The end of innocence: child soldiers in Africa and international assistance

Abstract

Over 150,000 children under the age of eighteen fight in conflicts across Africa. Some are as young as five years old. Child soldiers are an increasingly common phenomenon in Africa's conflicts. They are not soldiers in the traditional Western sense, and do not normally fight in clear-cut territorial wars. They are abducted from their homes, forced to kill their family and community, are tortured and raped, and are subjected to brutal physical and mental trauma. This thesis introduces the concept of child soldiers, specifically in relation to an African context; it observes the approaches adopted by agencies in assisting child soldiers. It states the need for a contextual and holistic approach in order to understand the question of child soldiers, and for successful demobilisation, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes to occur. Chapter One examines the recruitment and existence of child soldiers, and the effects of conflict on children. It introduces different frameworks for appraising child soldiers, and stresses the need for a holistic approach. Chapter Two focuses on Africa and discusses the types of conflicts involving child soldiers, the effects of age, culture and initiation on child soldiers, and explores the unique features of African conflicts to better understand why children are embroiled in their prosecution. Chapter Three introduces international responses to child soldiers, while Chapter Four considers approaches to demobilisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration programmes and discusses the importance of taking cultural factors into consideration when designing and implementing such programmes.