Child Soldiers

In 2015, some 300,000 child soldiers are estimated to have been involved in armed conflict around the world, of whom around one-third were forcibly recruited. This entry reviews briefly how a child is defined in international agreements; discusses the individual, cultural, and structural reasons why children become soldiers; and summarizes their various roles and the issue of their criminal responsibility in court. It concludes with an overview of the economic aspects of using child soldiers.

A series of international conferences have defined a child as anyone under the age of 18, including the Optional Protocol of 2000 (on the [Page 343]Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict) to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 1997, a symposium sponsored by the United Nations Children’s ...