Exclusive: Overruling his experts, Pompeo keeps Saudis off U.S. child soldiers list

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blocked the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on a U.S. list of countries that recruit child soldiers, dismissing his experts’ findings that a Saudi-led coalition has been using under-age fighters in Yemen’s civil war, according to four people familiar with the matter.

More >> Exclusive: Overruling his experts, Pompeo keeps Saudis off U.S. child soldiers list

Khartoum starts to hand over Darfur child soldiers to their families

Sudanese government has embarked on actual moves to hand over 21 child soldiers to their families after completing the legal procedures, said children official.

More >> Khartoum starts to hand over Darfur child soldiers to their families

Islamic State Forcing Child Soldiers to Replace Dead and Deserting Jihadis

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS) has escalated its efforts to recruit child soldiers to make up for all the soldiers it has lost.

More >> Islamic State Forcing Child Soldiers to Replace Dead and Deserting Jihadis

Children in crises: why stronger protection systems must be adopted

Children in crises: why stronger protection systems must be adopted

During the Sierra Leone war, an estimated 10,000 children were recruited or used by armed forces and groups, and at least 692,000 children suffered sexual abuse. In 2002, almost half the states engaged in conflict were using children under the age of 15 in their armed forces. But amid the devastation of war, children are often forgotten with the full extent of their suffering only emerging afterwards.

Child soldiers fight against Islamic State in Syria

Child soldiers fight against Islamic State in Syria

A Kurdish boy who looks no older than 11 mans the entrance of a military base in northeastern Syria.

Sri Lanka says all former child soldiers freed

Sri Lanka says all former child soldiers freed

The Sri Lankan government Friday said that all former Tamil Tiger child soldiers who underwent rehabilitation after being arrested have been freed.

Guantanamo 'child soldier' is freed

Guantanamo 'child soldier' is freed


The youngest and last Western detainee held at the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay has returned to Canada after a decade in custody.

A Decade in Detention for Former Child Soldier

A Decade in Detention for Former Child Soldier


Today marks a decade in U.S. custody for Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who is Guantánamo’s youngest prisoner. Even though he has been eligible for transfer back to Canada for almost nine months pursuant to his October 2010 plea deal, he is still detained at Guantánamo. Khadr is the only one of the 168 remaining detainees who was a juvenile when transferred to Guantánamo.

Thomas Lubanga sentenced to 14 years in prison for Congo war crimes, use of child soldiers

Thomas Lubanga sentenced to 14 years in prison for Congo war crimes, use of child soldiers

The International Criminal Court sentenced a Congolese warlord to 14 years in prison on Tuesday, a watershed moment for the 10-year-old tribunal and a potential landmark in the struggle to protect children during wartime.

Stephen Smith condemns Taliban's use of child in suicide bomb injuring aid worker

Stephen Smith condemns Taliban's use of child in suicide bomb injuring aid worker DEFENCE Minister Stephen Smith has condemned as "revolting and contemptible" the Taliban's use of a child suicide bomber in the attack that left Australian aid worker David Savage badly wounded.

Congolese Warlord Convicted of Using Child Soldiers

Congolese Warlord Convicted of Using Child Soldiers

Thomas Lubanga, a rebel leader from the Congo, was found guilty on Wednesday of recruiting and enlisting boys and girls under the age of 15 and using them to make war. A panel of judges at the International Criminal Court issued its ruling in a brief session at the tribunal’s headquarters in The Hague, the first verdict issued by the court since it began its work 10 years ago.

KONY 2012 Video Goes Viral on the Web

The young American boy sums up what his father does for a living: "You stop the bad guys from being mean." Yes, the father says, but who are the bad guys? The bad guys are Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army, a brutal Central Africa militia that has kidnapped thousands of children and forced them to become sex slaves, fight as child soldiers and kill family members.

Philippine army mislabeled child soldiers—rights group

Philippine army mislabeled child soldiers—rights group

A U.S.-based human rights group accused the Philippine army Wednesday of falsely labeling some children it had taken into custody as communist child soldiers.

Rights group accuses Army of fabricating stories on child warriors

Rights group accuses Army of fabricating stories on child warriors

The Philippine Army must stop its “despicable practice” of fabricating stories about “child warriors” and parading them before the press to buttress its “propaganda” war against the communist-led New People’s Army, the Human Rights Watch said.

Al Qaeda group plans to release animated cartoon to recruit kids

Al Qaeda group plans to release animated cartoon to recruit kids

Terrorists connected to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said they were creating the animated film to inspire children to join the jihad, but some users on jihadi websites said the characters were too "scary" for kids

Aid Workers Say Child Soldiers Involved in Escalating Somali Violence

Aid Workers Say Child Soldiers Involved in Escalating Somali Violence

Aid workers and observers in Somalia say an increasing number of child soldiers are being used by factions involved in the escalating violence in the country. They say most of the children are recruited or abducted by the militant Islamic group al-Shabab and suffer horrendous experiences on the battlefield.

Child Rights Advocates Bewail Distortion of Child Protection Principles for Counter-Insurgency

Child Rights Advocates Bewail Distortion of Child Protection Principles for Counter-Insurgency

Children have been suffering the brunt of military operations along with their elders, but whereas before they were considered as “collateral damages,” since 2007, most children being encountered by the military in operations are being labeled as “child combatants.”

Child Soldiers Waiver Angers Human Rights Groups

Child Soldiers Waiver Angers Human Rights Groups

A war of words is underway in the halls of government in Washington, D.C., over how to best discourage countries from using children as soldiers.

UNICEF welcomes Sudanese measure to end use of child soldiers

UNICEF welcomes Sudanese measure to end use of child soldiers

The United Nations agency charged with protecting the rights of children today welcomed the launch of a programme by the Sudanese Government to end the use of child soldiers by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

Trial of "Child Soldier" Opens at Guantanamo

Trial of "Child Soldier" Opens at Guantanamo

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10, 2010 (IPS) - Omar Khadr was only 15 when he was captured by U.S. forces in 2002 in Afghanistan. Now, eight years later, the 23-year-old is on trial in Guantanamo Bay, in the first military commission trial since the beginning of the Barack Obama administration.