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Parliamentary Liaison - U18s in Armed Forces - November 2002

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Briefing - under 18 year olds in the Armed Forces

Introduction

International humanitarian law has long recognised the special status of young people in the armed forces and their need for protection, but there are currently over 300,000 children and young people under the age of 18 involved in armed conflict internationally. In some countries, children as young as nine, may be forced to participate in violent conflict. The UN Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict aims to address this situation and came into force on 12th February 2002. It would be wrong in principle to argue that there is any moral equivalence between the forced recruitment of children at gunpoint in areas of armed conflict and the voluntary recruitment of 16 year olds in the United Kingdom but the present practice of the UK government regarding the protocol, and a declaration that it has entered on signing it, raises serious concerns.

Although the Department for International Development has supported admirable projects for the demobilisation of young soldiers and their reintegration into civilian life, the UK`s failure to make a commitment not to deploy under eighteen year olds to areas of hostility sets a dangerous example to other countries. While young people under the age of eighteen can currently face loss of life as soldiers, they are unable to vote for or participate in the government to which those armed forces are democratically accountable. The European Parliament, the World Council of Churches and the Committee on the Rights of the Child have called for the raising of the age of recruitment to 18, and the Under-secretary of peacekeeping at the United Nations announced over four years ago that all peace-keepers in UN missions should be at least 18 years old and preferably over 21. 

The protocol

The UN Optional Protocol requires States to set a higher minimum age for recruitment than the age of 15 set in the Convention and to "take all feasible measures to ensure that under 18s do not take a direct part in hostilities." On signing the Optional Protocol on 7th September 2000, the UK government entered a declaration that it would retain the right to send under eighteens into frontline battle where "there is a genuine military need," or if "it is not practicable to withdraw such persons before deployment." This effectively amounts to a unilateral opt out to principles of the protocol. 

The UK current practice

In 1914 no one under the age of 18 could be enlisted into the regular army. Now 85 years later, in relation to this particular group, we are providing less protection than in the beginning of the last century. There are currently around 7,000 sixteen and seventeen year olds in the armed forces. Most of these young people will have entered into a "contract" which commits them for a period of four years from the age of eighteen. Although Ministry of Defence Officials insist that in practice young people are able to leave under provisions for "unhappy soldiers," the danger of bullying, abuse of power and the important legal principle that minors cannot enter into contracts make it vital that young people are not subject to the discretion of a senior officer, but given discharge as of right. While both international and national norms make it clear that the employment status of young people deserves special protection, the armed forces provide an exception to this, outside the framework of the law. Over the last twenty years there have been 332 deaths among 16 to 18 year olds serving in the armed forces. Of these fifty deaths have been due to fire-arms discharges, 12 of which were due to accidents and 38 due to other causes including hostile action and suicides. Of the non-firearm discharge deaths, 156 were due to raod traffic accidents, 48 were due to natural causes and 78 as due to other injuries.

Recent deaths of young recruits at Deepcut have brought to light endemic culture of bullying in the army, which is at odds with a legal "duty of care" to those under the age of eighteen. To give an indication of the scale of the problem, in June 2000 over 30 cases of alleged brutality were under investigation by the military police and about 30 members of the armed forces were taking the MOD to the High Court for other assaults. 

The need for change

The present UK practice falls short of international best practice and current legal, cultural and social norms. The International Labour Organisation`s convention 138 precludes the employment of under 18s in work which is liable to endanger their health and safety. Domestic Health and Safety standards within the armed forces also fall short of legally enforceable European minimum standards to which the UK is committed. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has recently expressed concern, that "one third of the annual intake of recruits into the ( UK ) armed forces" are below the age of 18 years, over the targeting of young people for recruitment and "that those recruited are required to serve for a minimum period of 4 years raising to six years in the case of very young recruits."

UNICEF and a network of NGOs have highlighted issues for immediate attention. These include:

  • Deployment - UK government should make a commitment that no under 18s will be deployed
  • Age of Enlistment - the government should work towards, not recruiting before the age of 18. Where young people go to a training institution, training should be clearly separate from enlistment for active service which should be left until a student`s 18th birthday.
  • Terms of enlistment - while young people are able to enlist under18, they should be given clearer information about terms of enlistment, and discharge as of right. Those responsible for recruitment should inform young people of their obligations on enlistment. Recruits who consider they have made a mistake should be able to change their mind.
  • Optional Protocol - The UK should withdraw its declaration and ratify the Optional Protocol.

MPs are encouraged to sign EDM 128 - Child Soldiers, and urge Secretary of State for Defence to make a declaration that in the event of war in the Middle East no under eighteen year olds will be deployed to the area of conflict.

Michael Bartlet, Parliamentary Liaison Secretary, 21st November 2002