SNOHR reveals alarming information about Child Recruitment in Sudan

 The Sudan National Observatory for Human Rights (SNOHR) has recently revealed alarming information regarding the serious violations committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and extremist Islamist militias, the aforementioned information included the recruitment of children to fight against the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a report, the Sudan National Observatory stated that the recruitment of children and their involvement in combat proved to be the latest crime -added to the series of war crimes committed by the Sudanese Army, as the latter remains under the control of the extremist Islamic Movement brigades.

Assayha publishes the report issued by the Sudan National Observatory for Human Rights:

“Recruitment and Use of Children as Instruments of War”

Report by: The Sudan National Observatory for Human Rights (SNOHR)

Recently, the recruitment of children and their involvement in combat proved to be the latest crime -added to the series of war crimes committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its allied militias, revealing the weakness of the military and institutional system, moreover, the aforementioned represents a collapse in the structure of the military organization.

Exploiting War and Captivity

Whilst some attempt to portray child recruitment as a manifestation of popular loyalty, the reality is that child recruitment does not occur in regular armies with professional leaders and trained fighters. Rather, its a sign of weakness, internal collapse, and a lack of qualified personnel.

In the midst of the war, Security Services and militias loyal to the Sudanese Armed Forces have mercilessly exploited families’ financial needs, the ongoing interruptions plaguing the educational process, and forced displacement to recruit children between the ages of 13 and 17, some of whom were forcibly recruited, others under the guise of “defending the homeland” or lured into compliance with promises of financial compensation.

Facts on the Ground and Recruitment Methods

Local reports indicate a significant increase in child recruitment cases. As children have been targeted in schools, summer camps, and places of worship, using a number of propaganda techniques such as the term “Bara’oun: affiliates of Al-Baraa Brigades” which carries extremist ideological connotations, in an effort to mentally mobilize them before sending them to the battlefield.

Leaked Videos Documenting the Crime

Leaked videos documenting underage children in military uniform actively participating in combat operations have been circulated on social media, along with testimonies from survivors. These videos only serve to confirm the de facto authorities’ involvement in mobilizing children under the guise of “popular resistance.”

Impacts of Recruitment and Violation of International Treaties

Furthermore, the existence of child soldiers can be considered a solid confirmation of a preexisting shortage of regular soldiers. Hence, the tragedy lies in the fact that children are pushed into the battlefields, where they are deprived of their most basic human rights. Instead of enjoying a normal childhood filled with learning and play, in addition, regular soldiers are replaced by children who have yet to experience life.

Despite Sudan’s signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in (1990), violations continue to be perpetrated in secret, with the tacit facilitation of the regime itself, and in the absence of entities or mechanisms tasked with holding the perpetrators accountable.

The effects of this crime are not limited to the present moment; they leave behind a psychologically scarred generation and a fragmented society, where violence becomes part of Sudanese childhood’s identity and leads to a future that can only be characterized by further bloodshed.

International Law and Child Recruitment

The recruitment of children is an indicator of a structural crisis within military and paramilitary forces. Children, lacking any political or humanitarian awareness, are recruited to replace regular soldiers and, in some cases, are used as human shields, endangering their lives and depriving them of their inherent rights.

Under the International Humanitarian Law as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 38), the recruitment of children under the age of (15) into armed conflict is a war crime.

The Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions and the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) consider the use of children under the age of (18) in combat operations a serious crime.

Call for International Response 

The involvement of children in armed conflict is a crime that cannot be justified under any circumstances. Thus, the international community and human rights organizations ought to act quickly to stop this recurring tragedy and save what remains of childhood innocence in Sudan.