Our Child Soldiers Campaign News
In the official reports made to the UN in 2023 there are still an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in over 20 countries.
Some reports claim that only 17 countries are involved in the practice whereas Child Soldiers International claim that about 50 Nations are still involved with the practice.
The vastly differing figures depend on several different factors.
According to the UN, a 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..."
But according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, child soldiers are, "...children under the age of *15* used directly in armed conflict." (massive difference.)
Other treaties have been drafted on the issue but none of them explicitly forbids the indirect participation of children in hostilities or from contributing to a military operation in a stand-off position - away from the front line.
There is a big difference between a 15 year old and an 18 year old - but the UN and the ICC have different purposes. It is like the comparison between Civil Law and Criminal Law.
UN Charters and Conventions are like Civil Law - which aims to resolve disputes and protect individual rights.
They are more advisory and pitch at the level of setting an example for the ideal, rather than being punitive.
The ICC operates at the level of Criminal Law - with more easily provable boundaries needed for successful prosecutions on crimes and offences committed.
Other treaties drafted have tried to bridge the gap between the two positions in an attempt to gain more consensus.
This explains the vastly different figures from the agencies on the ground reporting from the different treaties that exist.
Ammunition providers are complicit.
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