Background Info on Child Soldiers

Child Soldiers today are usually thought of as only existing in the African continent. As the blog continues, you will know that there are several other areas around the world that use children as a military tactic. Before we begin to list these places, we must first understand what a child soldier is. According to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) a child soldier is "any child—boy or girl—under eighteen years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity." With that said, we can now move on to name the areas that contain the use of child soldiers. Africa, is the most known area in the world that has child soldiers. The countries in Africa with the most are: Burundi, Liberia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Other areas around the world include Colombia in South America, and Myanmar in South Asia. 

An estimated 300,000 children are believed to be in war, worldwide. The overwhelming reality that there are so many children in today's wars is a source of grief, and supplies numerous questions such as: How can children be effective soldiers? and, How long have child soldiers existed? 

The practice of having children in a military can be seen throughout the coarse of history. The most notable account would be Hitler's Nazi Youth that were used throughout World War II. The way that the children are treated has definitely changed since then. Instead of having "the honor" of being a Nazi Youth, as many believed, child soldiers today are treated as cheap warriors who are given drugs in order to forget memories, pain, and fear when in combat.

Children in areas where there is war can be easily manipulated into becoming child soldiers. In areas with a lot of conflict, there are many children who are left orphaned and or are killed by wars around them. They are left with the only choice of joining the war in order to survive. Hence, many child soldiers are either voluntary, or are forced when their towns and villages are raided by rebel troops. Warlords believe that child soldiers can be useful in many ways. The children are used as spies, combatants, and water and ammunition carriers.

Sources: http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/chilsold.htm

http://www.cfr.org/publication/9331/child_soldiers_around_the_world.html