In ca. 75% der weltweiten Kriege und bewaffneten Konflikte sind Kindersoldaten involviert; diese Fakten lassen die Kindersoldatenproblematik zu einem weltumspannenden Problem werden. Weltweit sind ca. 300.000 Kindersoldaten unter achtzehn Jahren in kriegerische Konflikte eingebunden und als Soldaten, Träger, Boten, Minensucher oder in anderweitigen Diensten tätig. Das Schicksal der Kindersoldaten lässt sich vor allem in Asien und Afrika feststellen. Auf beiden Kontinenten werden sogar 7- bis 12-Jährige in kriegerische Auseinandersetzungen verwickelt. Nach dem United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) ist die größte Anzahl an Kindersoldaten in Afrika zu finden, was auch mit der Tatsache in Zusammenhang steht, dass die meisten Konflikte heutzutage auf dem Afrikanischen Kontinent ausgetragen werden. Von großer erziehungswissenschaftlicher Bedeutung ist das Thema, da Kinder und Jugendliche, die mit kriegerischen Konfliktsituationen aufwachsen und unter diesen Bedingungen sozialisiert werden, selbst bereit sind, Gewalt auszuüben. Das gilt selbstverständlich bereits für Kinder und Jugendliche, die zwar nicht als Kombattanten in das Kriegsgeschehen verwickelt werden, aber von denen dennoch Gewalt als ein alltäglicher Zustand erfahren wird. Gesellschaftliche Werte, wie zum Beispiel Hilfsbereitschaft oder der friedliche Umgang miteinander, werden durch die generalisierte Gewalt auf eine harte Probe gestellt. Das Handeln der Erwachsenen ist durch den kriegerischen Kontext bestimmt und die gesellschaftlichen Werte werden dadurch insgesamt verändert. Kinder und Jugendliche, die in kriegerischen Situationen aufwachsen, haben zudem nur selten die Möglichkeit, eine Ausbildung zu absolvieren und sich somit eine Perspektive für die Zukunft abseits des Kampfes zu sichern. Sie fühlen sich häufig allein gelassen, machtlos und schutzlos. In diesen hoffnungslosen Lebensumständen ist ein Anschluss an eine gewaltbereite Gruppe für einige Kinder und Jugendliche ein Weg, Nahrung, Schutz und eine kurzfristige – am bloßen Überleben orientierte - Perspektive zu gewinnen. Werden die Kinder und Jugendlichen zu Mitgliedern gewaltbereiter Gruppen, so wachsen sie in einem System der Gewalt auf, in dem sie lernen, sich mit Gewalt ihren Lebensunterhalt und ihr Überleben zu sichern. Ein Teufelskreis entsteht, in dessen Kern die Frage steht, wie Kinder und Jungendliche, die keinen Frieden und auch keinen friedvollen Umgang mit sich selbst und anderen Personen kennen, als Zivilisten Frieden schaffen können. Die Problematik der Kindersoldaten stellt also nicht nur eine Bedrohung der Kindheit, sondern eine Bedrohung der zivilen Gesellschaftsstruktur dar, gefährdet die regionale Stabilität und somit die Chancen folgender Generationen, dem Schicksal des Kindersoldatentums zu entgehen. / Worldwide about 300,000 child soldiers under eighteen years of age are involved in armed conflicts as soldiers, porters, messengers or other services. The fate of child soldiers is particularly in Asia and Africa identified. On both continents are even 7 - up to 12-year-old implicated in armed conflicts. According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) the largest number of child soldiers is found in Africa, which is also related to the fact that most conflicts today are held on the African continent. Children and adolescents, who grow up during armed conflict and are socialiesed under these conditions are willing to use violence. They experience violence as a condition of everyday. Social values, such as peaceful dealings with each other, are affected by the generalized violence. Children and young people who grow up in war situations, have also rarely the possibility of training and school education. They often feel alone, helpless and defenceless without having a perspective for their future. In these desperate living conditions an active affiliation with a violent group is for some children and adolescents a way to gain food, protection and a short-term-perspective which is oriented on mere survival.

The recruitment, enlistment and use of children younger than fifteen to participate actively in hostilities is prohibited in customary international law as well as in several international legal instruments. The use of child soldiers is, despite of the prohibition, a widespread phenomenon with 300 000 as the estimated number of child soldiers in national armies as well as in various rebel and insurgent groups in the world today. Although the problem is world-wide; most recent focus have been on Africa where children have served and still serve in ongoing conflicts in various functions including but not limited to front line soldiers, messengers, guards and sex-slaves. Many of the world‟s child soldiers are girls that are facing the risks of sexual abuse and discrimination. In this thesis the 1996-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone will serve as an example of a conflict were children were used as soldiers.Prohibition against the use of child soldiers can be found in international legal instruments in both human rights law and international humanitarian law. It can also be found in instruments in the fields of international labor law and prohibition against slavery. The provisions differ in their definition of a child soldier; concerning age limit as well as the child‟s function during the conflict. There are also differences in the responsibility of states to protect children against being used as soldiers. This particularly affects girl soldiers since they often have their primary tasks behind the front line and thus are not usually included in the more narrow definitions of child soldiers.Two courts; the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) are used as examples of enforcement mechanisms. The SCSL as being the first court to deliver convictions for the use of child soldiers as well as thoroughly discussing the illegality of the use of child soldiers has been of importance in the fight against the use of child soldiers. The ICC will be the enforcement mechanism of the future and it has already prosecuted for the use of child soldiers. The SCSL has raised the awareness and started the struggle against impunity for those responsible for using child soldiers but it is the ICC that will have to continue the fight, although with some obstacles to overcome.

The northern region of Uganda has been plagued by violent conflict for over two decades. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been waging war against the current government of Uganda under the leadership of President Museveni. The Acholi community resident in the North of Uganda has been most affected by this war. In recent years however Northern Uganda has enjoyed relative calm following an agreement for the cessation of hostilities between the LRA and the government to allow for peace talks. Following the anticipated end of this conflict, the international community, the government and local organisations have engaged in a number of interventions and mechanisms that would assist in peace building. A fundamental intervention that has been formulated and administered to this end is the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme for the ex-LRA combatants. The DDR process has had the sole objective of enabling formerly abducted children to transform their lives from violence into civility and community. It has been the premise that if this transformation were to occur then societies could be made peaceful. There has been growing support for these programmes but there has been very little analysis done of the utility of these programmes and the consequential impacts that these programmes have on the local indigenous communities. Though well intentioned, there is much work to be done to assess the utility and success of reintegration initiatives in granting the formerly abducted children and local populations' lifestyles that are reasonably free from fear and want.

Note: / An estimated 48,000 child soldiers were involved in the violent civil war in Sierra Leone between 1991 and 2002. It is suggested that approximately 12,000 were girls. Lacking material possessions and facing other negative structural factors, the majority was in need of some form of assistance post-conflict. Although international aid response was substantial, only 500 girls entered the countrywide Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program. The remainder followed a variety of different courses. Giddens' structuration theory offers a useful theoretical framework to explore the reasons for their absence in the program, as it permits a focus on the role of structure and agencyin understanding behaviour. Social stigmatization and a gender-biased DDR program, within a broader structure of gender inequality, are identified as the principal problems . / On estime que 48,000 enfants soldats ont été impliques dans la violente guerre civile en Sierra Leone entre 1991 et 2002.11 est suggéré que prés de 12,000 d'entre eux étaient des filles. Avec des lacunes importantes au niveau matériel et faisant face a d'autres problèmes d'ordre structurel, la majorité de ces filles ont eu besoin d'une certaine forme d'assistance post-conflit. Bien que l'aide internationale ait été importante, seulement 500 filles ont été inscrites au programme national de Désarmement, démobilisation et réinsertion (DDR). Les autres filles ont suivies différents parcours. La théorie de structuration de Giddens offre un cadre théorique utile pour étudier les raisons de leur absence dans le programme car il permet de focaliser sur le rôle de la structure et de I' agence dans la compréhension du comportement. La stigmatisation sociale et une inégalité de genre au sein du programme de DDR, situe dans une structure plus généralisée d'inégalité de genre, sont identifiées comme étant les problèmes principaux .

Thesis (M.A. (Political & International Studies)) - Rhodes University, 2009. / A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in International Relations.

Zugl.: Berlin, Humboldt-Universiẗat, Diss., 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 359-376) and index.

This dissertation uses varying approaches to examine effects of war on communities and individuals in developing countries, specifically in Liberia, West Africa. The first essay, based on work published jointly with Robert E. Moore in 2012, uses a case study of Saclepea, Liberia, to illustrate the role that an appropriately designed local economic development (LED) plan can play in a rural African community emerging from crisis. This case demonstrates the need for the involvement and cooperation of many parties. Clear understanding of the stage of assistance helps to define the role of each entity. This case confirms that local participation in development efforts is an important factor in the success of these efforts. The second essay compares post-war earnings and educational attainment of former child soldiers, adult soldiers, and non-soldiers in post-war Liberia. The results indicate that the war in Liberia had different effects on soldiers than on non-soldiers, but effects for soldiers do not differ greatly between those who fought as children and those who fought as adults. Lasting effects for former soldiers do not, in sum, seem to be negative. Third, I take an experimental approach to understanding trust and trustworthiness among former child soldiers in Liberia. Liberian subjects’ decisions in the standard investment game indicate that former child soldiers do not differ in trusting behavior from other subjects. Non-soldiers are less trusting than adult soldiers, and child soldiers are less trustworthy than adult soldiers. Among only child soldiers, those who had only witnessed violence are more trustworthy than those who had been victims of violence. Liberians in this experiment tend to trust more than Americans who played the same investment game previously. The final essay examines many instances of the same investment game to explore how violence affects trusting and trustworthy behaviors and how those behaviors affect a country’s level of peacefulness. I find that a macroeconomic peace index can predict trust but not trustworthiness. Trustworthiness does affect peacefulness.

Magister Legum - LLM / In many countries around the world, approximately 230 million children are living in countries affected by armed conflict. 15 million of them were caught up, in various parts of Africa, in violent conflicts. Some of the African countries where children are involved in armed conflicts include: Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mali, Somalia and South Sudan. In CAR, for example, thirty four children (girls and boys) were abducted by armed groups, some as young as 3 years of age.

Submitted by GIOVANNA AYRES ARANTES DE PAIVA null (giovannaayres_ap@hotmail.com) on 2016-03-15T18:15:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Giovanna Ayres - 2016.pdf: 2908546 bytes, checksum: 8392dac05667573ad2d0d4c6ff390ba1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Manzano de Almeida (smanzano@marilia.unesp.br) on 2016-03-15T18:49:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 paiva_gaa_me_mar.pdf: 2908546 bytes, checksum: 8392dac05667573ad2d0d4c6ff390ba1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T18:49:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 paiva_gaa_me_mar.pdf: 2908546 bytes, checksum: 8392dac05667573ad2d0d4c6ff390ba1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Sobretudo a partir da década de 1990, a Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) passou a publicar uma série de documentos oficiais – como relatórios e resoluções – e a adotar ações específicas e inéditas a fim de incluir o emprego de crianças-soldado na agenda de seus diferentes órgãos. Diante desse cenário, buscamos avaliar em que medida há uma convergência ou uma divergência entre os trabalhos desenvolvidos pela Assembleia Geral, UNICEF, Conselho de Segurança e Secretariado sobre as crianças-soldado. Argumentamos que a concepção de Segurança Humana, os estudos das “novas guerras”, a ideia de que existe uma responsabilidade de proteger a criança e o estabelecimento de uma legislação internacional sobre o próprio conceito de criança e seu papel na sociedade são alguns fatores que fazem com que haja um padrão de ação nas diferentes medidas adotadas sobre o tema no âmbito das Nações Unidas. A partir de uma análise documental dos órgãos da ONU, apontamos também os impactos, consequências, limites, dificuldades e contradições do sistema das Nações Unidas em relação às crianças empregadas em conflitos armados. / Especially since the 1990s, the United Nations (UN) began to publish a series of official documents – such as reports and resolutions – and to take specific and unprecedented actions to include the use of child soldiers on the agenda of its bodies. Given this scenario, we sought to evaluate whether there is a convergence or a divergence between the work of General Assembly, UNICEF, Security Council and Secretariat on child soldiers. We argue that the concept of Human Security, the study of "new wars", the idea that there is a responsibility to protect the child and the establishment of an international law on the very concept of child and their role in society are some factors that influence a pattern of action in the United Nations. From a documental analysis of UN bodies, we also point out the impacts, consequences, limits, difficulties and contradictions of the system of the United Nations concerning the treatment of children used in armed conflict.

This research explores the perceptions and experiences of female former child soldiers in regard to their reintegration within the community of Gulu District, northern Uganda. In many societies women are generally excluded due to prevailing patriarchal hegemonies, with northern Uganda being no exception. Moreover, former child soldiers are commonly marginalized and discriminated against because members of communities commonly believe that they should be punished for the perceived atrocities that they allegedly committed during times of conflict, rather than be reintegrated into society. In this regard female former child soldiers can be identified as a particularly vulnerable and marginalized group. Therefore, it can be suggested that although the distinction between traditional gender roles has been eroded during times of armed conflict, there is still widespread evidence that women are largely overlooked and disregarded in the process of peace building. In order to explore the perceptions and experiences of former female child soldiers, a qualitative case study method was utilized based on in-depth face to face interviews with women from Gulu District, northern Uganda. The findings of this study indicate that, even though these women went through considerable hardships, all of them displayed a strong sense of resilience. Many of them had taken on the role as active change agents in their own lives and provided an array of suggestions on how their situation could be improved. The major themes constructed from the study include: challenges facing returnees; facilitating factors for returnees and suggestions on improved reintegration. Based on these findings a number of recommendations emerged. The recommendations are presented in order to assist organizations and other stakeholders involved in reintegration of child soldiers in northern Uganda and elsewhere in the world. Apart from providing information to the existing body of research, future areas of proposed research are also outlined.