Topic: Reintegrating Former Child Soldiers
Country: North Korea
Delegate Name: Melissa Caren
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All North Korea position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
The use of child soldiers, or people under the age of eighteen involved with the armed forces, has sparked much debate throughout the world. Many nations believe it is in the best interest of these soldiers to demobilize and return to the homes they occupied and the lives they lived before enlisting, despite it being in the best interest for the many of them that may have joined to escape the socioeconomic struggles they faced before, or simply to serve their homelands who have given so much to them. While the Democratic People's Republic of Korea believes it is wrongful to militarily recruit children under the age of sixteen, we see nothing wrong with training students at revolutionary schools until they are old enough to enlist in the military at age sixteen.
Many young people join the military looking for food, shelter, and amenities that cannot be provided for them by their parents due to poverty or because they have been orphaned. For reasons like this it can be very beneficial to join up with the armed forces, as means of gaining shelter, security, strength, and even a sense of family for those who have lost their biological ones. But it is important to understand that with the benefits come the risks, and to ensure the safety of peoples under the age of sixteen, the DPRK would like to make it clear that we do not in any way support child soldiering. Siding with nations such as the United Kingdom, the DPRK finds 16-years-old a suitable age for a person to make the decision to enlist in the military, and any nation that disagrees with this can make sure not to implement this policy in their own country, but has no right to challenge any of the 17 sovereign countries that do believe it is a reasonable standard.
Because child soldiering is not supported by the DPRK, instead, institutions such as the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang are available, which train children in preparation for their services at an appropriate age (16). By making use of schools like this, children that may have otherwise joined the military (before they were ready to) may join schools preparing them for the military instead, giving them more training and allowing them time to mature before entering combat or before performing any dangerous tasks while still allowing them the benefits of joining the armed forces, such as having food and shelter available to them. The DPRK believes that rather than reintegrating child soldiers into the corrupt lives they led before joining the armed forces, it would be more rewarding for them to attend revolutionary schools that will keep them safe and train them for the future.
