Around the world, the armed conflicts of recent years have been characterized by including the participation of child soldiers. Children, due to the vulnerability of their short age, suffer in a special manner of the war effects, and often their human rights are violated irreversibly. International Law has a duty to provide effective answers to tackle this situation, ensuring that children can be protected against those risks and that their rights can be guaranteed. / A nivel mundial, los conflictos armados de los últimos años se han caracterizado por incluir la participación de niñas y niños soldados. Estos, por la vulnerabilidad propia de su corta de edad, sufren de manera diferenciada de los efectos de la guerra y ven afectados sus derechos humanos, algunas veces de manera irreversible. El Derecho Internacional tiene el deber de brindar erspuestas a esta situación, velando en otdo momento porque niños y niñas puedan ser protegidos frente a tales riesgos y que sus derechos puedan ser garantizados.

The main aim of this Master's thesis is to analyse how children are recruited and abused as soldiers in armed conflicts, and how international humanitarian law protects their rights. The thesis is divided in two main parts, theoretical and empirical. In theoretical part are introduced the most important documents of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including international governmental and non-governmental organizations which promote these rights. In empirical part, the author focuses on case studies, namely the case of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the case of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The author was not interested in finding similarities in these two cases, but conversely, to point out on the uniqueness of each case. To precise, the thesis is analysing reasons for the recruitment and abuse of children by the LRA and ISIS, and the legal responsibility of both groups. The author of this thesis chose as a methodology an instrumental case study which is useful for providing a general understanding of a phenomenon by using a particular case. In addition, this methodology is convenient for interpretation of legal documents, and two selected cases serve as instruments for interpreting the recruitment and abuse of children in armed conflicts. The...

This diploma thesis examined human trafficking in Latin America focusing on child trafficking in chosen countries and showed the importance of prevention. One major key point is to develop more strategies helping youngsters avoid being trapped in human trafficking. Major role is played by parents and teachers who are in daily contact with young people and can help them to develop their critical thinking. Method used in our research include case study approach, more precisely instrumental case study. Using this method, we try to illustrate the phenomena occurring in selected Latin American countries, namely the problem of child soldiers in Colombia, the criadazgo system in Paraguay, Brazil Baby Affair and the problem of illegal adoptions in Brazil, and last but not least, the issue of child sexual exploitation in Venezuela. Since these countries have different experiences and also their will to deal with the issue is distinct, it is not possible to compare their approaches to the problem. Therefore, based on our observations, we have created common factors that may contribute to increasing human trafficking in the region, as well as focusing on the characteristics of society that lead to the primary use of children and women as the main victims of this criminal activity. The aim of the thesis is to...

This thesis examines how the use of children specifically as soldiers could affect the likelihood of rebel-inflicted conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Previous scholars have examined the relationship between rebel groups’ overall recruitment of children and violence against civilians or CRSV, making this a previously unexplored area. The hypotheses of this paper are (1) that the rebel use of children as soldiers will increase the probability of rebel-inflicted CRSV, and (2) that the rebel use of children as soldiers will increase the probability of rebel-inflicted CRSV among groups who have child members, not otherwise. The theoretical argument is in short that groups using children as fighters have lower group cohesion than other groups, increasing the incentive for rebel leadership to promote or tolerate CRSV, and that the lower cognitive ability of child combatants compared to adults is exploited as they are subjected to intense social pressure to fit into the role of a strong and masculine fighter. The hypotheses were tested in a quantitative analysis, the results of which were inconclusive, mainly due to limitations in the data used. Despite this, the analysis further strengthens the support for the relationship between child members and CRSV that has been theorized only recently, and by few scholars. This paper contributes to our understanding about rebel targeting of children and use of CRSV. It also provides avenues for future research, highly recommending future studies disaggregating the roles of children in armed groups with more suitable data.

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The study is about how to work with and create community structures for effective and sustainable social reintegration of Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG), also called child soldiers in Liberia. It analyses the community structures which were engaged in the Disarmament, Demobilisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration processes and questions whether these were premised on community values and norms. The study challenges some of the existing practices of working with community structures in reintegration programmes. The Structural-functionalist perspective is used as theoretical framework of the study based on the notion that social events, like DDRR programmes can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform or the contributions they make towards stability and continuity of societies where child soldiers are to be reintegrated. The study adopts a qualitative methodology to investigate community structures to reintegrate child soldiers in an effective, sustainable way. Different related research techniques, or triangulation, are used referring to a combination of mainly qualitative methods of data collection and analyses. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and documentary sources have different complementary strengths which are more comprehensive when used together. The findings indicated that children of all ages were “recruited” by armed groups and forces for diverse reasons. The findings confirmed children going through difficult experiences as they participated and supervised over violence. The war disoriented children‟s socialization processes. In some situations they returned to dysfunctional communities, without adequate support systems. The humanitarian led community approaches delivered results, however, these were short-lived. The engagement of the community structures was not based on clear community analysis. The intended manifest functions of the DDRR programmes and reintegration objectives for sustainability were eventually dysfunctional in most cases. The study‟s major recommendation is that a careful analysis of existing community structures, identification and engagement of positive community networks be made and that comprehensive capacity building programmes, built on societal values and norms nested within a National Planning Policy framework, will deliver durable and sustainable social reintegration of child soldiers in Liberia. / Sociology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

La guerre civile en Sierra Leone débute en 1991 et dure jusqu’en 2002.Encore aujourd’hui, les analystes sont assez partagés sur ses causes, notamment lesmotivations des rebelles du Front Révolutionnaire Uni (RUF), mouvement àl’origine des hostilités. De son entrée en Sierra Leone à nos jours, le RUF a étél’objet de plusieurs débats et critiques, tant sur son organisation que sur sesméthodes guerrières. En questionnant d’abord la capacité organisationnelle de cemouvement, la thèse a pour objet de contextualiser les arguments souvent associésavec des guerres civiles de ce type. Ils insistent sur l’absence de sens : ces conflitsillustreraient d’abord une situation de chaos total. Elles seraient aussi laconséquence de l’absence ou de la défaillance d’un État.Cette présente étude s’inscrit dans le prolongement des débats sur le RUF.Elle démontre que ce dernier n’était pas si désorganisé que ce que racontent lescommentateurs, avertis ou non. Cette opinion répandue résulte notamment d’unemédiatisation intense de son usage intensif de la violence extrême, très réellecependant. Le RUF n’était pas qu’un groupe de voleurs de diamants sanguinairesmais aussi une force assez structurée avec une logique hiérarchique claire, voireune idéologie. Grâce à ces facteurs, il a mis en place des structures lui permettantd’établir les relations de gouvernant à gouvernés avec les populations urbainessous son contrôle. Cette force rebelle a instauré un mode de gestion de lacollectivité. Cela a modifié la nature de ce groupe armé, devenu, dans les zonessous son contrôle, un « appareil administratif » civil, loin d’être toujoursperformant mais bien identifiable comme tel.En juxtaposant les interactions complexes d’une gouvernance quotidienne,la thèse met en lumière les méthodes de gouvernance du RUF et les aspects dits« normaux » de la vie dans ces villes en guerre. Elle analyse les variables de larelation entre les membres du mouvement rebelle occupant ces communes et lapopulation locale. Une fois une ville conquise, les rebelles sont obligés d’y fairequelque chose. Le RUF impose un « système administratif » instaurant un ordre devie en commun dans toute cette zone.L’étude analyse donc ces outils de la gouvernance civile, mobilisés entemps de guerre. Au cours de cet étude, plusieurs recherches de terrain en SierraLeone, ont été menées. Ces séjours sur place ont permis la réalisation de plusieursentretiens, individuels et collectifs. Ils soutiennent les idées générales exposéesdans cette thèse. / The war in Sierra Leone began in 1991 and ended in 2002. Analysts remaindivided on the question of its cause, particularly on the issue of the motivations ofthe rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the armed group which started thehostilities. From its entry into Sierra Leone to date; the RUF has been the subjectof much debate and criticism, both on its organization and its methods of wagingwar. By asking questions relating to the organizational capacity of the RUF, thisstudy aims to contextualize the central arguments often associated with civil warsof the Sierra Leonean kind: they insist on the absence of meaning; these conflictsillustrate a situation of chaos and/or are devoid of political reflections. They arealso the consequence of the absence or failure of a State.This present study continues these discussions in relation to the RUF, bydemonstrating that this guerilla force was not as disorganized as often portrayed,despite increased media coverage on its use of violence. The RUF was not a groupof murderous diamond thieves but also quite structured with a clear hierarchicallogic or ideology. Through this internal organisation, it set up structures toestablish governor/governed relations with urban populations under its control.The rebel force thus established a system to manage these local communities. Suchconsiderations changed the nature of the armed group in the areas under itscontrol, where it established a civil "administrative unit", far from being efficientbut identifiable as such.By juxtaposing the complex interactions of daily governance, the thesishighlights the governance practices of the RUF and the aspects that characterise"normal" life in these « war torn » towns. It analyzes the variables of therelationship between members of the rebel movement occupying these towns andthe local population. Once a town is conquered, the rebels are forced to dosomething there, an "administrative system" establishing an order of coexistence inthe whole area is imposed.The study therefore analyzes the tools of civil governance, mobilized intime of war. During this study, several field research trips to Sierra Leone, wereconducted. These trips have allowed the realization of several interviews,individual and collective. They support the general ideas presented in this thesis.

The study is about how to work with and create community structures for effective and sustainable social reintegration of Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG), also called child soldiers in Liberia. It analyses the community structures which were engaged in the Disarmament, Demobilisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration processes and questions whether these were premised on community values and norms. The study challenges some of the existing practices of working with community structures in reintegration programmes. The Structural-functionalist perspective is used as theoretical framework of the study based on the notion that social events, like DDRR programmes can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform or the contributions they make towards stability and continuity of societies where child soldiers are to be reintegrated. The study adopts a qualitative methodology to investigate community structures to reintegrate child soldiers in an effective, sustainable way. Different related research techniques, or triangulation, are used referring to a combination of mainly qualitative methods of data collection and analyses. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and documentary sources have different complementary strengths which are more comprehensive when used together. The findings indicated that children of all ages were “recruited” by armed groups and forces for diverse reasons. The findings confirmed children going through difficult experiences as they participated and supervised over violence. The war disoriented children‟s socialization processes. In some situations they returned to dysfunctional communities, without adequate support systems. The humanitarian led community approaches delivered results, however, these were short-lived. The engagement of the community structures was not based on clear community analysis. The intended manifest functions of the DDRR programmes and reintegration objectives for sustainability were eventually dysfunctional in most cases. The study‟s major recommendation is that a careful analysis of existing community structures, identification and engagement of positive community networks be made and that comprehensive capacity building programmes, built on societal values and norms nested within a National Planning Policy framework, will deliver durable and sustainable social reintegration of child soldiers in Liberia. / Sociology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

U N I V E R Z I T A K A R L O V A FILOZOFICKÁ FAKULTA Sociální politika a sociální práce Katedra sociální práce Diplomová práce Master Thesis Bc. Sarah Asfour Factors hampering the integration of Refugee Children Faktory ztěžující integraci uprchlických dětí Vedoucí práce: doc. PhDr. Oldřich Matoušek 2018 ABSTRACT The main aim of this thesis is to describe the factors that hamper the integration of Refugee Children into a new society. Factors that are mentioned in relation to integration are connected with an education gap, unfamiliarity with the language spoken in a new society, a bad economic situation of a family and its consequences and unstable or inappropriate housing. Social economic factors are also mentioned in the thesis. Child Labour closely linked to family conditions are discuess together with the worst form of it: child requitment into army. Refugee children coming from various backgrounds also may face many psychologically challenging situations when forcefully or willingly leaving their home country and other significant situations connected to their refugee status. In this thesis, I discuss psychological distresses that influence children's mental state due to war experience, migration experience, extended stays in refugee camps or post-migration stressors. In this thesis the situation of...

Depuis la fin du vingtième siècle, l’attention de la communauté internationale s’est portée sur l’utilisation de l’enfant soldat dans les conflits armés. La prolifération d’armes légères, la pauvreté et la multiplication des conflits armés non internationaux sont autant de facteurs à l’origine du phénomène. De nombreux instruments de protection des droits de l’enfant prévoient l’interdiction du recrutement et de l’utilisation d’enfants soldats dans les hostilités. Malgré les lacunes normatives qui s’en dégagent, notamment à propos de l’âge de recrutement de l’enfant soldat, d’importants efforts ont été fournis par la communauté internationale. Ces efforts vont être complétés grâce à la Cour pénale internationale, en particulier avec l’affaire Thomas Lubanga, première personne à être poursuivie devant la Cour, et sur le seul chef d’accusation de crime de guerre consistant à procéder à l’enrôlement ou la conscription d’enfants de moins de quinze ans, et à utiliser ces derniers en vue de les faire participer activement à des hostilités. Ce premier verdict historique institue une jurisprudence inédite et fondatrice en matière de crimes de guerre pour enrôlement et utilisation d’enfants soldats, dont l’héritage pourra faciliter d’autres poursuites sur le plan national. Si l’enfant soldat apparaît comme une victime, il est aussi acteur aux hostilités. Bien souvent, lorsque l’on parle du phénomène d’enfants soldats, un amalgame est opéré entre deux antonymes : victime et bourreau. Comment le droit international appréhende-t-il la responsabilité pénale de l’enfant soldat ? Assiste-t-on à la généralisation d’un statut ou à un « dénominateur commun » ? / Since the end of the 20th century, the eyes of the international community have been focused on the utilization of child soldier in armed conflicts. The proliferation of small arms and light weapons, of poverty, and especially of non international armed conflicts, are crucial factors underlying the phenomenon. Numerous rights of the child protection instruments plan the ban on recruiting and using children as soldiers in hostilities. Despite the normative gaps that emerge, regarding in particular the hiring age of the child soldier, important efforts have been provided by the whole international community. These efforts are going to be completed by the International Criminal Court, in particular with the Thomas Lubanga case, first person brought before the Court, under the unique charge of war crime, namely enlisting or conscripting children under the age of fifteen years, and using them to participate actively in hostilities. This first historical verdict sets up a novel and founding case law regarding war crimes of enlistment and use of child soldiers, which legacy may make other proceedings easier on a national level. If the child soldier appears as a victim, he is also a player in hostilities. When dealing with the child soldier phenomenon, a confusion is quite often made between two antonyms : victim and executioner. How does the international law treat the criminal liability of the child soldier ? Are we witnessing the generalization of a status or, at least, a common denominator ?