Child Soldiers - Research Proposal Example

Child Soldiers Child Soldiers The recruitment of children for warfare as soldiers is a deep rooted issue in the world today. It has been estimated that three hundred thousand children below the age of eighteen years work as soldiers in areas of fighting in around thirty three countries across the globe. In the Western world, children are granted with rights and are protected from such horrors but a global picture presents a very dark image. Children are mainly forced to work as soldiers by armies of the state, warlords as well as militant groups (Wessells 2006).

The problem of child soldiers forms a grave issue and the international community with the assistance of international as well as non-governmental organizations should work towards curbing this problem. Child soldiers have been used for conflict by military groups for years because they are considered to be more submissive as compared to their adult counterparts and exist in greater numbers. These young children not only suffer from physical violence but they are also afflicted to psychological trauma and injuries.

The child soldiers are used for various purposes ranging from carrying materials to acting as spies and also as combatants (Young 2007). Young girls are raped and Fatmata who was a young child soldier narrated that she was kidnapped when she was 12 years old and she gave birth to the child of her captor. Fatmata and her child were both suffering from AIDs (Wessells 2006). Another child soldier Edward narrated that they were first asked to kill the victims and then forced to lick their blood. Edward escaped and returned to his village but many young children still suffer in such horrific and inhuman conditions (Mark 2013).

The issue of child soldiers needs to be dealt with strategically with the cooperation of national and international forces. Participation of International organizations and non-governmental organizations is also of significance. The plan for putting an end to child soldiers should basically work around five key points: resolution of the issues which have led to fighting, prevention of kidnapping of young children, better ways of being able to distinguish and isolate the children from the militant groups, “demobilize, rehabilitate and reintegrate” the children followed by adequate funds and opportunities for the freed child soldiers to study or get trained (Young 2007).

The plan for the protection of children from becoming a part of warfare is beneficial and will be of assistance in tackling the issue at its roots. Resolving of the warfare by the intervention of the international community in the troubled nations would result in a low demand for the child soldiers as the conflict would end. Protection by enhancing security with national and international assistance in high risk zones would provide for prevention of the kidnapping of the children. With forced intervention, children would be freed from the militants but these children would require long time rehabilitation for years for them to overcome the psychological trauma.

This would be accomplished by providing them with free education and vocational training (Young 2007). Children have been exploited for years in warzones across the world and recruited as child soldiers. These young minds are subjected to psychological suffering and they are forced to commit murder and other heinous acts. The international community should take a strong stand on this matter and with the combined assistance of national agencies, international and non-governmental organizations, child soldiering should be stopped.

A plan which should prevent the recruitment of children by protecting them should be created. The children already working as soldiers should be rescued and rehabilitated. This is a long process but its implementation would eventually yield good results.ReferencesMark, M. (July 23, 2013). Joseph Kony child soldier returns to terrorised boyhood village. The Guardian. Retrieved fromWessells, M. G. (2006). Child soldiers: From violence to protection. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.Young, A. (2007) Preventing, Demobilizing, Rehabilitating, and Reintegrating Child Soldiers in African Conflicts.

The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 7,19-24.