Topic: Reintegrating Former Child Soldiers
Country: Turkey
Delegate Name: Kiara Atkins
School: Roeper School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Turkey position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
Sadly, child soldiers are a serious problem in the world today. UNICEF has placed the estimate of child soldiers worldwide as 300,000 individuals. The children that are most at risk are those who are living in conflict zones, those who are separated from their families, and those without access to education. Turkey believes that the most effective way to reintegrate child soldiers is to provide them with access to education and economic opportunity as best as possible. An effort should be made to build more quality schools in areas where children are being used in combat, so that these people can have the opportunity to have solid careers and futures.
Furthermore, there should be emphasis placed on reuniting child soldiers with their families. Children who have been separated from their homes are at much greater risk of turning to military efforts in order to provide for themselves. There should also be therapy available in order to try and treat the psychological problems that inevitably arise from serving as a child soldier, with special emphasis on rehabilitation. It will be difficult to make these services available, especially in a widespread way, but appropriate care is critical to the reintegration process, and will help to assure the safety and security of affected communities. Most places affected by conflict with widespread use of child soldiers lack in this area. For example, there is one practicing psychologist in Sierra Leone. We need to work together to provide as much aid to these countries as we are able to.
