What percentage of children are child soldiers?
What percentage of children are child soldiers?
It is estimated that 300,000 children are today fighting as child soldiers in over 20 countries worldwide. Up to 40 per cent of them are girls.
Which country has the youngest soldiers?
These child soldiers come from Sudan and Libya, as well as Yemen itself. Some of the child soldiers in Yemen are as young as 10 years old and have been recruited or forced to fight.
Why are child soldiers used in many Third World conflicts?
Many children join armed groups because of economic or social pressure, or because children believe that the group will offer food or security. Others are forcibly recruited, “press-ganged” or abducted by armed groups. Both girls and boys are used as child soldiers.
How many girl child soldiers are there?
How many child soldiers are there? There are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world today in at least 20 countries. About 40% of child soldiers are girls, who are often used as sex slaves and taken as “wives” by male fighters.
Are there any countries that still use child soldiers?
And today, the number of countries using child soldiers is down to about 12. The number of child soldiers has declined but the method in which child soldiers are being used, and the places militias keep children, are harder and harder to find and document.
Why are there so many children in the military?
A number of treaties have sought to curb the participation of children in armed conflicts. According to Child Soldiers International these agreements have helped to reduce child recruitment, but the practice remains widespread and children continue to participate in hostilities around the world.
Who is the leader of the country with the most child soldiers?
With Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi as the new (defacto) leader of the country, global citizens can hope for a more peaceful year and an end to ongoing conflict and exploitation of children in Myanmar. The ongoing civil war in Syria has contributed to children becoming snipers and suicide bombers for rebel groups.
How many child soldiers are involved in conflicts?
The number of child soldiers involved in conflicts globally has increased 159 percent within five years, with almost 30,000 verified recruitment cases since 2012, Child Soldiers International, a London-based human rights organization, said in a press release on Monday, February 11.