How does the US respond to child soldiers?
The U.S. Response Through the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA), the United States implemented national legislation to prohibit arms transfers and military training to countries identified by the State Department as having recruited and used child soldiers in national militaries or government-supported armed groups.
When did the US stop using child soldiers?
The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 prohibits governments using child soldiers from receiving US foreign military financing, military training, and several other categories of US military assistance.
What steps need to be taken to rehabilitate child soldiers?
Programs that aim to rehabilitate and reintegrate child soldiers, such as those sponsored by UNICEF, often emphasise three components: family reunification/community network, psychological support, and education/economic opportunity.
What happens to former child soldiers?
Former child soldiers experience mental health problems as a result of their experiences, but earning acceptance from families and communities shapes the lives of these men and women and shows promise to help them to continue to improve emotionally and socially, according to the groundbreaking study, published in the …
What duties might a child soldier have to perform?
Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. These boys and girls, some as young as 8 years old, serve in government forces and armed opposition groups. They may fight on the front lines, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts.
What were child soldiers used for?
Child soldiers are boys and girls who are often abducted and used as combatants, forced to act as human shields or conduct executions, deployed as suicide bombers, or used to make or transport explosives. Other roles include working as guards, spies, messengers, porters, cooks or domestic servants.
What are some reasons countries use child soldiers?
Many children are forcibly recruited and used by armed forces or groups but others are pushed into joining armed groups or forces due to socio-economic factors such as extreme poverty or a lack of access to education.
Why do child soldiers need rehabilitation?
Medical treatment is instrumental in getting former child soldiers rehabilitated and reintegrated. The WHO states that along with war-related injuries: land mines, stabbing and gun shot wounds, children will also have common viruses and diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, yellow fever, etc.
What are some challenges faced by child soldiers when reintegrating into society?
The other challenge encountered in reintegrating child soldiers back in the community is social perceptions. Returnees usually face rejection and stigmatization when the community knows or suspects the child soldiers were involved in raids or killings.
What caused child soldiers?
Reasons child soldiers are recruited Combined with questions of poverty, the lack of access to education or training, discrimination, and vulnerability, children are easy targets for recruitment by armed groups. Revenge, community identity, and ideology can also influence children.