The Study On The Legal Issues Associated With Prohibiting The Recruitment Of Child Soldiers

It has been a long time for children in the countries ongoing armed conflict being recruited by armed forces, but it did not raise any concern from international community until 1996 when The Michael report came out, and many international law scholars paid intention on the problem as well. The fourth Geneva convention of 1949 provided that the children under 15 should not been recruited by armed force. It is the first time for international conventions prohibiting the recruitment of children into armed forces. After that there are more and more international conventions and instruments prohibiting recruitment of children. At the mean time, many measures have been taken by lots of international organizations and mechanisms aimed at resolving this phenomenon. For example, the UN Security Council have passed the resolution which established special representative for the children involved in armed conflicts, who is designed to research and put forward solutions about children involved in armed conflicts. As another example, the coalition to stop the use of children in armed conflict was launched and founded by lots of main international human rights organizations and international humanitarian organizations in May in 1998, and the aim of the organization is to eliminate the phenomenon of worldwide children soldiers by each way and each organization's effort.It has been almost half of a century for children soldiers'phenomenon raises our attention, but the children soldiers are still be active in international and non-international armed inflicts. It is on account of many aspects for the irregularly of beginning age of been recruited by national or non-national armed forces , for instance, the differences among many countries'culture, the distinction about the onset age of"children", and the differences have led to the differences age norms in related international conventions. Meanwhile, it reflects many problems and drawbacks bout the related international law as well as the related justice system. The onset age difference is the main reason that many advanced international rules can not been implemented effectively. This text will prove that the recruitment of children soldiers is prohibited by international humanitarian law in way of theory and practice, and then elaborates the necessity, feasibility and efficient approach. After that, It will explain the jurisprudence basis of the war-criminalization of recruitment of children soldiers tied up with the《Rome statute of international criminal court》 and judicial practice of Rwanda international criminal court, as well as the elements of the crime and then demonstrate that the prohibition of recruitment of children has been a customary international law. And finally, the author put forwards some suggestions and feasible solutions about how to complete the supervision of related international conventions, and how to remedy by punishment and how to remove the phenomenon of impunity so long as to raise wide discussion and educe more valid proposals.