Children - Children & War

Child Soldiers - In the firing line

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"Any fighter or children suspected of being reluctant to do the killings was badly beaten." -- a former child soldier kidnapped by the RUF in Sierra Leone when he was about eight years old.

In January 2000, the governments of the world agreed to ban the use of children in combat. This treaty, called the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, came into force on February 12, 2002. Canada was the first government to ratify.

The Optional Protocol requires governments to take all feasible measures to ensure that children under the age of 18 do not take part in hostilities. All compulsory recruitment - or conscription - of under-18-year-olds is banned, and governments are required to raise the age of voluntary recruitment to a minimum of 16. Unusually, the Optional Protocol also applies to armed groups, banning all military recruitment (voluntary or compulsory) and use of children under 18.

Over one hundred governments have already signed the Protocol but not yet made a final legal commitment by ratifying. These include: Colombia, Cuba and Indonesia.

Take action:

Please write to the diplomatic representatives of these countries:

• Commending their governments for having signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
• Urging them to carry through on their commitment by ratifying the Optional Protocol without reservations.

Write to:

Mr Guillermo Mejia Castillo
Minister-Counsellor and Chargé d'Affaires
Embassy of Colombia
360 Albert Street, Suite 1002
Ottawa, Ontario
K1R 7X7
Fax: (613) 230-4416

His Excellency C. Fernandez De Cossio Dominguez, Ambassador
Embassy of the Republic of Cuba
388 Main Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 1E3
Fax: (613) 563-0068

His Excellency Eki Syachrudin, Ambassador
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
55 Parkdale Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1Y 1E5
Fax: (613) 724-1105

Salutation for all: Your Excellency

Related Appeal

Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Living in the midst of war

For More Information

Please see: Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

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