What is an armed conflict kids definition12/14/2023 ![]() ![]() This broad definition is important given the multitude of roles that children play within armed groups. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms”. The definition includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and for forced marriage. “any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers and anyone accompanying such groups, other than family members. The “Cape Town Principles” define CAAFAG as follows: ![]() ![]() While sources also indicate that children are likely to have been recruited and used as CAAFAG prior to 1996, this phenomenon took on a hitherto unprecedented scale at the start of the AFDL/APR insurrection in eastern Zaire.Īlthough the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not define the term “recruitment and use of children as soldiers”, nor the term “direct participation in hostilities”, the commonly accepted definition of CAAFAG is that which was given at a conference organised by UNICEF in South Africa in 1997. ![]() 1247Īlthough international attention with regard to CAAFAG peaked during the conflict in Ituri in May 2003, with the temporary deployment of a European multinational force, the recruitment and use of CAAFAG was already undoubtedly commonplace in the DRC from 1996 onwards. 1246 These statistics make the DRC one of the countries in the world with the highest incidence of CAAFAG. 1245 According to child protection agencies working in the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of children, at least 30,000 children were recruited or used by the armed forces or groups during the conflict. The wars in the DRC were also marked by the systematic use of children associated with armed groups and forces (CAAFAG) by all parties to the conflict. ![]()
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