Child soldiers and disability: gaps in knowledge and opportunities for change

Abstract

The recruitment and use of child soldiers are a pressing peace and security issue around the world. The United Nations currently lists 7 government militaries and 52 non-state armed groups using child soldiers in 14 countries, all in the Global South. To date, there has been minimal research on the intersection of child soldiering and disability, or on challenges faced by disabled ex-combatants in such conflicts. We explore the current knowledge on this topic, avenues through which the rights of disabled people in post-conflict settings can be realised, and the importance of disability studies to praxis on child soldiers.

Keywords:

• Child soldiers
• disability
• DDR
• human rights
• post-conflict

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the participation and cooperation of the young people affected by armed conflict that have regularly contributed to the work of the Dallaire Initiative through presentations, consultations and the sharing of their experiences. In particular, we would like to thank Mariatu Kamara for her contributions and Michel Chikwanini.

Notes

1. UNICEF, The Paris Principles, 7.

2. Oliver, Social Work with Disabled People, 23.

3. Morris, “Impairment and Disability,” 3–4.

4. Yeo and Moore, “Including Disabled People,” 572.

5. Connell, “Southern Bodies and Disability,” 1370.

6. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, preamble, para. e., (http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml), accessed September 22, 2016.

7. Meekosha and Soldatic, “Human rights and the Global South,” 1383–84.

8. Keogh and Merkel, Towards an Inclusive, 32.

9. Meekosha, “Decolonizing Disability.”

10. Ibid., 668–78.

11. Ibid., 678.

12. Berghs, “Radicalising ‘disability’ in Conflict,” 747–9.

13. Yeo and Moore, “Including Disabled People,” 574.

14. Whitman et al., Child Soldiers, 21–3.

15. Keogh and Merkel, Towards an Inclusive, 30–1.

16. Betancourt et al., “High Hopes, Grim Reality,” 574–5.

17. Yeo and Moore, “Including Disabled People,” 587.

18. Keogh and Merkel, Towards an Inclusive, 18.

19. Aldersey, “Disability Advocacy in Kinshasa,” 789–92.

20. Thapa and Thaler, Armed Violence and Disability, 6–7.

21. Lord and Stein, “Peacebuilding and Reintegration.”

22. Ibid., 277.

23. Ibid., 280.

24. Ibid., 281.

25. Ibid., 282-3.

26. Schauer and Elbert, The Psychological Impact, 324.

27. Betancourt et al., “Past Horrors, Present Struggles,” 17, 28; Wainryb and Kerig, “The Person,” 889; and Okello et al., “Psychiatric Disorders,” 228.

28. Schauer and Elbert, The Psychological Impact, 322–3.

29. Ibid., 888–9.

30. Weibull, “When War Stays Within,” 19, 25.

31. Johannessen and Holgersen, “Former Child Soldiers’,” 57.

32. Ovuga et al., “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” 136–9.

33. Amone-P’Olak, “Torture Against Children,” 111–2.

34. Uganda: Okello et al., “Psychiatric Disorders,” 227–8; Uganda and Sierra Leone: MacMullin and Loughry, “Investigating Psychosocial Adjustment,” 466–7; and Nepal: Kohrt et al., “Comparison of Mental Health,” 8–9.

35. Blattman and Annan, “The Consequences,” 882–3.

36. Jennings, “The Struggle to Satisfy,” 213–4.

37. Arthur, “Capacity Development,” 267.

38. Ibid., 292–3.

39. Ibid., 290.

40. United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child 2007, para. 39–40.

41. Keogh and Merkel, Towards an Inclusive, 34.

42. Berghs, “Radicalising ‘disability’ in Conflict,” 752.

43. Aldersey, “Disability Advocacy in Kinshasa,” 789–92.

44. Keogh and Merkel, Towards an Inclusive, 36–7.

45. Ibid., 35–6.

46. Aldersey, “Disability Advocacy in Kinshasa,” 788.

47. Ibid., 785.

48. Ibid., 789–90.

49. Ibid., 791–2; and UN Treaty Collection website (https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&lang=en), accessed March 22, 2016.

50. Mirza, “Disability and Humanitarianism,” 1527–28.

51. Ibid., 1528–29.

52. Ibid., 1530–32.

53. De Matos Ala and Black, “Building a More Inclusive,” 9–10.

54. Ibid., 11–14.

55. Ibid., 13–17.

56. Ibid., 21.

57. Haer and Böhmelt, “Child Soldiers as Time Bombs?” 408.

58. Whitman et al., Child Soldiers, 21.

59. Banholzer and Haer, “Attaching and Detaching,” 112.

60. Ibid., 114–5.

61. Betancourt et al., “High Hopes, Grim Reality,” 567.

62. Ibid., 574–5).

63. Jennings, “The Struggle to Satisfy,” 213–4.

64. United Nations Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Resource Centre, Integrated Disarmament.

65. United Nations, The Operational Guide, 13–4.

66. Ibid.

67. Ibid., 39.

68. Ibid., 43.

69. Ibid., 164.

70. Ibid., 50.

71. Ibid., 145–6.

72. Ibid., 150.

73. Ibid., 164.

74. Ibid., 48, 79, 200.

75. Ibid., 172, 261.

76. Ibid., 227, 232; and United Nations Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Resource Centre, Integrated Disarmament, section 5.30, 4, 25.

77. Keogh and Merkel, Towards an Inclusive, 12.

78. Nario-Redmond et al., “Redefining Disability,” 468–71.

79. United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1612 (2005).