The international community has been seized with the problem of child labour which

manifests itself in so many ways and one of them is by way of conscripting children into

national army or rebel resistance groups. South Sudan is no stranger to this worst form

of child labour and this is the focus of this essay. It looks at what efforts the South

Sudanese government is putting up in abating the problem of recruiting children into its

national army. With the help of authorities, it will begin by defining who a child soldier is

and delve into the real problem facing the South Sudanese government, thereafter it will

draw a conclusion.

A working definition o who a “child soldier” is, will help ground this discussion. Although

the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter Optional

Protocol) frowns upon the compulsory recruitment of child soldiers, however, it does not

define who a child soldier is.1 Under current international law, a “child” is generally

defined as anyone under the prescribed age of eighteen.2 On the other hand, a term

“child soldier” encompasses more than machine-gun toting boys. Therefore, the concept

“child soldier” has also been used to include “any person under the age of eighteen who

is or has been associated with any kind of regular or irregular armed group, including

those who serve as porters, spies, cooks or messengers, and including girls recruited

for sexual purposes and many others.”3 A child soldier refers to a man below the age of

eighteen years old who has been enrolled by an outfitted group in any way.4

The international law forbids the recruitment of child soldiers. The Additional Protocols

to the 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibited the military recruitment and use of children

1 Article 2.
2 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 1, 1989.
3 The Cape Town Principles Convention, 1997.
4 Paris Principles on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict 2007.
under the age of 15. Under the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, it

is a crime to enrol children under the age of 15 as soldiers 5, be it in the government

controlled armed forces or non-state armed groups. The Optional Protocol to the

Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict

(hereinafter OPAC)6 is the world’s first international treaty wholly devoted to ending the

military exploitation of children. This treaty did raise the standard by prohibiting the

conscription of children under the age of 18 and their participation in hostilities7.

The state bears the primary responsibility of providing security to and ensuring the

protection of all children within her jurisdiction. Therefore, the state should take all the

necessary legislative, administrative and judicial measures to prevent the recruitment of

children into armed forces or groups. The state should also facilitate the release of

those children already recruited, provide them with protection and reintegration support.

Such measures include the ratification and implementation of all relevant legal

instruments, ensuring that all relevant international norms are adhered to and reflected

in national law in line with international law, including the OPAC. In this regard, the

South Sudanese government scored in that by 2008 the government did make efforts

towards the goal of ending the recruitment and conscription of child soldiers by enacting

a piece of legislation setting a minimum age of 18 for any conscription or voluntary

recruitment into armed forces or rebel groups.8 The South Sudanese armed forces and

armed opposition groups continue to recruit child soldiers and force them into the

conflict, despite the numerous commitments to stop. The continued recruitment and use

5 Article 8 2b (xxvi).
6 Article 3.
7 <https://www.child-soldiers.org/international-laws-and-child-rights> accessed: March 6, 2018.
8 Section 25(2)(i) of The Child Act, 2008 of the Laws of Southern Sudan.

1
of children by the military and opposing armed groups point to the utter impunity that

reigns in South Sudan. In August 30, 2010, the Southern Sudanese government

promised that it would demobilise all child soldiers from its ranks by the end of the year.

Pledging to end the recruiting of children into its national army, the Chairperson of the

Southern Sudan Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission

(SSDDRC), William Deng made the following remarks during the launch of a new child

protection unit:

By the end of 2010 the SPLA (South Sudan People’s Liberation Army) has
committed to have demobilised all children from its ranks, and we give our
full support to establish strong mechanisms for successful reintegration to
civilian life for these children9.

The Chairman further ascertained that the launch was another concrete sign of the

commitment of the government of Southern Sudan in general and the Disarmament,

Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission in particular to keep the protection of

children, the future and hope of the country. Despite enacting laws forbidding the

recruitment of child soldiers and signing various legal instruments, the South Sudanese

government has been hesitant in implementing all these. Human Rights Watch10 found

that commanders from both government forces and rebel groups had been abducting,

detaining and forcing children, some as young as 13, into their ranks since the warring

parties signed the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan

(ARCSS) in August 2015. The South Sudanese government has continued to disregard

international legal instruments and customary laws that govern the treatment of

9http://www.sudantribune.com/SPLA-to-demobilize-all-child,36125 accessed March 06, 2018.

10https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/14/south-sudan-terrifying-lives-child-soldiers accessed March 06,
2018.

2
children11. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)12 estimates that 15,000 to

16,000 children may have been used by the armed forces and groups in the conflict.

Under the laws of war, the recruitment or use of children under the age of 15 by parties

to a conflict is a war crime for which commanders can be held criminally responsible 13.

International human rights standards provide that no child under 18 should be recruited

as a soldier. Regardless of the fact that child soldiers have been used for decades in

what is now South Sudan, Human Rights Watch observes that no commander has ever

faced any serious punishment for using child soldiers. UNICEF reports that about

19,000 children have been recruited and associated with armed groups in South Sudan.

The South Sudan government is winking at such atrocities by not having the

commanders who are alleged to have recruited or used child soldiers in both the

government and opposition forces to account for their actions as was done in the case

of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo14. He is a Congolese warlord who was convicted of war

crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years and using them

to participate actively in hostilities. This took place even when the African Charter on the

rights and welfare of the Child15 is very categorical regarding child protection with

regards to internal armed conflicts, tension and strife. The government of South Sudan

should therefore rely heavily on the African Charter and the CRC in meting out punitive

11 In particular, Article 77 Protocol I of the Geneva Convention (1977), Article 4.3.c. Protocol II of the
Geneva Convention (1977), Article 38 of the CRC (1989) and Art 2 and 3 of its Protocol on the
Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts (2000), Article 22.2 of the African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child (1990), Article 2 of the ILO Convention No. 182 (1999).
12 www.unicef.org/esaro/UNICEF_South Sudan_Report_Childhood_under_Attack_15Dec_FINAL.pdf

Accessed March 8, 2018.

13 Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
14 The Prosecutor v Thomas Lubanga Dyilo ICC-01/04-01/06.
15 Article 22 (3)

3
measure on those violating international laws on the protection against the use of

children in armed conflict.

The problem of recruiting child soldiers in Southern Sudan is far from seceding though.

Reports show that recruitment and use affecting at least 1,022 children is still going on

and all this is attributed to SPLA and other government security forces 16. The South

Sudanese armed forces and armed opposition groups continue to recruit child soldiers

and force them into the conflict, notwithstanding the numerous commitments to stop it.

There are many legal standards in place to protect children from mistreatment yet the

children continue to suffer. Conventions have been enacted and protocols have been

signed and ratified in regard to the protection of children. However, the government of

South Sudan is not as eager to implement what is contained in these documents as it is

in recruiting and conscripting children into her army. This crime should carry with it a

stiffer penalty in order to deter would be perpetrators of child soldiers.

16United Nations Secretary-General 2017. “Report of the Secretary-General: Children and armed conflict,
2017”. www.un.org. Retrived March 8, 2018.

4
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

International Law

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 2.

Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 1, 1989.

The Cape Town Principles Convention, 1997.

The Paris Principles Convention on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict,

2007.

Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, 1949.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 8 2b (xxvi), 2002.

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement

of children in armed conflict, Article 3.

In particular, Article 77 Protocol I of the Geneva Convention (1977), Article 4.3.c.

Protocol II of the Geneva Convention (1977), Article 38 of the CRC (1989) and Art 2 and

3 of its Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts (2000), Article 22.2 of

the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990), Article 2 of the ILO

Convention No. 182 (1999).

Regional Law

The African Charter on the rights and welfare of the Child, Article 22 (3).

National Law

The Child Act, 2008 of the Laws of Southern Sudan, section 25(2)(i).

5
Case Law

The Prosecutor v Thomas Lubanga Dyilo ICC-01/04-01/06.

Web Resources

<https://www.child-soldiers.org/international-laws-and-child-rights> accessed: March 6,

2018.

<http://www.sudantribune.com/SPLA-to-demobilize-all-child,36125> accessed March

06, 2018.

<https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/14/south-sudan-terrifying-lives-child-soldiers>

accessed March 06, 2018.

United Nations Secretary-General 2017. “Report of the Secretary-General: Children and

armed conflict, 2017”. www.un.org. Accessed March 8, 2018.