Külügyi Szemle - A Magyar Külügyi Intézet folyóirata - 2008 (7. évfolyam)
2008 / 4. szám - AFRIKA - Paragi Beáta: Gyerekkatonák Afrikában
Résumé Child Soldiers in Africa According to estimates, about 250-300,000 people under age take part in armed conflicts all over the world. The phenomenon does not only appeal to the morally sensitive part of international public opinion, but it appeals to those in the academia as well who study the nature and the causes of contemporary wars. The essay wishes to find an answer to the question whether the participation of children in armed conflicts can really be regarded as irrational, whether their behavior is abnormal - and if the answer is 'yes', then what standards apply. There are significant differences between the relevant measures of international humanitarian law and the African political, economic, social, and cultural realities. According to research in this area, neither poverty nor problematic family background (orphanhood) can be regarded as such a variable, the elimination of which would result in the disappearance of the institution of child soldiery in each African conflict. Therefore, a number of people claim that the explanation lies somewhere else - on the side of demand. Hiring children as soldiers is cheap and simple for attaining the much too real goals of armed organizations - while it provides an alternative protection to the children where the traditional community relations fail to do so. 80 Külügyi Szemle
