OUVRAGE : G. Waschefort, International Law and Child Soldiers

Kadidiatou HAMA

This book commences with an analysis of the current state of child soldiering internationally. Thereafter the proscriptive content of contemporary norms on the prohibition of the use and recruitment of child soldiers is evaluated, so as to determine whether these norms are capable of better enforcement. An 'issues-based' approach is adopted, in terms of which no specific regime of law, such as international humanitarian law (IHL), is deemed dominant. Instead, universal and regional human rights law, international criminal law and IHL are assessed cumulatively, so as to create a mutually reinforcing web of protection.

Ultimately, it is argued that the effective implementation of child soldier prohibitive norms does not require major changes to any entity or functionary engaged in such prevention; rather, it requires the constant reassessment and refinement of all such entities and functionaries, and here, some changes are suggested. International judicial, quasi-judicial and non-judicial entities and functionaries most relevant to child soldier prevention are critically assessed. Ultimately the conclusions reached are assessed in light of a case study on the use and recruitment of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Situating the Debate

I. A Brief Chronology of the Prevention of Child Soldiering
II. Conceptualising an ‘Era of Application’
III. ‘The Politics of Age’
IV. Conceptualising the ‘Child Soldier’
V. The Potential Role of International Law in Preventing Child Soldiering
VI. Summary

2. Contemporary Child Soldiering: Distribution, Use and Causes

I. Distribution of Child Soldiers
II. The Contemporary Use of Child Soldiers
III. Causes of Child
IV. Summary

3. International Humanitarian Law and the Prevention of Child Soldiering

I. The Geneva Conventions
II. Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions
III. Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions
IV. Conclusion

4. International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law: An Integrated International Law Response tothe Prevention of Child Soldiering

I. The Co-application of IHRL and IHL in the Prevention of the Use and Recruitment of Child Soldiers
II. The Substantive Content of Child Soldier Prohibitive Norms: Human Rights Law
III. The Substantive Content of Child Soldier Prohibitive Norms:
Customary International Law
IV. Summary

5. International Criminal Responsibility and the Prosecution of Individuals for the Enlistment, Conscription and Use of Child Soldiers

I. The Enlistment, Conscription and Use of Child Soldiers as a War Crime: Background and Dra ing History
II. ‘Using, Conscripting or Enlisting’ Children in Terms of the Positive Law
III. The Potential of International Criminal Law to Combat the Child Soldier Phenomenon
IV. The Criminal Responsibility of Child Soldiers
V. Summary

6. International Institutional Law and the Prevention of Child Soldiering

I. The Proper Levels of Engagement with Child Soldier Prevention within the United Nations
II. A Critical Appraisal of United Nations Initiatives Engaged with Child Soldier Prevention
III. African Union Engagement with Child Soldier Prevention
IV. Summary

7. Case Study: The Democratic Republic of the Congo

I. Methodology
II. The Contemporary Conflict Landscape in the DRC: From the Demise of Mobuto to the Force Intervention Brigade
III. Municipal and International Criminal Prosecutions for theUse and Recruitment of Child Soldiers in the DRC
IV. The United Nations and the Prevention of Child Soldiering in the DRC
V. Summary

8. Conclusion

I. The Enforceability of International Law Norms ProhibitingChild Soldiering
II. The Refinement of International Law Enforcement Mechanisms Aimed at the Prevention of Child Soldiering
III. Conclusion: Shiing Focus from Norm Creation to Norm Enforcement, the Requisites for an ‘Era of Application’

Gus WASCHEFORT, International Law and Child Soldiers,
Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2015 (233 pp.)

Gus Waschefort is an Associate Professor of International Law at the University of South Africa. During the preparation of the manuscript he also spent some time at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, at New York University School of Law as a visiting fellow.