Should Child Soldiers Be Prosecuted For War Essay

In over twenty countries around the world children are direct participants in war. All through history and in many cultures children have been used in military actions, even when such actions were against cultural morals. Dating back to the 70’s several countries have held conventions to deter this widespread dilemma. The violence, torture and abuse these children face or are asked to do is horrific. Many of the youth are under fifteen years old, recruited to be soldiers, forced into marriage at young ages, or joined to escape their reality. What do you do when you are kidnapped and forced to fight a war you know nothing about? Should this child be prosecuted for crimes he or she committed during war times?
Should child soldiers be prosecuted for war crimes? You are ten years old at school and war breaks out in your village like in the book A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. First the teacher evacuates the class kids running into nearby fields and bushes from danger. Since some kids are faster than others some get caught by rebels. The school now becomes a barrack and the students become soldiers, trained in hand to hand combat to become savages. He or she is now used as a human shield or strapped with dynamite to detonate at some specific site. Do you still
The school has become a barrack and you were fast enough to get away. Your uncle is too old to oppose the enemy forces so he sees you as an asset and sales you into slavery. At this age you are vulnerable to influence and have been forced to provide sexual favors for the soldiers and marry early. Finally, after years of the sexual abuse and bearing children she decides to escape her reality by becoming a suicide bomber. A specific destination is set and she executes her orders, only to leave her kids to the same cycle of violence she escaped from. Should countries prosecute these