Abstract
"This paper aims to examine the issue of child soldier recruitment in light of displacement, asking whether or not children living in areas of displacement constitutes a particularly vulnerable group towards being recruited by non- state armed groups. This paper looks at various causal mechanisms to child soldier recruitment in areas of dispacement in the light of a case study from the Democratic republic of Congo. There are three main approaches explaining why child soldiering in refugee or IDP camps persist. Firstly, the militarization argument argues that child soldiering will be likely if there is a high presence of militarized fractions within or close to the camps, thus creating an environment where the humanitarian and civilian nature of these camps are severely deteriorated. Secondly, the path of camp insecurity relies on the notion that displaced children are more vulnerable towards recruitment in those instances where the camps are inadequately protected. The third approach, insecurity over time, takes into consideration that displaced children, when living in protracted displacement situations, are prone to youth desperation and socioeconomic conditions may provide a reason for voluntary recruitment. This is a research topic that has been scarcely researched previously, and thus this paper aims at trying to bridge the gap between general theories of child soldier recruitment and international refugee- and IDP norms through a human rights lens."
"This paper aims to examine the issue of child soldier recruitment in light of displacement, asking whether or not children living in areas of displacement constitutes a particularly vulnerable group towards being recruited by non- state armed groups. This paper looks at various causal mechanisms to child soldier recruitment in areas of dispacement in the light of a case study from the Democratic republic of Congo. There are three main approaches explaining why child soldiering in refugee or IDP camps persist. Firstly, the militarization argument argues that child soldiering will be likely if there is a high presence of militarized fractions within or close to the camps, thus creating an environment where the humanitarian and civilian nature of these camps are severely deteriorated. Secondly, the path of camp insecurity relies on the notion that displaced children are more vulnerable towards recruitment in those instances where the camps are inadequately protected. The third approach, insecurity over time, takes into consideration that displaced children, when living in protracted displacement situations, are prone to youth desperation and socioeconomic conditions may provide a reason for voluntary recruitment. This is a research topic that has been scarcely researched previously, and thus this paper aims at trying to bridge the gap between general theories of child soldier recruitment and international refugee- and IDP norms through a human rights lens."