I have a motto: Everything is a spectrum. I find that it is true in many cases and it helps me see things not as black and white, but as a gradient between the two. The issue of child soldiers’ prosecution is complex and doesn’t have an easy answer. Child soldiers must be assessed individually for their responsibility for their actions and their threat in the future and should be given options other than freedom or prison.
Responsibility should fall on whoever knowingly, willingly, and with intent carried out or caused the crime in question. “Most children are forcibly recruited and even when they enlist they may not have thought carefully about their decision or made an informed choice.” (Child Soldiers, Prosecution, 10). In some cases, the children are not responsible for their actions because they are forced to perform them. In this situation the responsibility would fall on their commanders, but not all circumstances are the same. “Many children volunteer
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We have to consider all the aspects of the child soldier cases and not deal with them in a binary way. “The aim should not be punishment of child soldiers but rehabilitation. There are alternatives that achieve this aim better than prosecution.” (Child Soldiers, Prosecution, 11). All child soldier, irrespective of their guilt, need to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. Child soldiers should still be prosecuted, but without black-and-white thinking. “The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, a human-rights group based in London, defines a child soldier as anyone under the age of 18 who is a member of government armed forces or any other armed group.” (Gettleman, 6). This is a reasonable definition, but we shouldn’t make a decision for all the soldiers that fit it. We have to consider all the aspects of child soldiers’ cases and not resort to knee-jerk