child soldiers

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Africa houses the largest population of child soldiers based on the prevalence of armed conflict in the continent. Some of the regions where child soldiers have become the norm rather than the exception include Chad, Somalia, Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Based on the statistics developed by the United Nations in the year 2013, eight government armies had made the commitment to stop the process of child recruitment for the use of warfare (Tiefenbrun 420). Although statistics are high in the African continent, other regions of the world such as Bahrain, Afghanistan and the greater Asia and oceanic areas abduct and force children into submission through acts of cruelty. These are violence and forced killings, while at other instances, some children join willingly in a bid to fight poverty, causes of revenge, and sometimes in defense of their neighborhoods and villages (Macmulin 460) . Child recruitment is an unacceptable practice and must relevant parties and actors must work together to stop it at any cost.
It easy to recruit child soldiers because of their vulnerability, which makes it easy to manipulate and brainwash. Children located at war torn regions of the world are easily intimidated by their older counterparts, and because they do not have much control over their situations, older soldiers take advantage of their humility (Tiefenbrun 419). In other instances, parents or older siblings who were in high probability recruited themselves as child soldiers sacrifice younger children as a means of making extra money for survival or as a way of ensuring their own security (Tiefenbrun 431). This cycle continues over time, and sadly, in region often ravaged by war, the practice has become accepted and tolerated.
Child s...

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...reements have collaborated to ensure that recruitment of children soldiers is entirely eliminated. These agreements focus on integrating child soldiers into the community through demobilizing and disarming them in order to provide them with a socially acceptable lifestyle.

Works Cited
Jézéquel, Jean-Hervé. Child Soldiers in Africa: A Singular Phenomenon? On the necessity of a historical perspective. (2006).
Macmulin, Colin. Investigating Psychosocial Adjustment of Former Child Soldiers in
Sierra Leone and Uganda. Oxford Journals, journal of refugees’ studies. (2004)17 (4): 460-472.

Tiefenbrun, Susan. Child Soldiers, Slavery and the Trafficking of Children. (2007). 31 (2):
417-439
Young, Aaron. Preventing, Demobilizing,] Rehabilitating, and Reintegrating Child
Soldiers in African Conflicts. The journal of international policy solutions. (2007) (4): 1-24

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