Thursday, October 12, 2006
Child soldiers and war crimes
The New York Times takes up the cause of apple pie and editorializes against the recruitment of children as soldiers:
The recruitment of child soldiers is one of the most heinous war crimes, and among the most forgotten. Perhaps a quarter-million children — most in their teens but some as young as 7 — are forced to serve in government or insurgent armies in 20 countries around the world. Not only are they ordered to kill and torture, they often become victims of physical and sexual abuse. When they do return to civilian life, they are walking ghosts — damaged, uneducated pariahs.
But now something has happened that may force guerrilla leaders and government officials who recruit children to think again. The new International Criminal Court, established to bring the most serious international criminals to justice, is beginning its first prosecution — of a defendant charged with the use of child soldiers. He is Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, leader of a Congolese militia responsible for ethnic massacres, torture and rapes in the eastern part of the country.
The Times rightly fingers Dyilo as a genuine bad guy, and admonishes insurgents in Colombia, Sri Lanka, West Africa and elsewhere to "pay close attention." Well, if I were to speculate about the concerns of somebody who already leads a guerrilla war in Africa, Latin America or Asia, I would hazard to guess that prosecution by the International Criminal Court is pretty far down the list. Still, even symbols matter. In light of that, it is interesting that the New York Times decided not to mention the Palestinian Arabs, who rather famously recruit children not just to be soldiers -- hey, even King Théoden did that -- but suicide bombers. Isn't that ignoring the Giant Camel in the room?
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