ipl-logo

Child Soldier Accountability

1682 Words7 Pages

In the last decade, progress has been made in establishing criminal responsibility for the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The Child Soldier Accountability Act is a positive next step as it would enable the US to prosecute military commanders who recruit or use child soldiers under the age of 15, whether committed here or abroad by either US citizens or non-citizens present in the United States.
Human Rights Watch has investigated the recruitment and use of children as soldiers in over a dozen countries since 1994. We have documented the recruitment of children as young as eight into both paramilitary and guerilla forces in Colombia, the kidnapping of children by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, including the use of girls …show more content…

Here in the United States, the Federal Criminal Code currently does not address the issue of child recruitment, nor does it allow prosecution of an individual who has recruited or used child soldiers in another country and then attempts to take safe haven in this country.
The Child Soldier Accountability Act would address this gap. It would make it a federal crime to recruit or use child soldiers under the age of 15, and allow the prosecution of individuals for this crime, whether committed here or abroad by either US citizens or non-citizens present in the United States. The bill imposes penalties of up to 20 years to life in prison, and also allows the US to deport or deny entry to individuals who have recruited children as soldiers. The adoption of this legislation would provide an important avenue to hold these perpetrators …show more content…

For example, Chapter 113c of Title 18, the Crimes and Criminal Procedure of the US Code makes it a crime for torture to be committed abroad irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender where the alleged offender is present in the US. The provision imposes severe criminal penalties on “whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture.” Jurisdiction over this crime applies whether the alleged offender is a national of the United States, or is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender. (Sec. 2340A.) The first person to be charged under this law, Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, was indicted in December 2006 and is currently facing trial in Miami.
Another precedent, Mr. Chairman, is the Genocide Accountability Act, which was signed into law on December 21, 2007. This act, which Human Rights Watch supported, amends the Genocide Convention Implementation Act to allow prosecution of non-US nationals who are in the US for acts of genocide committed outside the United States.
Mr. Chairman, we were very encouraged to see the Child Soldier Accountability Act adopted unanimously by the US Senate in December 2007. We believe this demonstrates the broad, bi-partisan concern regarding the global scourge of child recruitment, and the desire by members of both parties to effectively

Show More
Related

Clay Dilham In Yukon During The Gold Rush

136 Words | 1 Pages

In Yukon during the gold rush, a miner named Clay Dilham goes on a search for firewood while leaving his partner doing supper. During his journey, he had spotted a dead tree in the side of a a icy hill. He must climb “up the slide” to reach the tree, although he did not realize how treacherous the way down could be. He had experienced so many obstacles that he had decided that the best way down is going up the hill, which is still not that easy. After many hours, he had finally reached the top which had used much of his energy.

Read More

Book Report On A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

869 Words | 4 Pages

There is a problem in the world and something needs to be done of it. There are children, primarily in Africa, that are forced to massacre innocent men and women. These kids are called child soldiers. Child soldiers are kids who are associated in war. A popular book about child soldier is an autobiography by Ishmael Beah called A Long Way Gone.

Read More

What Are The Effects Of Child Soldiers In A Long Way Gone

764 Words | 4 Pages

Often referred to as “child soldiers,” these boys and girls suffer extensive forms of exploitation and abuse that are not fully captured by that term”

Read More

Should Child Soldiers Be Granted Amnesty

939 Words | 4 Pages

There are thousands of child soldiers in the world today. These children are stripped from their homes and sent to fight with people twice their age. Many haven’t even had their 11th birthday yet. Although some people say that child soldiers should not be granted amnesty, evidence shows that these children do deserve amnesty, except in cases when the former soldiers show violent behavior after war because children are forced to commit acts of violence and are force addicted to illegal substances so they won’t want to leave.

Read More

The Impacts Of Child Soldiers In The Late 1900's

1689 Words | 7 Pages

To start off, there was never any justice done for the kids who were child soldiers because people weren’t paid for certain jobs they did because of their age. This idea was supported in the article “Armed & Underaged” by

Read More

Should Child Soldiers Be Prosecuted For Their Crimes Essay

868 Words | 4 Pages

In the article Should Child Soldiers be Prosecuted For Their Crimes it says,“if a child is under the age of 15 is considered too young to fight then he or she must be considered too young to be held criminally responsible for serious violations.” This explains how that they are easily manipulated and targeted because they aren't legally responsible to take responsibility for their actions. Each child were held in hostilities and couldn't have to opportunity to not fight. Also in Should Child Soldiers be Prosecuted For Their Crimes a report within the article it says, “ The report says child soldiers should not be prosecuted simply for the association with an armed group of having participation in hostilities.” Children are targeted to be recruited to war because nobody can take responsibility for the

Read More

A Long Way Gone Thesis Statement

868 Words | 4 Pages

The Problem of Child Soldiers “Since 2010, there’s been a 34% rise in the number of children living in conflict-affected areas, plus a staggering 170% rise in the number of reported grave violations committed against children in conflict.”(“Child Soldiers: Childhood's End”). This quote relates to my thesis statement because it shows the percentage of child soldiers that are in danger at a very young age and the rate of children in danger is still on the rise. Child Soldiers are young children that are put into war zones and danger zones at a very young age and have no control over what is going on. In A Long Way Gone the children got brained wash but doing drugs and not knowing they were, and being killed at too young of age by also being introduced to violence at too young of an age.

Read More

Adolf Hitler's Single Story

1280 Words | 6 Pages

In the early 1940s, Adolf Hitler told Germany the single story of his opinions of the Jewish race. His single story led Germany to blame Jews, persecute Jews, and kill Jews. You would think the nation would stand against wrongdoings, but most were brainwashed by Hitler’s perspective, and the rest, cowards. Germany was manipulated to think a certain way, without caring to hear what the Jews had to say, and ultimately reacted in a harmful way to the Jews. You may ask, why is this important?

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Child Soldiers

1646 Words | 7 Pages

An unhealthy obsession with guns, being drugged to make killings seem normal, and being undoubtedly loyal to commanders is only part of what a child soldier is. Child soldiers can be dangerous and make up many armies in war-torn countries. In much of the world, usually in unstable countries, when conflict breaks out, children can quickly be swept up and put on the front lines to fight. Children may carry ten-pound guns and use bullets twice the size of their fingers. Some children are old enough to understand what they are doing, and others have no idea.

Read More

Personal Narrative On Pastor Hiller

353 Words | 2 Pages

The sadness inside of me wanted to get out in a scream or a cry. I started to get misty eyed. Thinking about Pastor Hiller wishing this didn’t happen. Wishing he didn’t die. There were beautiful flowers for him.

Read More

Persuasive Essay On Child Soldiers

1821 Words | 8 Pages

Have you ever imagined growing up on a life of drugs, war, crime, and seeing things that many adults won’t dare to ever see? In many countries around the world, this is what many children have to deal with. There is an occurring issue of people across Africa and parts of Asia using children as soldiers in war. They act and take upon the roles of real combatants, causing the people of the public to act in different ways. It’s been well documented that these children have used guns and war tactics, and committed various illegal and illicit acts of violence.

Read More

Argumentative Essay On Child Soldiers

1422 Words | 6 Pages

Assignment page Video Where many children all over the world merrily and freely live under the protection of the law, for others, this is a distant reality, they live in a world where they’re battling poverty, stripped of their childhood and basic human rights are expunged, they’re the innocent victims of conflict, and war is made to seem their one and only duty, not to mention that these are children no more than 10 years of age. They are put into a situation where it’s to kill or be killed. The United Nations defines a child soldier as, “Any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity.” Since the past 15 years, child soldiers are being used in almost every region of the world. Unlike most children, who go to school, they’re abducted from their families and forced into becoming a child soldier, where living conditions are beyond imaginable.

Read More

Ww1 Child Soldiers

857 Words | 4 Pages

In the world today, there is more than 25 countries who still actively use children in warfare. Child soldiers are human beings under the age of 18 who participate in military actions. They are evidently cheaper to maintain and to train than adult soldiers. They are also more loyal and obedient because the young respect their elders. It has been noted that estimately, 300 thousand children were recruited to fight and perform in war (Child Soldiers.)

Read More

Short Summary: Child Soldiers And The Moral Dilemma

1979 Words | 8 Pages

The child soldiers are aware that they are killing but may not be morally responsible for their actions due to their age, culture, and the conditions that led them to be forcibly turned into juvenile soldiers. Given their youth, the questions is raised about whether they possess mens rea, the guilty mind, to know beyond a reasonable doubt whether they are innocent. In the haze of war, there is no time to know whether the child soldier is acting freely on their own will and in control of their actions. To be viewed as a non-combatant, these juveniles must be unable or unwilling to defend themselves, while these juveniles are able to kill. " Consequently, decision makers in conflict zones, unavoidably, rely on normative and socially constructed conceptions of innocence and vulnerability (Gade 238).

Read More

The Importance Of International Criminal Law

986 Words | 4 Pages

A states right to exercise criminal jurisdiction over all acts committed in its territory and elsewhere by its citizens is an unquestionable part of its sovereignty. However states have different kind of perceptions as to the character of this right. Some states hold that the right is more or less exclusive, while other argues that the right might be shared with others. Some states view sovereignty as a right pertaining only to the states, while others hold that it also pertains to the citizens and implies the right of an individual to resist prosecution outside his or her domestic

Read More

More about Child Soldier Accountability

Related Topics

Open Document