THE SCANDAL OF CHILD SOLDIER Children as young were recruited by the RUF and the AFRC. But it was no only the rebel factions which recruited children. Up to 30 percent government-sponsored Citezens Defense Forces(CDF) militias were between seven and 14. The children were made to take drugs, commit atrocities against their families and neighbors, and were forced to become sex slaves. Recently, peace was declared in the country and many former child combatants, with aid from Caritas Makeni, are now beeing formally educated or are learning vocationals skills. Draft of violence Worldwide there are at any one time, 300,000 child soldiers serving in armed forces in 40 countries.
a total of two million children have died in armed conflict during the past 10 years. Countries affected in Africa as well as Sierra Leone Angola, Burundi and Uganda and probably most of Sudan. What we desperately need is that all governments, including rebel groups, will adopt the Un protocol which makes it illegal for armed forces of all types to recruit people under 18. This is also applies to using children to act as message carriers through enemy lines as that leaves the children vulnerable to beeing totured.