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In societies experiencing armed conflict all children and adolescents are inevitably affected. While only a proportion of young people suffer directly through casualty, death or the destruction of their homes and communities, none are spared the effects of the militarisation of the society as a whole. The diversion of national resources from the provision of health and education services to military expenditure is a common feature of nations at war. For example, during the period of civil war in Sri Lanka the percentage of GDP allocated to defence grew from 0.5% of GDP in 1982 to 3.11% in 1992 and 5.3% in 2000. 1 This has caused a massive drain upon resources needed for the provision of basic government services and for the development of the economy and the country’s infrastructure. Twenty years of conflict-related expenditure has been a significant cause of Sri Lanka’s arrested development with the consequence that schools, hospitals, roads, and the water and sanitation network in many parts of the country are in a parlous state. In 1998 the government of Burundi spent 5.8% of GDP on the military. This was almost ten times its spending on health. 2 For nuclear powers, such as India and Pakistan, the disparity between defence and social spending has been even greater. Organisations campaigning against the arms trade, from which the world’s richest countries are the principal beneficiaries, have noted the devastating effect weapons expenditure has on developing economies. To date, however, the impact of such diversion of resources on the health, education and general wellbeing of children in specific conflict-affected countries has not been studied in detail.
Websites:Arms Trade News http://www.clw.org/atop/atn/atnmain.html Campaign Against the Arms Trade http://www.caat.org.uk Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade http://www.ncf.ca/coat/ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute http://www.sipri.org United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research http://www.unidir.ch |
The recruitment of children and adolescents by warring parties is an issue that has attracted great attention from researchers. Much of this interest has come from humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations. Accordingly, the published literature supports programmatic and advocacy efforts in terms of raising awareness about the scale of recruitment, about the problems associated with recruitment and the needs of demobilized children and adolescents. 3 A far smaller number of studies consider recruitment as a phenomenon occurring within a specific sociocultural context and/or seek to explore young people’s experiences of recruitment and demobilization other than in terms of traumatic effects. 4 Since recruitment is seen as one of the worst abuses of children’s rights, highlighting the fact that a particular group or regime utilizes under-18-year-olds in this way is a powerful means to discredit a political foe. It therefore seems important to consider the potential bias of those individuals or organizations that raise this issue. Concerns have already been voiced that advocacy efforts by UN agencies and others focus principally on non-state actors while the recruitment practices of governments may be overlooked. 5
There is a growing recognition of the numerous ways in which the young are employed by military forces. Aside from direct engagement as combatants, they may also work as cooks, messengers, spies, porters, office clerks, or in the provision of sexual services. The misconception that it is mostly boys who are involved is gradually being countered. 6 In conflict-affected countries around the world, including Mozambique, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Uganda, girls have served alongside their male peers in many of these roles. Where such involvement is voluntary, the particular motivations of girls may include the desire to overcome the perceived obstacles due to gender discrimination in areas such as access to education. 7 However, there is a general lack of detailed ethnographic research which explores children’s motivations within the context of their daily lives and in relation to their experiences and aspirations.
(See Small arms research guide)
The prevalence of small arms increases the likelihood of children becoming involved in conflict because they can handle, carry, and load such weapons with comparative ease. Furthermore, they are relatively cheap and readily available in many parts of the world. As an indication of the fast-growing prevalence of small arms, it is claimed that in the period 1980–2000, the numbers of AK-47s in the possession of states and non-state actors in the South Asia region has increased from virtually nil to nearly 8 million. 8
Most studies focus on macro-level and/or statistical matters such as the scale and nature of the trade in small arms; deaths and casualties from small arms use; legal controls on the sale and ownership of small arms, and so on. To date, little attention has been paid to the experience of living in a society where small arms are readily available and in regular use. Of the studies which do address this issue, few appear to focus specifically on children and adolescents. Recent advocacy material does, however, address the particular threat that small arms pose to the young and to women.
WebsitesCampaign Against the Arms Trade http://www.caat.org.uk/ Child Rights Information Network http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/BitingtheBullet11.pdf International Action Network on Small Arms http://www.iansa.org Peacewomen http://peacewomen.org/campaigns/international/iansawomen/testimoniesiansa.pdf Small Arms Survey http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/ UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/smallarms/exhibit/index_low.html Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) http://www.peacewomen.org/ |
Unlike most other weapons that are used against specific targets, landmines are usually laid indiscriminately, thereby increasing the risk to civilians going about their everyday lives. In addition, while other weapons have an instantaneous effect, mines and other explosive devices can linger for many years, continuing to pose a threat long after the conflict has ended.
Children are particularly vulnerable to the use of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs). Due to their generally smaller stature and the proximity of vital organs to the body surface, devices that are intended to injure adults cause death to the young. In addition, the domestic activities in which the young typically engage, such as collecting firewood, water, and wild fruits, often expose them to particular danger. Amongst younger children especially, casualties sometimes occur when playing with explosive objects that appear shiny and interesting. In some societies boys’ greater freedom of movement outside the home puts them at particular risk. This appears the case in Afghanistan, for example, where there have been three times more boys injured and killed than girls.
Aside from the impact of landmines in terms of physical injury to young people and those around them, it is also important to consider the socio-economic effects of living in a heavily contaminated environment. Access to education, play, and leisure opportunities, and to normal economic activities, are all liable to severe disruption due to the presence of explosive devices in the immediate vicinity. In general, far less attention has been given to these matters than to the consideration of direct physical impact.
WebsiteInternational Campaign to Ban Landmines http://www.icbl.org |
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