The (Self) Identity of the Child Soldier: International Law and Best Practices, in Children’s Right to Identity, Selfhood and International Family Law (Marilyn Freeman & Nicola Taylor eds., 2025)

Abstract

This chapter discusses children associated with armed forces or armed groups, colloquially known as ‘child soldiers’. It sets out the legal definition of child soldiers and unpacks international law and policy practices that address children in armed conflict, including Article 38 of the UNCRC, the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and international criminal law. The law that allocates responsibility for child soldiering and the responsibility of child soldiers for their conduct is reviewed. Return to civilian life is possible through disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration programmes. These must ensure respect for the self-awareness, agency, and identity affirmations of former child soldiers as part of creating durable social reintegration and the cultivation of viable cultures of children\u27s rights to guard against pernicious gerontocracy. The child\u27s perception of self-identity may change during armed conflict, and this ought to be respected rather than ignored or overlooked.https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/fac_books/1208/thumbnail.jp