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Child Soldiers International estimates that there are 100,000 child soldiers in the world. The children are forcibly recruited by states and non-governmental organizations to serve in 18 armed conflicts. According to the UN, the majority of these children were under the age of 15 in 2017, and 40% of them were girls.
Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are among the countries that witness a concerning prevalence of this phenomenon.
These statistics do not include data on indoctrination-based recruitment for military training of children who remain with their families, as is the case in the Tindouf Camps (in Algeria), whose management is delegated by the Algerian State to the Polisario without any guarantees that this very management is carried out according to international law, especially human rights and child rights conventions.
International law is clear regarding the recruitment of children for armed conflicts. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict states in articles 1 and 2 that states shall ensure that children under the age of 18 “do not take direct part in hostilities” and that they are not recruited into their armed forces.
The recruitment of children in armed conflicts is one of the most egregious violations of children’s rights, according to a study performed by the NGO World Vision titled “No Choice: It Takes a World to End the Use of Child Soldiers: A Research Report” (2019). The consequences for the child’s growth, his/her family, and his/her community, according to the report’s authors, can be disastrous.
Recruitment is often forced, but it can also be a personal or family decision. In Africa and elsewhere, there are push and pull factors that contribute to the phenomenon’s complexity. It is difficult to pinpoint a single factor that is “in favor” of a child’s enrollment in an armed conflict.
The benefits of being a member of an armed militia (including clothing, training, and food) entice children in Algeria’s Tindouf Camps to the Polisario training fields. Children (and their families) are forced to seek opportunities in armed activities due to a lack of prospects in a space controlled by the Algerian army (which “warehouses” Sahrawi refugees in violation of the Geneva Convention on the Rights of Refugees).
Armed groups are part of the daily lives of local communities; child recruitment is almost a natural occurrence in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America; if basic services are lacking, as they are in many conflict areas, children and their families find “value in armed groups.”.
In Africa and around the world, violence is a common element in the life of a child soldier.
Conflict, as well as the “normalization of violence” that occurs in conflict-affected societies, exacerbates other factors that are either causes or effects of the prevalence of violence. “Family separation or breakdown, the loss of a source of income, school closures or reduced functionality, general safety or physical protection concerns, lack of work opportunities for older children or safe and structured recreational spaces, gender norms, poverty, and inequality” are just a few of these factors.
These push elements “complement” the pull factors, including the fact that the armed organization provides a “feeling of belonging” that is ordinarily granted by the community, the family, or the school, but that is “interrupted by the conflict.” The vicious spiral is a self-fulfilling prophecy: violence undermines “social bonds,” forcing the weak to seek protection and opportunities with the armed group.
The gender factor in the recruitment of children by armed organizations is also addressed in the World Vision report. Even though boys are more attracted to armed conflicts, girls often join as “wives,” “girlfriends,” or “sex companions.”
Boko Haram had kidnapped girls in Nigeria to sell or convert to “sex slaves” or victims of forced marriage.
World Vision points to as scarcity of literature on preventative strategies, particularly at the family and community levels. More often, it is local organizations that set up an alarm system (through cell phones). They work with concerned people and their families to develop alternatives that can make a difference. Churches play an essential role as well.
The report urged “governments, donors, UN agencies and NGOs to prioritize child protection as part of the humanitarian effort.”
It is necessary to “create a secure environment around the family home,” in order to reduce the vulnerabilities that encourage children to be recruited into armed conflicts. There must be a focus on the children and their families’ needs (and the risks they face). Strengthening community efforts should go through a better understanding of the problem and available prevention strategies, as well as on how these efforts can contribute to the overall goal of peace and security.
Lastly, states such as Algeria must fulfill their international obligations, especially since the North African country has ratified the Child Rights Conventions and Protocols (see the review made by the Algerian government to the Human Rights Council, “The Committee Examines the Report Submitted by Algeria under the Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict,” Geneva, May 17, 2018).
The Algerian state, not the Polisario, should be in charge of the administration of Tindouf camps, because the site where Sahrawi refugees are “warehoused” is on Algerian soil. Algeria is the only party legally responsible, before the international community, for the well-being of the refugees (along with their children) “living” on its soil.
The Algerian authorities are also responsible for counting and identifying Sahrawi refugees, something that the UN Security Council and the UNHCR have never ceased to demand. As part of this census, it would be important to have a sense of how many children are or have been used as child soldiers by the Polisario. The case of child soldiers in the Tindouf camps is an Algerian issue that can only be resolved by the Algerian government.
The case of the Polisario child soldiers indicates that the issue of child soldiers in Africa and throughout the World is complex and dependent on each country’s political context.
Over the medium and long terms, the sociology of violence in a given location may make the phenomenon more complicated or more or less manageable. Governments, donors, NGOs, and community organizations working together with families, communities, and local actors can help in alleviating the vulnerabilities that exacerbate the “push” factors.
Everyone has a role to play in the protection of children. To protect a child is to secure an entire community’s well-being and future.
