Military Use of Children

Child Slavery: Child Soldiers of Africa

Military use of children takes three forms: Children can take direct part in child-soldiers, or they can be used in support roles such as spies, messangers, look-outs and sexual slaves; or they can be used for political advantages either as human shields or propaganda. Throughout history and in many cultures, children have been greatly involved in military campaigns even when some of these practices were supposedly against cultural morals. Since the 1970's, a number of children in international conflicts have come into effect that try to limit the participation of children in armed conflicts.

War Crimes: Opinion is currently divided on whether children should be prosecuted for commiting war crimes. International law does not prohibit the prosecution of children who commit war crimes, but Article 37 of the "United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child" does limit the punishment that a child can receive including "Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possiblity of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age."