The voluntary participation of child soldiers in armed conflict and criminal accountability

Abstract

Regardless of the developments in international law, the phenomenon of child soldiers remains unaddressed and seen as a burdensome subject matter. The focus of this mini-dissertation is particularly on children who made the voluntary decision to participate in armed conflicts and to explore whether they can be held accountable for international crimes committed as a result of their voluntariness. Given that most states have different criminal responsibility ages and follow their own set of rules in judicial proceedings when dealing with children, it is critical to implement an international criminal responsibility age to deal with child soldiers on a global scale. Importantly, this mini-dissertation illustrates that child soldiers may be viewed as perpetrators and not only victims. Whether to sentence children to a detention period or opt for rehabilitation and reintegration programmes will be analysed, while also considering the best interest of the children. International legal instruments dealing with the age of recruitment and enlistment disagree and this age ranges between fifteen and eighteen. This mini-dissertation argues that the age of recruitment and enlistment should be fifteen and recommends that a new international instrument be implemented to set this age while simultaneously ensuring accountability for international crimes committed at this age. If child soldiers are not held accountable for their crimes, an injustice will be done to their victims. Additionally, this mini-dissertation will investigate whether it is feasible to confer exclusive jurisdiction on the International Criminal Court for prosecuting child soldiers as this would ensure that judicial safeguards are always observed.