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| International-UN-NGOs |
| UN helpless as armed groups recruit child soldiers |
| 2009-05-02 |
| [Beirut Daily Star: Region] The UN remains virtually helpless as an increasing number of armed groups - described as "non-state actors" - continue to exploit, abuse and deliberately harm children in battle zones in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. A particularly gruesome incident took place last November when Taliban militants in Afghanistan attacked a group of girls en route to school by throwing acid on their faces. According to a UN report, the militants were reportedly paid 100,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,246) for each girl they were able to burn. In May last year, insurgents in Iraq apparently strapped explosives to a young girl and remotely detonated her as she approached an Iraqi Army command post in Yousifiyah, according to the UN study. In September, a 15-year-old boy blew himself up among pro-government militia members in northern Baghdad, and in November, a 13-year-old girl blew herself up at a checkpoint in Baquba. The study, which was the subject of a debate in the Security Council Wednesday, also criticizes the recruitment and use of child soldiers, mostly by non-state actors in countries such as Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burma (Myanmar), Nepal, the Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Uganda. Recruitment of child soldiers by government forces occurs mostly in Myanmar, Chad and DRC, the report said. The armed groups that deploy child soldiers include the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the National Liberation Army in Colombia, and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Thank you for clearing this up. Silly me...all this time I considered the savages that promote their death cult by such things as Acid baths of schoolgirls simply as “terrorists”. But they’re really "non-state actors" with a “desire for legitimacy” that occasionally perform "Man Caused Disasters". Now I get it. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2009-05-02 10:31 |
| #1 Well, the UN is like Dr. Phil...entertaining but not effective. |
| Posted by: HammerHead 2009-05-02 09:37 |