Time line of The Rise of Child Soldiers as an Issue on the Global Agenda (a work in progress)
-1949- Additional Protocols I and II of the four Geneva Conventions set the age at 15 for involvement in armed conflict
-1977- Additional Protocols to the four Geneva Conventions derive their relevant articles from the 1949 articles
20 November 1989 – Convention on the Rights of the Child adopts by the UN General Assembly and is the “first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.” U.S. and Somalia are the only states who do not ratify. The Convention defines a child as anyone under 18 but does not specify this age for child soldiering. In Article 38 it reiterates the Geneva Convention’s 15 years of age and asks states to prioritize use of older soldiers.
1990- The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child is adopted by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) but does not come into force until 1999. It has a straight “over-18” approach.
1993- Committee on the Rights of the Child which monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child recommends the adoption of an Optional Protocol to raise age of recruitment and service to 18
June 1993- World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna, participants also called for an Optional Protocol
1994- UN Commission on Human Rights establishes a “working group” to draft the Optional Protocol and they meet for the first time
1994- Human Rights Watch establishes their "Children's Rights Project" with Lois Whitman as director. Lois Whitman has a letter published in the NYTimes about child soldiers, and HRW begins publishing reports on Child Soldiering.
1994- Cohn and Goodwin-Gill publish an important book “Child Soldiers: The Role of Children in Armed Conflict.” Also Human Rights Watch begins publishing reports on child soldiers in Africa.
March 1994- UN resolution 48/157 appoints Graca Machel to deliver a report on the status of children in armed conflict
1996- Graça Machel report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children comes out, and the UN secretary general appoints a new Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu
1998- Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines conscription of children under the age of 15 into direct participation in hostility as a crime.
1998-1999- The media picks up the problem of war affected children. Graphic and disturbing images of child soldiers from Uganda, Sierra Leone, Burma, Cambodia, etc., are on TV and garner the public’s attention.
May-June 1998 – The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers was formed. The Steering Committee has changed a bit but now includes: Amnesty International, Defence for Children International, Human Rights Watch (chair), International Federation Terre des Hommes, International Save the Children Alliance, Jesuit Refugee Service, and the Quaker United Nations Office-Geneva. It maintains active links with UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International labour Organization.
1999- The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers organizes high profile regional conferences in Mozambique, Uruguay and Germany.
1999- The UN Security Council passes Resolution 1261 identifying children and armed conflict as an issue affecting international peace and security.
May, November and December 1999- Canada hold workshops and consultations on strengthening the text of the draft of the Optional Protocol
May 25, 2000- After six year of complex negotiations, The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict is adopted by the UN General Assembly. It provides that states shall not compulsorily recruit persons under the age of 18.
June 2000- Optional Protocol opened for signatures and Canada is the first to sign.
2001- The UN Security Council passes Resolution 1379 which urges U.N. member states to prosecute those who recruit and use children in war. It also requested the Secretary General to create a list of parties in armed conflict that violate international law on child soldiering.
2002- Secretary General generates list of offending parties
2003- UN Security Council passes resolution 1460 calling on offending parties to “provide information on steps they have taken to halt their recruitment or use of children in armed conflict.”
2005-2006- continued UN Security Council resolutions create monitoring and reporting system, and an independent review system.
Additional sources:
Webster, Timothy. "Babes with Arms: International Law and Child Soldiers." The George Washington International Law Review; 2007; 39,2
Snyder, Ross. "The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict."
Human security and the new diplomacy / ed. by Rob McRae & Don Hubert (2001), p. 152-160
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