Child Soldiers Amnesty Essay

The topic of child soldiers has been a very controversial dilemma for a very long time. Many people argue that child soldiers are victims, while others argue that child soldiers are perpetrators. The real question though, is whether or not all child soldiers should be given amnesty (legal forgiveness) after the war is over. But with further research, it is clear that overall, child soldiers should be given amnesty if they were forced or manipulated into joining the war. Child soldiers usually don’t decide to join the war, they are forced. According to the article “Armed and Underaged”, about 200,000 children per year become underaged child soldiers, and most of them against their will. And it’s not just boys who are getting taken. Many underaged girls are getting taken to be the war’s cooks or messengers, and most of them get sexually abused when kidnapped. Not only are the children kidnapped and forced to join, but the adult soldiers threaten the children, and tell …show more content…
Recently, the case of Omar Khadr has drawn attention to support the position against all child soldier amnesty. At age 15, Omar Khadr killed a US soldier, and has then since been held in prison. Now, eight years later, his release is still to be decided on. Part of the reason why this case has taken so long, is because Khadr chose to fight. He claimed to be happy that he killed the soldier, and stated that killing the US soldier with a grenade was the “happiest day of his life”. And with his father being a deceased Al Qaeda leader, he could potentially be extremely dangerous. Teen fighters like this should not be given full amnesty, and it is clear why. They chose to kill, they are happy to kill, and are mostly likely going to continue to kill. It would be a foolish decision to let these young soldiers go, especially when they, like Khadr, are associated with