In recent years so much attention has been directed toward international trafficking of women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation and other forms of forced labor that additional forms of trafficking, although they do occur, have been overlooked. It is unclear whether they occur less frequently than other forms of trafficking, or whether they simply have received less attention. Exploitation of child trafficking in armed conflict is one of these forms of human trafficking that is often over looked.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) defines a “child solider” as “Any child – boy or girl – under 18 years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity … and anyone accompanying such group other than family members.” Kidnapping and forced or illicit recruitment of children for use in armed conflicts are estimated to affect around 300,000 children throughout the world. According to the United Nations, there are indications that cross-border trafficking of child soldiers is increasing in West and Central Africa as a result of an elaborate international organized criminal network.
The problem of trafficking child soldiers is most extreme in Africa, but countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America also uses child soldiers. The use of children in government, military, or rebel armies extend beyond the task of carrying weapons and fighting. Children serve not only as soldiers but also as spies, cooks, porters, sexual slaves, and human land mine detectors. Children have been reported to fight on the front lines, have been sent in to mine fields ahead of adult soldiers, and have been used for suicide missions. Young children, ages seven and eight are recruited or kidnapped to begin serving their military apprenticeships as messengers or carrying food, ammunition, and as porters. Most child soldiers are between the ages of 14 and 18; however, children as young as nine have been used in combat.
In Africa, it is estimated that there is 100,000 child soldiers currently active in Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, and Uganda. The 20-year war
in Uganda between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) claimed more than 20,000 child soldiers, many whom were kidnapped. In 2007 the LRA forcibly recruited children from Southern Sudan. Up to 2,000 women and children are believed to remain in LRA camps. Moreover, thousands of young child refugees who have survived the war in Darfur are being abducted and sold as child soldiers to militias operating in the vicinity of the refugee camps. Boys between the ages of 9 and 15 have been taken forcefully from their families in refugee camps in Chad and been trafficked to militias.
In Asia, children are serving in armies in Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka,
Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Some of the worst offenses involve the government of Myanmar whose army regularly uses children to fight ethnic armed groups and regularly recruits children ages 12 to 18. The United Nations also reported about the recruitment of children in Pakistan from religious schools (“madrassas”), by militant groups to carry out suicide bombings. The Taliban is reported to have used child soldiers in Afghanistan as suicide bombers. They have forcibly and voluntarily recruited children in southern provinces and parts of Pakistan.
in Uganda between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) claimed more than 20,000 child soldiers, many whom were kidnapped. In 2007 the LRA forcibly recruited children from Southern Sudan. Up to 2,000 women and children are believed to remain in LRA camps. Moreover, thousands of young child refugees who have survived the war in Darfur are being abducted and sold as child soldiers to militias operating in the vicinity of the refugee camps. Boys between the ages of 9 and 15 have been taken forcefully from their families in refugee camps in Chad and been trafficked to militias.In Asia, children are serving in armies in Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka,
Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Some of the worst offenses involve the government of Myanmar whose army regularly uses children to fight ethnic armed groups and regularly recruits children ages 12 to 18. The United Nations also reported about the recruitment of children in Pakistan from religious schools (“madrassas”), by militant groups to carry out suicide bombings. The Taliban is reported to have used child soldiers in Afghanistan as suicide bombers. They have forcibly and voluntarily recruited children in southern provinces and parts of Pakistan.In Latin America, in one of the longest-running battles between government and armed opposition forces, lasting 50 years, children in Colombia have been driven by rural poverty to voluntarily join and have been recruited and used by both the government army and rebel forces. The children were forced to lay mines, carry explosives, work as guides and messengers, and fight in combat. The children were also used by government forces to gather intelligence for opposition forces.
In the Middle East, child soldiers are reportedly deployed in Israel, Iraq, and the occupied Palestinian territories. The NGO War Child reports that “children in these areas are encouraged to commit suicide attacks or are used as a human shield,” (War Child, 2007).
While large numbers of children have been forcibly abducted in some countries, not all children
have been kidnapped or fraudulently recruited. Some children join rebel forces voluntarily as a means of survival in a country or region affected by poverty and lack of education or jobs. A study of child soldiers carried out in Columbia by the NGO War Child identified a number of reasons why children voluntarily join militias, which include cultural, ideological socioeconomic, protection, and revenge. Children may voluntarily join armed groups because of social economic pressure, or in the belief that the group will provide them with security and/or food, or to avenge the death of their family members killed by armed groups or government forces.
have been kidnapped or fraudulently recruited. Some children join rebel forces voluntarily as a means of survival in a country or region affected by poverty and lack of education or jobs. A study of child soldiers carried out in Columbia by the NGO War Child identified a number of reasons why children voluntarily join militias, which include cultural, ideological socioeconomic, protection, and revenge. Children may voluntarily join armed groups because of social economic pressure, or in the belief that the group will provide them with security and/or food, or to avenge the death of their family members killed by armed groups or government forces. Human Right Watch, which has interviewed child soldiers in Africa, Asia and the Middle East reports that children typically make obedient soldiers. They are physically vulnerable and easily intimidated. To prove their allegiance to the armed forces, children are sometimes forced to commit atrocities against their own family or neighbors. These practices help ensure that the child is stigmatized and unable to return to his or her home community.
Stories have surfaced of the manipulation of children by supplying them with drugs to make them fearless. The United Nations reports that others are given drugs and alcohol to agitate them, noting that this makes it easier to break down their psychological barriers to fighting or committing atrocities. At the same time, children are trained to obey orders to kill and maim. Failure to do so may result in their own death. One 16-year old child soldier described his experience “The first time I went into battle I was afraid. But after two or three days they forced us to start using cocaine, and then I lost my fear. When I was taking drugs, I never felt bad on the front.” In Uganda one 16-year-old girl testified to the cruelties she endured when a boy tried to escape:
“One boy tried to escape, but he was caught. They made him eat a mouthful of red pepper, and five people were beating him. His hands were tied, and then they made us, the other new captives, kill him with a stick. I felt sick. I knew this boy from before. We were from the same village. I refused to kill him, and they told me they would shoot me. They pointed a gun at me, so I had to do it… After we killed him, they made us smear blood on our arms. (U.N child soldiers stories).
Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone, was 12 years old when rebels killed his family and most of the people of his village. He was forced to fight with the rebels as a child soldier until he was “rescued” by the government soldiers who fed him, protected him, and gave him 
AK47. Ishmael was told to fight for the army or be killed by the rebels. Ishmael and other child soldiers were given marijuana and a drug known as “brown-brown” a mixture of cocaine and gun powder to enhance the effect of marijuana. Under the influence of drugs Ishmael reports that he was “not afraid to kill or be killed” (Beah, 127).
AK47. Ishmael was told to fight for the army or be killed by the rebels. Ishmael and other child soldiers were given marijuana and a drug known as “brown-brown” a mixture of cocaine and gun powder to enhance the effect of marijuana. Under the influence of drugs Ishmael reports that he was “not afraid to kill or be killed” (Beah, 127).Because child soldiers have often committed such atrocities, questions arise in their villages and countries concerning their degree of responsibility. They are often treated as criminals rather than victims of trafficking. Whether children join armies voluntarily or not, the U.N. Trafficking Protocol views this as trafficking regardless of the conditions under which the children were recruited, even where there is no use of fraud or deception. All children under the age of 18, regardless of why or how they joined the armed forces with which they worked or fought, are victims of trafficking.
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