The recruitment of children under age 15 for military purposes is a war crime under international law. Child soldier recruiters may face prosecution by the International Criminal Court, established in 1998. The statute of the court defines the use of children under 15 in hostilities as a war crime. A child soldier is any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers and anyone accompanying such groups, other than family members. The definition includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and for forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms. From: Cape Town Principles and Best Practices on the Recruitment of Children into the Armed Forces and on Demobilization and Social Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Africa (Cape Town, 27-30 April 1997). Laws, treaties and other relevant documents relating to child soldier issues:

• The Paris Commitments - 2007 agreement with 84 signatories (nations) that “strongly reaffirm our collective concern at the plight of children affected by armed conflict, our recognition of the physical, developmental, emotional, mental, social and spiritual harm to children resulting from the violation of their rights during armed conflict, and our commitment to identifying and implementing lasting solutions to the problem of unlawful recruitment or use of children in armed conflict.” And is designed to assist the process of “disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration” which is particularly sensitive for children, often psychologically disturbed by violence.

The UN's efforts have been supported in 2008 by tough legislation in the US governing its relationship with countries or warlords linked with the use of child soldiers. A crucial step towards ending the use of child soldiers was registered in 2007 with the conviction of 3 warlords by the war crimes court for Sierra Leone. In early 2009, the International Criminal Court opened its first case with a charge for child conscription against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a militia leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

• International Labour Organization Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour - Convention 182 from the International Labour Organization is a legally binding convention which requires signatories and member states of the ILO to take immediate action to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including the forced recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. States are also required to report their efforts annually to the ILO. This convention set the minimum age of recruitment at 18 and was the first to bring the issue of child soldiers into labour law. The convention came into force in 1999 and quickly became the most rapidly ratified labour convention in history.

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration representing rights which belong to each person equally. It was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. While not explicitly acknowledging the issue of children in armed conflict, Article 25 of the UDHR recognizes the special assistance and care needs of children.

• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court- The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, a permanent court designed to try persons charged with committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The treaty was adopted in 1998 and came into force in 2002. In defining war crimes the statute includes the conscripting or enlisting of children under the age of fifteen into armed conflict.

• International Convention on the Rights of the Child – the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention and the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not. It came into force on 2 September 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of November 2009, 194 countries have ratified it, including every member of the United Nations except Somalia and United States. Somalia's cabinet ministers have announced plans to ratify the treaty.

The Nations that ratify this international convention are bound to it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which is composed of members from countries around the world. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child. Governments of countries that have ratified the Convention are required to report to, and appear before, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child periodically to be examined on their progress with regards to the advancement of the implementation of the Convention and the status of child rights in their country. Their reports and the committee's written views and concerns are available on the committee's website. The Convention acknowledges that every child has certain basic rights, including the right to life, his or her own name and identity, to be raised by his or her parents within a family or cultural grouping and have a relationship with both parents, even if they are separated. The Convention obliges states to allow parents to exercise their parental responsibilities. The Convention also acknowledges that children have the right to express their opinions and to have those opinions heard and acted upon when appropriate, to be protected from abuse or exploitation, to have their privacy protected and requires that their lives not be subject to excessive interference. The Convention also obliges signatory states to provide separate legal representation for a child in any judicial dispute concerning their care and asks that the child's viewpoint be heard in such cases. The Convention forbids capital punishment for children. In its General Comment 8 (2000) the Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that there was an "obligation of all States parties to move quickly to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment and all other cruel or degrading forms of punishment of children". Article 19 of the Convention states that State Parties must "take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence", but makes no explicit reference to corporal punishment. The European Court of Human Rights has made reference to the Convention when interpreting the European Convention on Human Rights. Optional protocols Two optional protocols were adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 May 2000. : 1 - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (2000) The protocol sets 18 as the minimum age for direct participation in hostilities, for recruitment into armed groups, and for compulsory recruitment by governments. States may accept volunteers from the age of 16 but must deposit a binding declaration at the time of ratification or accession, setting out their minimum voluntary recruitment age and outlining certain safeguards for such recruitment. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict came into force in February 2002. It deals specifically with the use of child soldiers. It bans the direct use of all children under the age of 18 in hostilities and prohibits all military use of under-18s by non-governmental armed groups. While government armed forces are permitted to recruit volunteers from the age of 16, they must take steps to ensure that the recruitment is genuinely voluntary. Many "non-western" states were involved in drafting and negotiating the Optional Protocol and many have pledged to abide by its terms and to end the use of child soldiers. There is continuing debate about the age of adulthood in "western" and non-western" countries. For example, the governments of Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the USA continue to recruit under 18 year olds into their armed forces, although they are not allowed to vote. In some Middle Eastern countries on the other hand, the age of majority is higher than 18 years. In many countries where children are recruited - either legally or illegally - families, communities, activists, academics, doctors, lawyers and former child soldiers themselves have spoken out against the practice. They have argued for laws and other measures to protect children from the dangers and trauma of involvement in hostilities or other military activity. This protocol entered into force on 12 July 2002; as of May 2009, 128 states are party to the protocol and another 28 states have signed but not yet ratified it. 2 - The Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography requires states to prohibit the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. It entered into force on 18 January 2002; as of May 2009, 131 states are party to the protocol and another 31 states have signed but not yet ratified it.

• Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2008 - A bill to prohibit the recruitment or use of child soldiers, to designate persons who recruit or use child soldiers as inadmissible aliens, to allow the deportation of persons who recruit or use child soldiers, and for other purposes.

• Cape Town Principles - Adopted by the participants in the Symposium on the Prevention of Recruitment of Children into the Armed Forces and Demobilization and Social Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Africa, organized by UNICEF in cooperation with the NGO Sub-group of the NGO Working Group on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Cape Town, 30 April 1997.