Discusses the suffering endured by children who participate in wars and armed conflicts. Recruitment by governments and by armed opposition groups, using force, ideology, religion, or promises of a better life, has become an alarming trend. The cases studies come from more nearly 30 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Chechnya, Columbia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Lebanon, Liberia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, the Occupied Territories (Intifada), Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uganda, and the former Yugoslavia. Also provides statistics on the numbers, gender, and distribution of child soldiers around the world; conscription and forced and voluntary recruitment; characteristics of child soldiers; treatment of child soldiers, including functions performed and punishment; demobilization, rehabilitation, and social reintegration of child soldiers; military attitudes toward child soldiers; legal standards on recruitment and participation, including developments since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; and strategies to prevent recruitment and related recommendations.
