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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 30, 1998
8:22 AM
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CONTACT: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL,
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH,
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION TERRE DESHOMMES,
INTERNATIONAL SAVE THE CHILDREN ALLIANCE,
JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE,
QUAKER UN OFFICE
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International Campaign Launched Against The Use Of Child Soldiers
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GENEVA - June 30 - A new coalition of international non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) against the use of child soldiers was launched today in Geneva and
New York. According to latest estimates, more than 300,000 children under 18 years of age
are fighting in armed conflicts around the world and hundreds of thousands more are
members of armed forces who could be sent into combat at any moment. Although most
recruits are over 15 years of age, significant recruitment starts at 10 years, and the use
of even younger children has been recorded.
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has been formed in response to the failure
of negotiations within the United Nations to agree a prohibition on keeping children out
of armed forces.
The Coalition is calling for the adoption and implementation of an Optional Protocol to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child to raise the minimum age for military
recruitment and use in hostilities to 18 years. The current international minimum age is
only 15 years, although most countries do not accept under-18s in their armed forces.
Speaking in Geneva at the launch, the Coalition Coordinator, Stuart Maslen, declared that:
The use of children as soldiers has no place in a civilised society and must be stopped.
The Coalition is calling upon the international community to ensure children are given
strict legal protection against involvement in armed conflict.
The Coalition is being headed by a Steering Committee of six NGOs -- Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation Terre desHommes, International
Save the Children Alliance (represented by Swedish Save the Children), Jesuit Refugee
Service, Geneva, and Quaker UN Office, Geneva. It will be coordinated by a small
Secretariat based in France close to Geneva.
Information on the numbers of child soldiers in the world, including the recruitment ages
in governmental armed forces, is also being published on the Internet by Swedish Save the
Children (), which holds the world's most comprehensive database on the subject.
The objective of the Coalition is in line with the Plan of Action concerning Children in
Armed Conflict adopted by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in 1995.
The Plan of Action commits the Movement to promoting the principle of non-recruitment and
non-participation in armed conflicts of children below the age of 18 years and to taking
concrete action to protect and assist child victims of armed conflicts. Close links are
also being established between the Coalition and the United Nations.
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