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.
The most important reason why child soldiers should be granted amnesty is because it is not their will to commit these crimes, it is simply being forced into act they would never commit unless their life was on the line. Emma Gordon, writer on E-international Relations Students says, “Children are often abducted at a young age, brutally initiated and forced to commit heinous atrocities, they are undoubtedly victims of these conflicts” (2011). Gordon uses the word “abducted” which shows that most if not all of child soldiers don’t chose to live that way. Additionally, the bulletin health
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Even though this may be true, it still suggests that the acts these children are committing are not their doing but instead the orders of their officers. The extraordinary circumstances that Wessells talks about forces the kids to fight for their lives. Young children are taught to act as killing machines, destroying anything in their path. That’s a far world away from playing soccer with friends or holding a lemonade stand. Therefore, while these kids are off fighting to stay alive, people in charge still seem to be to be taking the easy way out and using jail time as the first answer instead of