Edmundo Resendiz

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

Nepal

The current problems that the existence of child soldiers brings to the world are
many. It is estimated that more than 300,000 children have been abducted and forced to
take up arms, the damage caused by being a child soldier is much more than any physical
harm the child might go through, and currently over 50 countries recruit children under
the age of 18 as soldiers for their armies. The problem also varies in severity according to
the sex of the child being used. Girl soldiers have the particular risk of being subjected to
rape and various forms of sexual harassment, while still forced to be involved in armed
conflicts. Although treaties and conventions have been passed and held, the source of the
problem has not yet been addressed efficiently enough by neither the own country nor the
United Nations. It is the effects that child soldiers have on the children and society itself
coupled with the lack of effective child soldier prevention programs that make this topic
an alarming and important one.
Nepal has already experienced the horrors of child soldiers. The People’s War,
waged for almost a decade between 1996-2006, saw the enforcement of nearly 1200 child
soldiers by the Communist Party of Nepal in their attempt to overthrow the monarchy
that was then in place. 361 children died, 314 children were seriously injured, and it is
estimated that 15,521 children were abducted. Since the war ended the child soldiers
were staying in camps internally ran by the Maoist but overseen by the UN, and it wasn’t
until 2009 that 3,000 of the former child soldiers were released and promised a place
back into society. The move although widely anticipated for those in favor of peace
between the government and Maoist, marked the beginning of a new battle for the child
soldiers and they would have to leave behind the traumatic experiences they endured
behind and start a new life.
What Nepal would like to see done is for other countries to do is to help former
by child soldiers by offering them grants to pursue academic studies and training courses
to do other things such as becoming chefs or mechanics. Nepal feels that doing so will
aid in helping the child soldiers reintegrate back into society, however Nepal
acknowledges that this is only one aspect of the help former child soldiers need. Nepal
also understands that it is impossible to fix the problems that create the need for child
soldiers in the first place, however Nepal feels that enforcement of international treaties
could help countries during conflict avoid using children as soldiers. There should be
extensive physiological rehabilitation centers created by the UN to help these child
soldiers and they should draw funds from UNICEF. UNICEF could make money by
creating awareness of this and asking for donations because it is not a case of people not
wanting to help it is a case of people not knowing help is needed.