Topic: Children and Armed Conflict
Country: Netherlands
Delegate Name: Elena Misailedes
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Netherlands position papers GLIMUN 2009 committees
The Kingdom of the Netherlands would like to begin by recognizing that the issue of children in armed conflict is a many-faceted problem that requires action on more than one front. The most imperative and deplorable of these issues is without a doubt the use of children as armed combatants in internal or international conflict in several states across the globe. This grave trend is now well documented in twenty nations, more of which may soon be reported. Children, being by nature more impressionable and easier to manipulate than adults, have become a major source of new recruits for governments and armed civilian groups across the globe. These child soldiers are forced to contribute to already widespread vilence, becoming violent themselves. Experiences such as these inevitably lead to profound psychological scarring, preventing former child soldiers from becoming functioning citizens without significant support during their reintegration into society.
In regards to this markedly disturbing trend, it is the belief of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that the United Nations has two main objectives which it must accomplish for the sake of international security and the protecton of minors worldwide. First, as always, significant measures must be taken to prevent the further spread of this porblem. The first of these measures should be the creation of an international standard of recruitment for both government militias and militant groups within a nation, specifying a minimum age of recruitment and the circumstances under which a young person may enter into military service. This standard may vary based on national customs, but the minimum age of service would be no lower than sixteen in any state. Under such legislation, any government or group found in violation of these principles would be subject ot disciplinary action by the United Nations or, in the case of militant civil groups, by the government of the state in which they are located.
The second problem that must be addressed by the United Nations is theavailablilty of educational and plychological support for former child soldiers. These scarred and fruquently unstable individuals present a threat to future world peace if adequate services are not made available to them. The task of establishing such services may be delegated to smaller United Nations committee, but is entirely necessary in the quest to end the practice of using children as soldiers.
Another area in which critical action is needed b the United Nations is the prevention and discontinuaton of war crimes against children. Again, because children are inherently vulnerable, they are especially susceptible to physical and sexual violence. In most developing countries currently experiencing violent conflict,young females are especially one of the most vulnerable demographics, as they are not only more likely than boys to experience sexual violence, but often do not have the education or rights under law to protest such occurrences. To this end, it is the opinion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that is is imperative that the United Nations play a role in correcting this situation. In order to accomplish this, it is reccommended that a United Nations resolution be passed, in keeping with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, increasing the severity of punishment for individuals found guilty of war crimes against children. Similarly, any national government found to be endorsing or ignoring evidence of such crimes would be subject to strict UN-imposed sanctions.
