Suchergebnisse

This book analyses the current state of child soldiering internationally. The proscriptive content of contemporary norms on the prohibition of the use and recruitment of child soldiers is evaluated to determine if they are capable of better enforcement.

Abstract
The prevailing approach to the application of the right to life during the conduct of hostilities holds that the arbitrariness of loss of life in terms of international human rights law (IHRL) is determined by compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL). Through application of the interpretive principle of systemic integration, an alternative 'normative approach' is advanced. The normative approach is premised on a contextual consideration of the normative content and underlying values of the right to life rather than on the more mechanical approaches to its interpretation. The outcome reached that is based on this approach has two profound distinctions to that of the prevailing approach: (i) not all loss of life where IHL was not strictly complied with is ipso jure arbitrary and, conversely, (ii) at times, compelling factors necessitate a recalibration of arbitrariness along a spectrum between IHRL and IHL, with the result that loss of life may amount to arbitrary deprivation of life even when IHL is fully complied with. In the context of quintessential military operations, a two-pronged normative test is advanced to determine the circumstances in which non-compliance with IHL will result in arbitrary deprivation of life.

A number of States lawfully enlist persons younger than eighteen (but at least sixteen) into their national armed forces. While such enlistment is consistent with the relevant States' international law obligations, a number of additional obligations are triggered that the State owes towards the child enlistee by virtue of international children's rights. This article engages with these additional obligations as they apply to child members of the armed forces who are in conflict with the law. In particular, focus is placed on States that maintain a separate and distinct military justice system, and the examples of Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom are relied upon for illustrative purposes. In order to properly engage with State obligations, in this regard, the article also endeavors to address the nature of the duty of care owed by the armed forces in respect of child members.

AbstractAfrica, both on the inter-State level and the academic level, maintains a very low profile in the global debate on international humanitarian law (IHL). IHL issues do not feature prominently in the armed conflict debate within Africa, and African States and people do not significantly participate in the global IHL debate. This contribution is aimed at both identifying the reasons for this lack of regional engagement with IHL and identifying entry points for such engagement. It also ambitiously calls for ongoing and engaged focus on IHL in Africa, and to this end, a number of issues for future consideration can be extrapolated from the issues discussed.

AbstractThe Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was the primary agitator during the decade-long civil war that ravaged Sierra Leone. One of the hallmarks of RUF tactics was the abduction and military use of children. The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) issued an indictment against the high-command of the RUF. Each of the accused was charged with the enlistment, conscription or use of child soldiers. The Prosecutor v. Sesay, Kallon and Gbao case (RUF case) provides a cogent account of the crime of conscripting or using children younger than fifteen in hostilities. This paper tracks the development of the growing child soldier jurisprudence and plots the contribution of the RUF case. Specific emphasis is placed on the Court's application of abstract concepts to concrete situations, e.g. the determination whether a specific instance of child soldier use amounts to the child's 'active participation in hostilities'. The paper follows a progression whereby the chapeau requirements of Article 4 of the Statute of the SCSL are first assessed and thereafter the actus reus and mens rea elements of the substantive crime of enlisting, conscripting or using children in hostilities are examined in light of the RUF case.