Crimes Against Child Soldiers in Armed Conflict Situations: Application and Limits of International Humanitarian Law

Abstract

This Article examines the application of international humanitarian law to crimes
committed against child soldiers during the ten-year civil war in Sierra Leone. The author suggests
that while historically, developments in international law took account of the vulnerability of
children in wartime, international humanitarian law maintains dated categories of protection that do
not reflect conditions of modern armed conflicts. The author argues that, instead, the experiences
of child soldiers suggest that international legal prohibitions on the involvement of children in
combat provide vastly inadequate legal protection. The author relies in this respect on research on
crimes committed against child combatants in Sierra Leone and the limitations of international
humanitarian law in relation to the prosecution of those crimes. The author argues that in order to
remain relevant and effective, new developments in the field of international humanitarian law
must address dated and inaccurate distinctions, which act to preclude needed legal protection of
those among the most vulnerable in wartime.