|
Country |
Child
Soldiers |
| Afghanistan
|
COMBINED
NATIONAL STATISTICS
* Sources have
claimed that children as young as 11 were members of the various
armed groups. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Radda
Barnen database quoting The Scotsman, 17/12/97)
* It is estimated
that at least 108,000 children are involved in the fighting. (ECPAT
International, A Step Forward, 1999)
*
In recent years, with approximately 90% of children having no access
to schooling, the proportion of child soldiers has risen from roughly
30% to at least 45%. (UN,
Graca Machel, Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, 26 August 1996,
citing Rachel Brett and Margaret McCallin, Children: The Invisible
Soldiers, April 1996)
*
In August 1999, a Taliban delegation visited all the main madrasas
in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province appealing for students
to join the Taliban's holy war. It is estimated that up to 5,000
students left their schools. According to the UN, the students who
joined the Taliban at that time were aged between 15 and 35. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Galpin,
R., "Teenage recruits swell Taliban ranks", The Guardian,
21/08/99)
*
In August 1999, the United Nations estimated that up to 5,000 students
aged 15 years and above, left their schools and joined the Taliban's holy
war. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing P. Lobjois, "Pakistanis fiers de mourir
en Afghanistan: recrutés par les taliban, ils pensaient combattre les Russes",
Libération, 13 August 1999)
*
The Annual Report of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused the
Taliban of recruiting soldiers as young as 14 from religious schools
in Pakistan. ("Taliban denies charge,
it uses child soldiers", The Plain Dealer, 1 December 1999)
*
The Northern Alliance, had a combined strength of over 60,000, of which
about 45% were children below 18 years of age. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing UN, Graca Machel, Case Study on Afghanistan,
1994-1995)
COMBINED
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
* The Machel
Study found that the youngest child soldier was 13 years old, though
did not mention for whom he was fighting. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing the
Machel study)
* Amnesty International
reported a case of a man who filed a petition in the Sindh High
Court in Karachi, Pakistan, after his 13-year-old son was reported
missing while he was studying in the local Jamia Islamia school.
The father accused the principal of the school of having sent his
son to fight in Afghanistan without consulting the parents. Some
600 other juveniles were reportedly taken in buses to Afghanistan
on the same day. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Amnesty
International, Children in South Asia securing their rights, ASA,
April 1998)
*
UNICEF notes that thousands of children are involved in the ongoing
civil war on both sides. Although unable to supply specific figures,
the UN affirms that the problem is worse now than it was in the
past. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database)
* There have been many
reports of child and adolescent recruitment by the Taliban although no estimates
of total numbers are available. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing Rädda Barnen, Childwar database)
* No girls have been recruited by the Taliban, but there have been reports
of forced marriages of girls from Shamali and Mazar. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing Rädda Barnen database, citing some NGO staff
in Pakistan)
* In 1998, Afghanistan's Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad
Omar, decreed that followers who are too young must leave his fighting
militia. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing "Row over Taliban child soldier claim",
BBC News, 1 December 1999)
* To fill the ranks caused
by numerous casualties following unsuccessful attempts to conquer
the northern provinces in 1997, the Taliban were said to be recruiting
more and more young men in their early teens. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing War Resisters International, The
CONCODOC Project, 1998)
* A UN official who visited
the country in the fall of 1996 said there were many children, as
young as 13 years of age, among the Taliban. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database)
*
When Taliban became party to the civil war in 1994, they forcibly
recruited young Afghan refugees attending religious schools in Pakistan
by press-ganging, house-to-house searches, and seizing children
from secondary schools. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing War Resisters' International, The
CONCODOC Project, 1998)
* Children have reportedly
been seen in the ranks of the Northern Alliance. One journalist reported
of a child who helped unload Soviet-era MI-6 rockets from a helicopter
in a northern Afghan village, Andarab. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing "Afghanistan's deadly war is child's play",
AFP, 3 November 1998)
|
| Albania
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
*
Every Albanian man and woman over the age of 18 years is liable
for military service. (Guy Goodwin-Gill and Ilene Cohn, Child Soldiers, The Role of Children in Armed Conflicts, A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994)
NOTES
FROM PREVIOUS ARMED CONFLICTS
* Children were
alleged to have been involved in armed activity during the uprising
in 1997. In addition, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) reportedly
recruited children under 18 for the armed conflict in neighbouring
Kosovo. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
* It is believed
that the minimum age for entry into military schools in Albania
is 14 years. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing information
provided by Natasa Dokovska, Journalists for the Rights of Women,
Children and the Environment)
* During the
uprising of 1997, it was reported that children as young as 10 were
among the looters and seen carrying arms. It has been reported that
the KLA recruited soldiers, including children, on Albanian territory
during the Kosovo crisis. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Radda
Barnen, http://www.rb.se)
* During the months
of the uprising it was claimed that an opposition group, 'Committee
of National Salvation', based in Girokaster, had called upon all children
under 18 years of age to surrender their weapons. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing Rädda Barnen)
|
| Algeria
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
*
The minimum age for recruitment (conscription)
is 19 years. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing Ordinance 74-103 of 15 November 1974)
COMBINED
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
*
It has been reported that children and youth are actively participating
both in the local militias linked to the government and in the armed groups
opposed to the governmental armed forces. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing Peter Strandberg, Swedish freelance journalist)
NOTES
ON OPPOSITION GROUPS
*
Armed opposition groups are widely reported to have children in
their ranks. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
A
journalist who secretly visited an AIS (the Islamic Salvation Army)
camp in 1997 reported the presence of boys, some as young as 15,
among the movement's soldiers. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Dennis
M., Newsweek, 30/6/97)
* Another source
has claimed that The Armed Islamic Group, Groupe Islamique Armés,
uses young boys, mainly in their early teens, to plant bombs and
carry out surprise attacks.
(CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing information
received from reliable source that requests confidentiality)
|
| Andorra
|
NOTES ON
GOVERNMENT FORCES
*
There are no indications of under-18 recruits, as the country has
no armed forces. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Angola
|
COMBINED
NATIONAL STATISTICS
* It is estimated
that with the resumption of armed conflict since 1998 some 7,000-child
soldiers are currently participating in the conflict, with forcible
recruitment of children increasing during 2000. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
GOVERNMENT
FORCE STATISTICS
* The UN estimates
that at least 3,000 children are among the ranks of the Angolan
Armed Forces (FAA). (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing UN citing
Radda Barnen, Child War database)
* UNICEF claimed that
in 1997 there were 520 children in the FAA.
(CSUCS, Africa Report, April 1999)
OPPOSITION
GROUP STATISTICS
*
Two staff members from the Norwegian Save the Children, after working
with registration of child soldiers for UNAVEM, reported that 5,600
child soldiers had been registered on the UNITA side. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database)
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
*
Military service was made compulsory for all men aged over 20 years. For
voluntary recruitment the minimum age was fixed at 18 years for men and
20 years for women. In November 1998, the Council of Ministers lowered
the minimum age for conscription from 18 to 17 years. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing Angola Peace Monitor, 27 November 1998)
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
*
Angolan government forces were charged with recruiting large numbers
of Namibian children some as young as 14 or 15, including girls.
(CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing AI Urgent
Action Appeal, "Child Soldiers on Angola/Namibia Border",
3/00)
*
In 2000, recruitment of children occurred throughout the country,
particularly rural areas and in some suburbs of Luanda. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing US Department
of State, Angola Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2000)
* The UN Monitoring
Mechanism reported to the UN Security Council that in the Nangweshi
refugee camp, where some 13,000 Angolans reside, there is a "risk
of forced recruitment of minors. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing UN Monitoring
Mechanism report to the UN Security Council)
*
Although some children might have been caught up in forced recruitment
campaigns, the Government has not brought any significant number of children
back into the armed forces. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)
* The government claims
that no one below the age of 18 years is being recruited. However, NGOs
and international organisations operating in the country testify to the
contrary. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing A. Belida, "Angola war", Voice of America,
19 January 1999)
*
It has been claimed that military commanders have paid police officers
to find new recruits. Children as young as 14 years have been forced to
enlist. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing War Resisters' International, The CONCODOC
Project, 1998)
NOTES
ON OPPOSITION GROUPS
* UNITA increased
its forcible recruitment of children and adults in its war effort.
Conscription of children continued to be commonplace with boys and
girls as young as 10 seized and trained as soldiers by the rebels.
(HRW,
World Report 2001 citing Angola Peace Monitor, "Fears that
refugee camps harbouring UNITA", No.5, 31/1/01)
* In January
2000 there were reports of UNITA forces recruiting Namibian children.
(CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Radda
Barnen, Children of War Newsletter, No 1/00, 3/00)
* According
to the US State Department, UNITA continued to forcibly recruit
or even abduct children throughout the country's disputed territory.
(CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing US State
Dept op. cit.)
* Women, many
as young as 13 years old, were forcibly recruited to serve as porters
and camp followers, and reports of sexual assault were widespread
and credible. Females were also abducted for use as sex slaves.
(CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing US State
Department op. cit.)
* One source, requesting confidentiality, has asserted that boys
in their early teens are still being rounded up and deployed. There
are also said to be very high desertion rates for these children,
though it is not clear whether they are able to make it home. When
very young children are initially recruited, they are 'thrown back'
as the receiving military commanders do not want them. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999)
* In 1998, the Inter-African Network for Human Rights and Development
(Afronet) and Human Rights Watch alleged that UNITA was abducting children
aged 13 years living in border towns of Cazombo and Lumbala Nguimbo. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing M. Mulenga, " UNITA accused of abducting
Angolan youths for war ", Panafrican News Agency, 30 July 1998)
*
A number of different sources have stated that the Front for the
Liberation of the Cabinda Enclave recruited children into their
forces. The FLEC-FAC was reported to have children as young as 8
years of age among its ranks and 30-40% of them were girls. A similar
situation is believed to exist in the breakaway FLEC-Renovada. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing freelance journalist Peter Stranberg)
NOTES
FROM PREVIOUS ARMED CONFLICTS
* Children had been recruited
and used as soldiers throughout the Angolan conflict. After the Lusaka Peace
Accord in 1994, soldiers from both government and UNITA forces were officially
demobilised. A total of 8,500 child soldiers were registered. Children comprised
12% of UNITA troops gathered in the 15 Quartering Areas, but this figure
greatly underestimates the scale of the problem since many soldiers had
been recruited as children but had reached 18 years of age by the time of
registration. By the end of March 1997, only 2,336 child soldiers had been
demobilised and over 50% of the total had deserted the Quartering Areas.
(CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing UNICEF)
* 7,000 children were
involved in the conflict. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing SAPA/AP, 30 January, 1997, citing
UN sources)
* In January 1997, 212
child soldiers between the ages of 13 and 17 were demobilised from the Angolan
armed forces. This marked the first official demobilisation by the government.
(CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing J. Fleming, "Baby steps toward final peace
in Angola", Christian Science Monitor, 2 February 1997)
* In 1996, UNITA began
demobilizing its child soldiers and had returned 2,000 children to civilian
life by January 1997. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999)
* One source reported
that at the time of the Lusaka Protocol, the armies registered over 9,000
minors, of whom 5,171 were selected for demobilisation. Most of these youths
had been recruited forcibly at 13 or 14 years of age. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing M. Wessels, Child soldiering: Challenges
to security and democracy, 4 December 1998)
|
| Antigua
and Barbuda |
NOTES ON
GOVERNMENT FORCES
* It is not
known if there are under-18s in Antigua and Barbuda small armed
forces due to insufficient information regarding voluntary recruitment
age. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Argentina
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* The minimum
age for conscription is 19 years. (Guy Goodwin-Gill and Ilene Cohn, Child Soldiers, The Role of Children in Armed Conflicts, A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994)
|
| Armenia
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
*
The Law on Military Duty states 18 years as the minimum age for
voluntary enlistment. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing UNICEF, 18 August 1999)
* All men between
the ages of 18 and 27 are liable for military service. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing War Resisters' International,
The CONCODOC Project, 1998)
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
*
The Committee on the Rights of the Child, at its January 2000 session,
raised questions regarding reports of refugee children from Azerbaijan
being forced to join the Armenian army. The delegation responded
that Armenian children in Nagorno Karabakh had been known to take
up arms against Azerbaijan "in defence of their territory"
but that there were no reports of children participating in armed
conflict at the present time. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing he Committee
on the Rights of the Child)
*
There have been reports of the forced recruitment of refugee children
from Azerbaijan into the Armenian army despite legal minimum age
requirements of 18 for both compulsory and voluntary recruitment.
(CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Australia
|
COMBINED
NATIONAL STATISTICS
* There are
650 children comprising 1% of the total force. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing Rachel Brett and Margaret McCallin,
Children: The Invisible Soldiers, 1998)
RECRUITMENT LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* In 1998, the
government reported that in practice no one under age 17 is recruited
into any of the three services. But given the absence of legislation
setting a minimum age for voluntary recruitment, this policy is
not hard and fast. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
* Compulsory military
service was abolished in December 1972 by an administrative action, a decision
that became a legislation the following year under the National Service
Termination Act. There is no minimum age specified in the law. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000)
* According to the government,
in practice, no one younger than 17 years old can be recruited into any
of the three services. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing the Australian Department of Defence, 5 January
1998)
* According to the Defence
Act 1903, in time of war, no one below the age of 18 years can be sent to
the front line. In time of peace, it had been a "long-standing practice
in all three services not to send members under 18 years to an area of hostility.
(CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing world vision Australia, 12 April 2000)
* The minimum age
for conscription is 18 years. (Guy Goodwin-Gill and Ilene Cohn, Child Soldiers, The Role of Children in Armed Conflicts, A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994)
NOTES FROM PREVIOUS
ARMED CONFLICTS
Evidence emerged of cases of under-18s being deployed with Australian forces
in East Timor in September 1999. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing World Vision Australia, 12 April 2000)
|
| Austria
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* New legislation has been passed prohibiting
direct participation in hostilities of those who have not reached
18. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
* The legal basis
for conscription is the 1990 Defence Law according to which every
male citizen is liable for voluntary service from the age of 17 and
military service not before he turns 18. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999)
* The Austrian
delegation said to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that
"girls could not under any circumstances enter the army before 18
years of age". However, it seems that this information was incorrect
and that girls can join the armed forces at the age of 17. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing UN CRC, Consideration of the Report
of Austria, 15 April 1999)
* The minimum
age for conscription is 18 years. (Guy Goodwin-Gill and Ilene Cohn, Child Soldiers, The Role of Children in Armed Conflicts, A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994)
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
* During the
last nine years, the number of recruits under age 18 has more than
doubled and the percentage of underage recruits in the armed forces
has almost tripled. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
*
There are indications of under-18s in government armed
forces as voluntary recruitment at 17 years of age is possible with
parental consent. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
*
According to the government, under no circumstances could underage
recruits be sent into combat in time of war. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing UN CRC, Consideration of the report
of Austria, 15 April 1999)
|
| Azerbaijan
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* The Government has
stated that the minimum age for service in the armed forces is currently
18 years. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing UN CRC, Consideration of the Report
of Azerbaijan, 28 August 1997)
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT
FORCES
* There have
been reports of the forced recruitment of refugee children from
Azerbaijan into the Armenian army despite legal minimum age requirements
of 18 for both compulsory and voluntary recruitment. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
* There are no
reports of government recruiting under-18s. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
NOTES ON
OPPOSITION GROUPS
* Recruitment
and use of child soldiers, some as young as 14, by opposition forces
in Nagorno-Karabakh have been reported. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
* Some sources
say that 17 years is the minimum age for recruitment in a "a
form of conscription… imposed by the self-proclaimed 'Armenian
republic of Nagorno-Karabakh'". (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Radda
Barnen Child War Database quoting Swedish TV/Aktuellt, 1996, http://www.rb.se)
* There has
also been photographic evidence of the participation of a 14-year-old
soldier guarding the land corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
in 1995 but it is not certain that the boy belonged to Karabakhi
forces. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Radda
Barnen Child War Database quoting IPCS, Armed Conflict Report 1995,
Project Ploughshares, Waterloo, Ontario, http://www.rb.se)
|
| Bahamas
|
NOTES ON
GOVERNMENT FORCES
* It is not
known if there are any under-18s in government armed forces due
to lack of information about the minimum recruitment age. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Bahrain
|
NOTES ON
GOVERNMENT FORCES
* There are
no indications of under-18s in government armed forces. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Bangladesh
|
GOVERNMENT STATISTICS
* Figures for 1999
show that there were 3,374 recruits under 18 in the armed forces. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing M. Masum op
cit.)
* Some 3% of government
armed forces are under 18. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing M. Masum op
cit.)
RECRUITMENT LAWS
AND REGULATIONS
* The minimum legal
enlistment age in the Bangladesh Army is 16 years for soldiers and 17 for
cadet officers. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing the Bangladesh Government Representative
at the Asia Pacific Conference on Child Soldiers, 15-18 May 2000)
GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
* In 1997, a report
asserted that "Jumma children have been tortured, forced to watch the torture
of their parents, and forced to participate in torture." (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing Minority Rights Group International, War:
The Impact on Minority and Indigenous Children, Report 97/2)
NOTES ON OPPOSITION
FORCES
* Children
are also used by armed opposition groups and criminal gangs. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Barbados
|
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT
FORCES
* There are
indications of under-18s in the Barbados armed forces as volunteers
under 18 are accepted with parental consent. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Belarus
|
NOTES
ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
* It is not
known if there are under-18s in government armed forces due to insufficient
information regarding minimum voluntary recruitment age. The direct
participation of children in armed conflict is prohibited in military
law. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
RECRUITMENT LAWS
AND REGULATIONS
* The minimum age
for conscription is 18 years. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing Report of Belarus to the UN CRC, 29
June 1993)
|
| Belgium
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
*
Voluntary recruitment is possible from 16 years of age. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing a telephone conversation, dated
8 September 1999.)
*
The minimum age for conscription is 18 years. (Guy Goodwin-Gill and Ilene Cohn, Child Soldiers, The Role of Children in Armed Conflicts, A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994)
NOTES
ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
*
There are indications of under-18s in government armed forces as certain
ranks may enlist voluntarily from the age of 16. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
NOTES ON FOREIGN OPPOSITION GROUPS
* On 22 November 1998,
the criminal police of Hanover reported that 3 children had been trained
by the PKK for guerrilla warfare in camps in the Netherlands and Belgium.
(CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing GfbV, "GfbV appelliert an Bundesregierung:
Sorgen Sie für die Rückkehr der von der PKK in Deutschland entführten kurdischen
Minderjährigen in ihren Familien!", 23 November 1998)
|
| Belize
|
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT
FORCES
* There are
no indications of under-18s in government armed forces. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Benin
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
*
Volunteers may be accepted from 18 years of age. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing information obtained by the Swedish Consulate
in Porto Novo through official sources in Benin)
NOTES
ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
*
There are no indications of under-18s in government armed forces. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
*
The government maintains that it does not recruit under-18s. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing Ambassador of Benin in Brussels, 10 December
1998)
* There is no underage
recruitment into the Benin armed forces. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing UNICEF)
* There is no evidence
of any underage troops amongst the 145 troops Benin sent to Guinea Bissau
as part of the West African peace monitoring forces. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999, citing "Benin send troops to Guinea Bissau",
Pan-African News Agency, 28 January 1999)
|
| Bhutan
|
GOVERNMENT
FORCE STATISTICS
* In the government armed
forces, which had a total strength of 11,000, 5% or around 550, were children
below 18 years. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing UN, Graca Machel, Case Study on Bhutan,
1994-1995)
* Child soldiers below
the age of 18 formed approximately 10%, or around 200, of the Militias,
the government paramilitary. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing UN, Graca Machel, Case Study on Bhutan,
1994-1995)
* Reports stated that
one detachment of 200 soldiers contained 3 soldiers under 15 years, and
that another 400 contained 15 who were under 16 years. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing UN, Graca Machel, Case Study on Bhutan,
1994-1995)
*
NGO sources claim that up to 30% of militia recruits in the early 1990s
were school and village children. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000)
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
*
The Royal Bhutan Army is an all-volunteer force and the minimum age for
recruitment is 18 years. The practice of conscription was stopped a decade
ago. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000, citing Mission of Bhutan to the UN, September 2000)
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
* A case study on Bhutan conducted for the Machel
Study in 1995 provided testimonies indicating that detachments of
the Royal Bhutan Army contained young boys, some not more than 15
years of age. Testimony from former soldiers now living in the refugee
camps in Nepal suggested a pattern of forced underage recruitment
at that time. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Radda
Barnen Child War database quoting the Machel case study, http://www.rb.se)
*
In September 2000 the Government of Bhutan stated that "the
question of the use of children as combatants … does not arise"
due to the absence of "a war like situation" in Bhutan.
(CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing statement
by Permanent Mission of Bhutan to the United Nations in Geneva,
September 2000)
*
According to one source, children who failed their school examinations
were compelled to join the armed forces; families with more than
three sons were also required to send at least one for military
service. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000
citing Mission of Bhutan to the UN, September 2000)
* A system of Village
Defence Committees is used for local patrolling in the border region. An
Amnesty International delegation heard that children under 18 are regularly
used for such duties. (CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000)
|
| Bolivia
|
GOVERNMENT
FORCES STATISTICS
* Almost half
of Bolivia's armed forces are under 18, including some children
as young as 14. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
* According
to one source, some 40% of the armed forces are under 18, and 50%
of these are under 16. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing letter
by Juan Ramon Quintana, Director, Centro Latinoamericano de Estudios
para la Paz, to the CSC, La Paz, 2/6/99)
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* Bolivian authorities
acknowledged that "although the minimum age for performing military service
is 18 years, when the annual intake into the armed forces cannot be made
up on a voluntary basis, compulsory recruitment is indiscriminate, an occasion
for forcibly recruiting poor adolescents, including some as young as 14,
by means of organised sweeps". (CSUCS,
Americas Report, July 1999)
*
The minimum age for conscription is 21 years. (Guy Goodwin-Gill and Ilene Cohn, Child Soldiers, The Role of Children in Armed Conflicts, A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994)
NOTES ON OPPOSITION GROUPS
* Tupac Katari Guerrilla
Army (EGTK), which was believed to have disappeared in 1992, appears to
be still in existence in rural areas and is thought to be in contact with
the rebels of the Chilean Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR). These
groups have recruited young, educated and marginalised Indians, using the
same methods as Shining Path for their recruitment. (CSUCS,
Americas Report, July 1999, citing J. M. Balencie and A. de La Grange,
Mondes rebelles, 1999)
|
| Bosnia
and Herzegovina |
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
*
It is asserted that voluntary recruitment can take place for young men
in the calendar year when they turn 17 i.e., at the age of 16. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing UNICEF, 22 June 1999)
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT
FORCES
* According to UNICEF,
children under 18 years were not obliged to participate in military forces,
very few of them joined the military forces as volunteers, and they were
accepted only if they were older than 16 years. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing information
provided by UNICEF, 22/6/99)
* It is claimed that all men above the age of 18 are liable for military
service. This has been confirmed by UNICEF. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing War Resisters' International, The CONCODOC
Project, 1998)
NOTES FROM PREVIOUS
ARMED CONFLICTS
* According
to sources including the UN, some 3,000 to 4,000 children participated
in hostilities between 1992-1995 in the former Yugoslavia, the vast
majority in Bosnia and Croatia. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Brett
and McCallin op. cit quoting UN Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict
on Children)
* One source
estimated that more than 20,000 children between 13 and 16 were
involved in the conflict (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing N. Dokovska,
Journalists for the Rights of Women, Children and the Environment)
* The Croatian Ministry
of Defence strongly denied such recruitment occurred. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing remarks to
the draft report 'The Use of Children as Soldiers in Europe', communication
to the CSC, 12/11/99.)
*
The country case study conducted for the UN Study on the Impact of Armed
Conflict on Children quoted one instance of a 10-year-old child taking
part in the hostilities. Rädda Barnen's Swedish magazine, Barnen och vi,
also quoted the enrolment of children as young as 11 in the regular forces.
In 1995, the magazine contained an interview with a 15-year-old from Bosnia-Herzegovina
who became a soldier during the war. (CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing Rädda Barnen, Children of War, No.
2/96.)
* According to UNICEF,
during the war from 1992 to 1995, "children under 18 were not obliged to
participate in military forces" and "very few of them joined the military
forces as volunteers and they were accepted only if they were older than
16." This is however is contested by another source, which alleges that
between 3,000 and 4,000 children participated in the 1992-1995 war in the
former territory of Yugoslavia, the vast majority in Bosnia and Croatia.
(CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing UN Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict
on Children)
|
| Botswana
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* Recruitment into
the armed forces is on a voluntary basis for over 18 years of age. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999)
NOTES
ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
* While there
is currently no evidence of under-18s in government armed forces,
the lack of formal age qualification for volunteers indicates that
under-18s could be enlisted. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
*
There is no evidence of underage recruitment taking place. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999)
*
In September 1998, Botswana sent troops to Lesotho as part of the peacekeeping
mission of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). There is
no evidence that any underage soldiers were among the Botswana contingent.
(CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999)
|
| Brazil
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* The minimum
age for conscription is 19 years. (Guy Goodwin-Gill and Ilene Cohn, Child Soldiers, The Role of Children in Armed Conflicts, A Study on Behalf of the Henry Dunant Institute, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994)
NOTES ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
* There are indications of under-18s in government armed forces
as the minimum age of voluntary recruitment is 17. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Brunei
Darussalam |
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* The government declared
in 1989 that it had no plans to introduce compulsory military service.
(CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000)
NOTES ON
GOVERNMENT FORCES
* It is not
known if there are under-18s in government armed forces due to insufficient
information regarding recruitment age. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Bulgaria
|
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* All Bulgarian men
are subject to military service after turning 18 and the law does not provide
for the possibility of accepting volunteers in the army at a lower age.
(CSUCS,
Europe Report, October 1999, citing Report of Bulgaria to the UN CRC, 12
October 1995)
NOTES
ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
* There are no indications of under-18s in government armed forces.
(CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001)
|
| Burkina
Faso |
RECRUITMENT
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
* The minimum
age for voluntary enlistment in the armed forces is 20 years, whereas
the minimum age of conscription is 18. (CSUCS,
Africa Report, April 1999)
GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
* According to Rädda Barnen the military school Prytanée
militaire of Kadiogo accepts children between ages 11 and 13, but
pupils are not members of the armed forces. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001, 12 June 2001 citing Rädda
Barnen)
|
| Burma
(Myanmar) |
NATIONAL
STATISTICS
* The total number
of child soldiers is estimated to be greater than 50 000. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing Rachel Brett and Margaret McCallin, Children:
The Invisible Soldiers, 1998; MTA/UWSA: based on minimum figure of 10%
quoted for other opposition groups known to use child soldiers)
RECRUITMENT LAWS
AND STATISTICS
* In the Shan State,
armed groups of the Shan ethnic minority have also used children as soldiers.
In February 2001, a gathering of representatives of the Restoration Council
of Shan State and Shan State Army at Loi Taileng unanimously passed a resolution
that the draft age would henceforth be 18-45 in place of 16-40 as practiced
earlier. (CSUCS, Global Report on Child Soldiers
- 2001 citing BurmaNet, 6/2/01)
GOVERNMENT
FORCE STATISTICS
* In the case of the
Burmese government, there is no statistical or other data on the recruitment
of children. Since 1999, the size of the armed forces has nearly doubled,
from 180,000 to around 350,000 and anecdotal evidence, supported by the
testimony of refugees and some soldiers themselves, suggests that this increase
has been facilitated by the recruitment of children as young as 13. (Human
Rights Watch/Asia, "Burma: Children's Rights and the Rule of the Law", submission
to the UN CRC, January 1997)
* There are an estimated
25,000 child soldiers in the armed forces. (ICFTU, Free Labour
World, October 1996)
*
Tatmadav, the government armed forces, comprises 10-66% children in each
battalion. (Child
War Rädda Barnen, citing UN, Graca Machel, Case Study on Myanmar, 1994-1995)
OPPOSITION
GROUP STATISTICS
*
The Karen National Liberation Army (armed wing of the KNU) is believed
to recruit many child soldiers. One battalion commander estimated
that there were perhaps 2,000 boy soldiers in the KNLA when it was
at full strength, although KNU forces are now much depleted. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001 citing Radda Barnen, Children
of War, Newsletter No. 1/99 quoting an AP press release, http://www.rb.se)
*
According to UNICEF in the mid-1990s, about 900 of the 5,000 Karenni
Army members were under the age of 15. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001 citing Radda Barnen, Childwar
database quoting The State Of the World's Children 1996,
http://www.rb.se)
COMBINED
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
* Children
have been recruited, voluntarily and forcibly, by governmental armed forces
and armed opposition groups alike. Although reliable and objective information
is difficult to obtain in the case of Myanmar, it is clear that the country
has one of the highest numbers of children within governmental armed forces
in the world, including those under 15. (CSUCS, Global Report
on Child Soldiers - 2001 citing Horeman and Stolwijk op. cit.)
*
Burmese children are frequently used as unpaid porters by the army and
also recruited as soldiers into government and rebel forces. (Rädda
Barnen, Childwar database, citing "Burma: Children's Rights and the Rule
of Law", Human Rights Watch, January 1997)
* In Myanmar, for
instance civilians, including children as young as 10, are forced to porter
for the military and even used as human shields and minesweepers: the International
Labour Organisation reported in 1999 that children had been forced to sweep
roads with tree branches or brooms to detect or detonate mines. (CSUCS,
Global Report on Child Soldiers - 2001 citing Report of ILO Commission
of Inquiry)
NOTES
ON GOVERNMENT FORCES
* Children
are subjected to other forms of militarization, such as the Ye Nyunt
Youth (Brave Sprouts) movement. Boys from the age of 14 years are
placed in training centres where they receive military-style education.
(CSUCS,
Asia Report, July 2000)
* The army
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