At the beginning of the 21 st century, not few are the issues that concern us. Among them, the status of children in the word is what we should deal with first.

Statistics show that, worldwide, more than half a million children under 18 have been recruited into government armed forces, paramilitaries, civil militia and a wide variety of non-state armed groups in more than 85 countries. At any one time, more than 300,000 of these children are actively fighting as soldiers with government armed forces or armed political groups.

Therefore, many of these children, often even younger than 10 years old, are virtually forced to witness or take part in acts of unbelievable violence, often against their own families or communities. Thse actions harm children not only physically, but also psychologically. Yong girls are even expected, apart for fighting, to provide sexual services.

Alongside the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, many other international standards permit children as young as 15 to be recruited and sent into conflict. Even if the Convention defines a child as any person under the age of 18, the age of 15 is set in relation to participation of children in armed conflict. On 25 May 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus the Optional Protocol to Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; the Protocol entered into force on 12 February 2002. The Protocol raises the minimum age for direct participation in hostilities, for compulsory recruitment and for any recruitment by non-governmental armed groups from 15 to 18 years, thus emphasising the fact that involvement of children in conflict is unacceptable. As 18 years old is the age at which people are allowed to vote and, in some countries (but not all) the age at which one may receive a driver's licence, it seems that some consider that violnce should be learned earlier than responsibility.

A 15-year-old girl who escaped from the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda said:"I would like to give you a message. Please do your best to tell the world what is happening to us, the children. So that other children don't have to pass through this violence."

This cry for help should not be ignored, especially by children in other countries, who are more likely to actually undersatnd the problems faced by people their age.

We invite you all to take steps, however small they are.   [UP]