Who are child soldiers?
Child soldiers are children under the age of 18 that are a member of or attached to government and non-government armed forces or any armed political group.
What do they do?
• Fighting• Laying explosives and
mines• Scouting• Spying• Portering
• Acting as decoys, couriers or guards
• Training• Logistics and support
functions• Cooking and
domestic labour
Child soldiers perform a range of duties including:
How old are child soldiers?
Most child soldiers are between the ages of 14 and 18. Although there have been cases of soldiers being as young as 9 years old.
How did they become soldiers?
VOLUNTEERING
Some child soldiershave volunteered toenlist as a means of
survivalin war torn regions or to
escape poverty.
BY FORCE:Others have been
abductedor forced to join after
seeing family memberstortured or killed by
government forces or armed
groups.
What gender are child soldiers?
Child Soldiers are both boys and girls.
What countries have child soldiers?
Activity• On the map you have been given label the
countries with child soldiers
“The first time I went into battle I was afraid. But after two or three days they forced us to start using cocaine, and then I lost my fear. When I was taking drugs, I never
felt bad on the front. Human blood was the first thing I would have every morning. It was my coffee in the morning… every morning.”
Ibrahim, 16
“They beat all the people there, old and young, they killed them all, nearly 10 people…like dogs they killed them…I
didn’t kill anyone, but I saw them killing…the children who were with them killed
too…with weapons… they made us drink the blood of people, we took the blood from the dead into the bowl and they
made us drink…then when they killed the people they made us eat their liver, their heart, which they took out an sliced and fried…And they made us little ones eat.”
Peruvian woman, recruited
by the Shining Path at age 11
Susan, 16, Uganda
One boy tried to escape, but he was caught. They made him eat a mouthful of red pepper, and five
people were beating him. His hands were tied, and then they made us, the other new captives, kill him with a stick. I felt sick. I knew this boy from before.
We were from the same village. I refused to kill him, and they told me they would shoot me. They pointed a gun at me, so I had to do it. The boy was asking
me, “Why are you doing this?” I said I had no choice. After we killed him, they made us smear blood on
our arms. I felt dizzy. They said we had to do this so we would not fear death, and so we would not try to
escape.”
Why is being a child soldier a violation of a Childs
rights?
• Children have the right to life and to be with their family and be nurtured and respected.
• Child Soldiers do not have these rights
Facts about Child Soldiers
Today there are 300 000
Child Soldiers
Today there are 300 000
Child Soldiers
Child Soldiers are often given drugs
to cope withthe horrors of war
They are often forcedto kill their ownfamily members
Orphans and refugees often see
this as their only means of
survival
They are used to clear landmines
and as human shields
They use AK47’s and M16’s
and grenadesbecause theyare easy to
use