A CSR Special Report
Kate Davey Director of Research Projects
Sarah Pierce Legal Intern and Director of Outreach, Development and Communication
Children have been used as tools of war throughout history, serving not only as foot soldiers on the front line, but also as spies, porters and sexual slaves. Lawmakers and human rights organizations generally recognize the following from the 1997 Capetown Principles as the standard for defining a child soldier: “a child soldier is any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers and anyone accompanying such groups, other than family members. The definition includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and for forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms.”
Filed under: Educational, Human Rights, Intl Criminal Ct, Laws, Treaties , child soldiers, law, War
