Plea for Union leadership to halt use of child soldiers

Date: 22/10/1998

By Simon Taylor

THE EU is well-placed to take the lead in international efforts to prevent rifles and other armaments ending up in the hands of child soldiers, according to a top United Nations diplomat.

Special UN representative Olara Otunnu, who is seeking to raise awareness of the problems caused when children become involved in armed conflicts, argues that one way to reduce the participation of minors in wars around the world would be to prevent the sale of small arms to countries where child soldiers are known to be involved.

He says that the Union made significant progress in this area when it adopted a set of ethical guidelines on arms exports at the Cardiff summit in June, and argues that it could play a key role in raising international awareness of the problem. “There is certainly a role for the EU to play in highlighting this issue,” Otunnu told European Voice.

The UN expert argues that the Union is probably better placed than the US to raise the international profile of this question as the whole matter of the sale and possession of arms is far less politically sensitive among members of the public in Europe than it is on the other side of the Atlantic.

The US also lacks moral credibility on the issue of arms control following Washington's failure to sign the international treaty to ban land-mines in Ottawa last December. So important is the issue of small arms and child soldiers to many activists that Otunnu's crusade is already being dubbed the 'second land-mines campaign' after the world-wide clamour which led to the Ottawa deal.

The UN special representative stresses that he is not pursuing a “Utopian” dream to ban the exports of all weapons, but says much more could be done to prevent small arms ending up in conflict zones where children are likely to become embroiled in fighting. “The availability of arms and light weapons makes it easier to enrol women and children in warfare,” he said, pointing out that many modern light weapons were very easy to use. “You just point and shoot,” he explained.

Otunnu argues that the practice of using child soldiers can also have a damaging long-term effect on societies.

He says children who are enlisted as soldiers at a very young age often become horribly brutalised. In many war-torn societies, gun-toting minors have replaced traditional authority figures such as teachers or village elders.

“Some of the worst atrocities in modern internecine conflicts are often committed by children,” he said.