Children Recruiting And Exploiting By Terrorist Groups

Abstract

A large number of children are being trafficked by terrorist and violent extremist groups. Determining the childhood age limit for children exploited by terrorist organizations is important. Determining the boundary between childhood and maturity is a contentious issue. There are various points of contention over determining when childhood ends and adulthood begins. In international law “child” is defined as “every human being below the age of eighteen years.” Terrorist Groups prefer recruiting children due to visibility and propaganda, economic considerations and effectiveness, easy control and tactical advantages. The methods of terrorist groups to recruit children could be summarized as, forcible recruitment, economic enticement, transnational recruitment, use of schools (education), propaganda and online recruitment. The children in terrorist groups face to extreme violence and as a result they could easily have physical and mental harm, so rehabilitation and reintegration programs are main milestones in their new life. Governments ought to support transnational and multidisciplinary cooperation to create and carry out programs taking care of instances of children having been presented to terrorist groups. Sustained reintegration activities involve deradicalization, re-education, reintegration and community outreach jurisdictions.