Too Young to Fight

Last week I attended a lecture on child soldiers in Africa at Georgetown University. The speaker was Ms. Veronica Eragu Bichetero, a lawyer for the Courts of Judicature of Uganda. Bichetero is also a Senior Fellow with the United States Institute of Peace and studies the role of women in peacekeeping in Africa, specifically the Great Lakes region. She spoke about the factors that led to the use of children in armed conflict and how things have changed. Men used to fight the wars, while women played a role as peacemakers. Civilians were not involved in the conflicts. The conditions changed after independence. Presidents started writing their own constitutions and staying in power longer and longer. Clashes between tribal groups and the lack of a proper definition of a "child" have also contributed to the unrest. While international norm states that a child cannot be a soldier until age 18, many of these cultures have differing views of adulthood. The conflict erupting throughout their regions also affects the role of a child within the society.   

Wars have raged throughout the region, and still continue today in Somalia, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Groups in each of these countries lure children to join or kidnap them from their villages. Bichetero said that some groups in Somalia are even enticing children to join by offering them cell phones. Children as young as five are affected by these conflicts. The younger children are sold for guns, while the older male children are thrown into combat and the females are taken as wives by the commanders. The girls are beaten, abused, and raped. They contract diseases and many become pregnant when they are still just children themselves. The children are stripped of their identities and taught a common language as to not form bonds with other children who might share the language of their village. The children are also forced to prove their loyalty. Bichetero said that this usually comes in the form of the child soldier being forced to kill a fellow child who has attempted to flee. It is not hard to imagine that these children are traumatized.

The question is what can be done for these children. Bichetero has traveled to the DRC herself to confront the commanders of these rebel forces. She negotiated and pleaded with them to let the children go, but to no avail. There are international frameworks that are supposed to protect these children, such as  the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the support of the United Nations Children's Fund protocol. Unfortunately, as Bichetero says, the African Union does not have much enforcement power. At the United Nations level there are many special representatives who could assist with efforts to stop the recruitment of children into armed conflict. Bichetero feels that they could be doing much more, as some have never even visited the area. She says that the first step will be to advocate for zero tolerance for child soldiers. The governments of these African countries must pass legislation, securing 18 as the legal age for a child to engage in combat.  

It is also important for the community to become engaged. Not just local communities, but also the global family. Invisible Children's Kony 2012 campaign has done an amazing job of spreading awareness of child soldiers. It has also gained public criticism for simplifying complicated issues and giving viewers the impression that African governments haven't taken action against Kony. Bichetero formally represented the Humans Rights Commission during peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army. She is very close to this issue and cautions that the notoriety that Joseph Kony is receiving from the campaign is exactly what he wants. We want to know what you think: Is the impact of Kony 2012 positive or negative?