Child Soldiers
Transcript: leaders have found throughout history that children can be taught bloodthirsty behavior and to be perfect killing machines children are easily manipulated, intensely loyal, fearless and in endless supply they are trained, sent out to kill and often given drugs some children as young as 8 become fighters, sex slaves, spies and human shields Boys are placed in combat situations, used as spies, messengers, porters, servants or to lay or clear landmines Girls in particular are at risk of rape and sexual abuse In the last ten years two million children have been killed in conflict Child Soldiers Background Hundreds of thousands of children are recruited into government armed forces, paramilitaries, civil militia and other armed groups Often they are abducted at school, on the streets or at home, others enlist "voluntarily", usually because they see few alternatives child soldiers are robbed of their childhood and exposed to terrible dangers and to psychological and physical suffering Child Soldiers Uganda - Over the past twenty years, the rebel Lord's Resistance Army has abducted more than 30,000 boys and girls as soldiers The Uganda People's Defense Force has recruited small numbers of children into its forces as young as 13 Sources www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/weekinreview/29gett.html?...all&_r=0 Child Soldiers http://www.washingtonpost.com/.../child-soldiers.../gIQAl2FNCS_blog.htm www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/children-s-rights/child-soldiers en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children Child soldiers today The military use of children takes three forms: children can take direct part in hostilities (child soldiers) they can be used in support roles such as porters or spies they can be used for political advantage as human shields Under international law, the participation of children under 18 in armed conflict is generally prohibited, and the recruitment and use of children under 15 is a war crime By : Helen Westlake & Ema Vikic-Topic Child Soldiers