The War Crime of Child Soldier Recruitment

Abstract

Julie McBride AmsterdamThe Netherlands

Child Soldiers Caught in a Cultural Kaleidoscope

“…Having volunteered is without any meaning in absence of the competence to meaningful take selfdetermining decisions. Seemingly supporting this reasoning, the ICCs pre-trial chamber ruled that consent is not a valid defence for recruitment of children under 15 (Williams, 2011;McBride, 2014).…”

“…On the other hand, that same convention -in its Article 12 -recognises some competence of children when acknowledging that some children are capable of forming their own views. These children should be regarded as competent to freely express those views knowing that their views will be given due weight in accordance to their age and maturity (Lücker-Babel, 1995;Krappmann, 2010;McBride, 2014). The acknowledgment of a legitimate voice in children means precisely the acknowledgement of their citizenship (Cordero Arce, 2012).…”

“…The other side of the competence coin does not relate to the criminal liability of adults making improper use of children, but relates to the criminal liability of the children themselves. As McBride has put it: If a child's right to autonomy becomes accepted by society, then the terrible acts committed by child soldiers must consequentially be punished-just as the actions of any other person who possesses the power to self-determine (McBride, 2014). This power to self-determine is necessarily present in children that are considered competent to decide to become a child soldier.…”

Ratni zločin protiv civilnog stanovništva vs. ratni zločin protiv ratnih zarobljenika

“…17 Tako konstruirana rečenica sugerirala bi da je sud tu činjenicu utvrdio na temelju obdukcijskog nalaza Vojnomedicinske akademije iz Beograda iz 1991. godine, međutim upravo je po nalogu suda izvršeno sudskomedicinsko vještačenje te se nalaz i mišljenje vještaka dr. Ante Blažanovića u presudi i citira u odnosu na uzrok smrti. 18 Sljedeće čime se sud bavi jest utvrđenje kada je Aleksandar Laba obukao civilnu odjeću. Jedini iskaz koji se u tom smislu u presudi citira iskaz je svjedokinje J. J. koja je navela da je Aleksandar Laba 19. studenoga 1991. godine obukao civilnu odjeću.…”

“…17 Ibid., 8. 18 Ibid., 7: "u cijelosti prihvaćen nalaz i mišljenje ovog vještaka kao stručnog temeljenog na dokumentaciji s obdukcije tijela oštećenika koja je obavljena u prosincu 1991. godine, te pregleda ekshumiranih ostataka tijela izvršenih po vještacima Medicinskog fakulteta u Zagrebu te na isti stranke nisu imale primjedbe." 19 Ibid., 3: "Dana 18. studenoga 1991. godine uočila je oštećenika u skloništu kako šepa.…”