[child-rights] New global report finds child soldiers in over 20 conflicts worldwide

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL-PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: ACT 76/010/2004
17 November 2004

New global report finds child soldiers in over 20 conflicts worldwide


London -- Governments are undermining progress in ending the use of
children as soldiers, said a coalition of the world's leading human rights
and humanitarian organizations in a newly published report.

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers today released the most
comprehensive global survey of child soldiers to date. It said that
children are fighting in almost every major conflict, in both government
and opposition forces.  They are being injured, subjected to horrific
abuse and killed.

The Coalition accused governments at the European Union, G-8 and UN
Security Council of a failure of leadership. It called for the immediate
enforcement of a ban on the use of child soldiers.

"Children should be protected from warfare not used to wage it. Instead
generations are having their childhoods stolen by governments and armed
groups," said Casey Kelso, head of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child
Soldiers.

"A world that does not allow children to fight wars is possible, but
governments must show the political will and courage to make this happen
by enforcing international laws."

'Child Soldiers Global Report 2004' reviews trends and developments since
2001 in 196 countries. Despite some improvements the situation remained
the same or deteriorated in many countries. Wars ending in Afghanistan,
Angola and Sierra Leone led to the demobilization of 40,000 children, but
over 25,000 were drawn into conflicts in Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan alone.

Opportunities for progress, including the creation of and growing support
for a UN child soldiers treaty, the creation of demobilization programs in
some countries and momentum towards prosecutions of those recruiting
children, have been undermined by governments actively breaking pledges or
failing to show political leadership.

Although the UN Security Council has condemned child soldiering and
monitors those using children in war, some members have blocked real
progress by opposing concrete penalties for violators. The Coalition said
that the Security Council should take immediate and decisive action to get
children out of conflict by applying targeted sanctions and referring
child recruiters to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.

Armed groups, both government-backed paramilitaries and opposition forces,
are the main culprits in recruitment and use of child soldiers. Dozens of
groups in at least 21 conflicts have recruited tens of thousands of
children since 2001, forcing them into combat, training them to use
explosives and weapons, and subjecting them to rape, violence and hard
labour.

Girls and boys in the opposition Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
for example, were subjected to "war councils" for disciplinary offences
and in some cases other children were forced to execute them. In eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo, armed groups sexually abused and raped girls
and forced children to kill their own relatives.

The Coalition said that all armed groups should protect children from
conflict or be held legally accountable.

Governments, including Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar,
Sudan and the USA, used children on the front lines in at least 10
conflicts. Others, including Colombia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, backed
paramilitary groups and militias that used child soldiers. States such as
Indonesia and Nepal used children as informants, spies or messengers.

Some governments, including Burundi, Indonesia and the Russian Federation,
killed, tortured or arbitrarily detained children suspected of supporting
armed opposition.  Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces were
tortured or threatened to coerce them to become informants.

Western governments broke commitments to protect children by providing
military training and support to governments using child soldiers, such as
Rwanda and Uganda.

The Coalition called on governments to ban all recruitment of under-18s
into any armed force and to ratify and fully implement the UN child
soldiers treaty, which is helping to reduce the numbers of children used
in hostilities.

At least 60 governments, including Australia, Austria, Germany, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the USA, continue to legally recruit
children aged 16 and 17.

For a copy of the full report, please go to: www.child-soldiers.org

For further information, contact Nicki East or Casey Kelso at the
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers: +44 20 7713 2761 or
press@child-soldiers.org.uk



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