Stop the Use of Children in War

Child Soldier: any person below the age of 18 years who is or has been recruited by an armed force or group and used in any capacity such as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. In recent years significant progress has been made in developing an international legal and policy framework for protecting children from involvement in armed conflict, in which governments have ratified or agreed to become legally bound by a series of international laws banning the use of child soldiers in armed conflict. While these successes are important, and are not meant to be overlooked, there are still approximately 250,000 child soldiers worldwide fighting in at least 14 armed conflicts around the world, in which they are often recruited through force or deception and are exposed to violence alongside many human rights abuses. They are denied their childhood, a time of innocence and growth, and are forced to commit horrific and violent acts, while many girls (approximately 40\% of child soldiers are girls) are sexually exploited. They are used as weapons of war and we, the Canadian community, will no longer let these young individuals live with the consequences of death, injury, emotional and physical trauma, isolation and guilt.

Contributing factors to joining armed groups include poverty, displacement, separation from family, ethnic conflict, political unrest, severely restricted social and economic opportunities, and improvements in weapon technology, along with the proliferation of small arms which are easily used by children in combat. Many times recruitment equals the only means of survival for many of these children. The problem is most critical in Africa, but children are used as soldiers in various Asian countries and in parts of Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

The international community, including Canada, has taken strides towards eliminating the use of children under the age of 18 in war through such treatys as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict by the United Nations General Assembly. Implemented in 2000, and ratified by more than 130 countries today, the goal is to achieve universal ratification by 2012 to establish a moral agreement that no child should take part in war, be involuntarily recruited and that former child soldiers be assisted by their governments with reintegration into their communities. We said we would never allow this to happen again after the Rwanda Genocide in 1994 and here we stand watching it unfold once again before our eyes. There is a warrant out for the arrest of Joseph Kony, head of Ugandas Lords Resistance Army who employed thousands of child soldiers, but he is yet to have been found and is still on the run. Mistakes are made for a reason; so we can learn from them and not repeat them. Now is the time to remember that and not allow history to continue to repeat itself at the cost of the children.

With the growing awareness of this deplorable situation and a global movement towards active engagement, this signed petition acts as both a confirmation of the Canadian community behind the Canadian government and international communitys continued involvement in the elimination of child soldiers; while urging the government to not only continue this endeavour but to take further steps in becoming a global leader amongst fellow countries in order to achieve universal ratification. For Canada to not only become a greater influence on the global community and stand up for the rights of children around the world, but to work alongside these communities to develop appropriate and effective policies that will make clear that the use of children in war is strictly prohibited (and punishable) and to help these communities improve and stabilize current political, economic, social and physical conditions. This will be a step towards the elimination of the recruitment and kidnapping of children in the first place and will allow the successful reintegration of former child soldiers so they will not be returning to conditions that may entice re-recruitment. Current DDR programs (demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration) need increased funds and resources, and need to be not only tailored to gender-specific experiences but also focus on the community itself that these children come from.

We, the Canadian community, have the responsibility to look out for and protect all children and we want to inform the Canadian government that we will no longer tolerate the use of children as weapons in war and will stand together as one to promote a global awareness of this issue and call upon the international community to take a stand with us to restore these young soldiers back to what they are and should be: children.

We will no longer stand aside and let history repeat itself. We call upon the government to stand with us in the promotion of universal child rights and to stop the use of child soldiers. The international community will be held accountable for what happens and we, in turn, will hold the Canadian government accountable for their part and involvement in eliminating the use of children in war and giving the communities the tools and opportunity to help themselves. We will not watch the outcome of Rwanda again. We envision in our time; among our generation and the next; the elimination of child soldiers and restoration of children back to children in every part of the globe.