Child Protection Issue Brief - Child Recruitment

The right to be protected and cared for is a right of all children who are affected by armed conflict and is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 38); this includes prevention and response to child recruitment. However, despite growing international attention and wide condemnation of the practice, the recruitment and use of children in conflict continues across the world. Children are used
in a number of ways, including as direct combatants and in active support roles such as spies, porters, informants, or for sexual purposes. Many children recruited into armed groups die or are permanently disabled as a result of their experiences. For most, the physical, emotional and developmental harm is long lasting.
In some situations, children “voluntarily” take part in conflict when they are vulnerable to the false promises of enlisting and not aware of the dangers and abuses they will be subjected to. In other situations, children are forced into armed groups through threats and violence. In either case, the consequences for the child are detrimental and long-lasting. Children risk being stigmatized and cut off from their communities and families, and lose the opportunity to attend school and develop intellectually.