: This convention was adopted on 16 June 1999 and came into force on 19 November 2000. It commits each state which ratifies it to "take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency". The term "child" applies to all persons under the age of 18 years, and the worst forms of child labour include forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. Child Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers International.

12.  Additional Protocols to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 (1977): The protocols set 15 as the minimum age for recruitment or use in armed conflict. This minimum standard applies to all parties, both governmental and non-governmental, in both international and internal armed conflict. Child Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers International.

13. “The trauma these children suffer and their psychological development at the time of their crimes mandates that we treat them as victims, not perpetrators of armed conflict, and that we seek to rehabilitate them. Although international law arguably requires the prosecution of severe violations of human rights, it also establishes that the best interests of children are paramount and reflects an emerging trend toward forbidding the use of children under eighteen in direct hostilities. By mobilizing domestic constituencies and states, international child advocates can institutionalize this trend and implement better monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to keep children off battlefields. Advocates can use both Institutionalist and Liberal understandings of the international system to encourage states to refrain from prosecuting former child soldiers and focus on their rehabilitation-to work toward making this a world “fit for children.”” -Georgetown Journal of International Law Rehabilitation or Revenge: Prosecuting Child Soldiers for Human Rights Violations. (2007). Georgetown Journal of International Law.

14.  It is not enough to simply condemn or prohibit the recruitment of children; it is imperative to understand the motives for children to fight in order to prevent it.  Rehabilitation efforts should be considered over prosecutions as children that fall into soldiering should be viewed as victims.  More funding should be considered to aid programs such as Child Soldiers International, International Rescue Committee, etc. who are dedicated to preventing the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, promoting psychosocial healing, and ensuring successful rehabilitation. Somasundaram, D. (2002). Child Soldiers: Understanding the Context. British Medical Journal.

15. “ Perhaps the best way to solve the dilemma of what to do with child soldiers who violate international humanitarian law, however, is by eliminating the use of children as soldiers altogether.” Rehabilitation or Revenge: Prosecuting Child Soldiers for Human Rights Violations. (2007). Georgetown Journal of International Law.

16.  Child Soldiers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2015, from https://www.hrw.org/topic/childrens-rights/child-soldiers  11 Facts About Child Soldiers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2015, from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-child-soldiers  Child Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers International. Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://www.child- soldiers.org/about_the_issues.phphttp://www.child- soldiers.org/about_the_issues.php  Child Soldiers International UK. "About the Issues." Child Soldiers International. Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://www.child- soldiers.org/international_standards.php#

17.  Ranjan, T. (2013). Children in Armed Conflicts. Journal of Business Management & Social Sciences Research, 2 (12). Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://www.borjournals.com/a/index.php/jbmssr/article/view/35 0/971  Rehabilitation or Revenge: Prosecuting Child Soldiers for Human Rights Violations. (2007). Georgetown Journal of International Law. Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=0720781261160751 17104030113079103086050045038009039013023073075120021103018 09906810403912406301305102710908306400112101302901103905709 30130531210210130980940041170110410260090210980171240950660 7407508010200709001  Somasundaram, D. (2002). Child Soldiers: Understanding the Context. British Medical Journal. Retrieved December 7, 2015, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1123221/