An oral statement by Friends World Committee for Consultation (Quakers), to the 60th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. It highlights the importance of understanding the reasons for which young people volunteer for armed forces and armed groups, citing the importance of such understanding for demobilisation and long-term re-integration efforts.

See also:

• a written statement submitted to the 60th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights,
• This paper presented at a conference of the Spanish Red Cross, and
• The report Young Soldiers: Why they choose to fight.

This presentation highlights five major (but not exclusive) factors leading youngsters to join armed forces or armed groups without being coerced. These are: war, poverty, education, employment and family. It is important to understand these factors in efforts to demobilize/reintegrate former child soldiers.

• an oral statement submitted to the 60th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights,
• a written statement submitted to the 60th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights,
• The report Young Soldiers: Why they choose to fight.

This set of publications focuses on the experiences of girl children who have been soldiers. It discusses the different circumstances under which different girls became child soldiers, the range of experiences during the period during which they were part of a fighting force, and their futures once they are no longer part of the fighting force.

In-depth interviews with former girl child soldiers were carried out in Angola, Colombia, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

See also: oral statement to 59th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and Girl Soldiers: Challenging the Assumptions.

This paper is based on QUNO’s research in The Voices of Girl Child Soldiers. It highlights those aspects of the research that add new dimensions and greater specificity to the problem of girl child soldiers, with implications for policy and programmatic issues.

See also this oral statement to the 59th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights.