FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Children Affected by Armed Conflict
Overview
The use of child soldiers is well documented. Over 300,000 children under the age of 18 are fighting as soldiers in over 30 countries for government forces or armed groups. While some child soldiers are as young as 7, most are between the ages of 14 and 18 and many others are between the ages of 10 and 14. Many are abducted from their families or from the streets. Some are abducted from schools. Other children are driven into armed forces by poverty or alienation from their families and communities. Orphans, refugees and other displaced children are particularly at risk.
The involvement of children in armed conflict exposes them to the risk of death and serious injury. Many times the experience can leave children traumatized and hinder efforts to readapt to ordinary life. Children that do not directly participate in fighting but are attached to armed units also engage in hazardous work such as carrying heavy loads and walking long distances. Like children involved in armed conflict and children attached to armed units, children who live in areas experiencing armed conflict frequently miss out on years of education and other opportunities to develop social and economic skills. They are exposed to a variety of other risks, including HIV/AIDS and, in the case of girls, pregnancy and early motherhood.
Key International Agreements
The "forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict" is recognized as one of the worst forms of child labor under International Labor Organization Convention No. 182, which the United States ratified in 1999.
In December 2002, the United States also ratified the UN Optional Protocol on the Use of Children in Armed Conflict, which raises the minimum compulsory recruitment age to 18 for service in State Party armed forces. The Optional Protocol also calls on ratifying governments to work to ensure that members of their armed forces who are under 18 do not take direct part in hostilities, and it promotes international cooperation in the rehabilitation and social integration of victims of acts contrary to the protocol.
