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Do Child Soldiers Deserve Amnesty?

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There is a huge debate that has been going on for years. The topic: do child soldiers deserve amnesty? There are thousands of children out there today who are suffering from being forced to fight. Many may not know it, but these children are forced to live in dirt filled, humid, dry shacks. These are not the best living conditions. The commanders in charge may not realise why they are fighting. In some developing countries they are fighting for a share of the governments gold, money, and other vast resources. When considering the question of child combatants it’s important to be specific, because there are many conditions that follow the debate of this topic. Child soldiers deserve amnesty, because they were already tortured, face …show more content…

These children were abducted from their families, and forced to do unimaginable tasks. Unicef.org said “The LRA has waged a decade-long guerilla war in northern Uganda and has abducted nearly 10,000 children to be used as soldiers, porters and sex slaves” (para. 5). These small innocent children were taken from their home towns and villages to carry these hardships on their backs. Combatants are unwillingly forced into battle. Adolescents were used to perform various jobs. There are many possible jobs child combatants could do, for example, “They serve as porters or cooks, guards, messengers or spies. Many are pressed into combat, where they may be forced to the front lines or sent into minefields ahead of older troops. Children have also been used for suicide missions. In some conflicts, girls are raped, or given to military commanders as ‘wives’” (HumanRightsWatch.org Para. 1). Being a child soldier means you have your rights taken away. Some innocent girls are horrifically mistreated on purpose. After all these horrific duties it is no wonder innocent children face various mental illnesses after

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