The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict has reported that children are being recruited and used by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in India, in particular, in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The report, however, clarifies that due to the restrictions on access, the recruitment of child soldiers in India could not be verified.

There are about 3,00,000 child soldiers worldwide. Most of them are victims of illegal recruitment practices and India is no exception to this. The breakdown of protection mechanisms in conflict-affected areas makes it easier for NSAGs to access children and recruit them forcibly. The children may perform a variety of military and non-military tasks, including scouting, spying, sabotage; acting as decoys, couriers, guards, porters and sexual slaves; and carrying out domestic tasks.

The definition of a child soldier can be deduced only indirectly from international conventions, treaties and national legislation. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is “every human being below the age of 18, unless, under the law applicable to the child, a majority is attained earlier”. The UNICEF definition is based on the Cape Town Principles (1997), which state that a child soldier “is any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed forces in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers, and those accompanying such groups, other than purely as family members. Girls recruited for sexual purposes and forced marriages are included in this definition”.

The UN General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (OP-CRC) on the involvement of children in armed conflict to protect them from recruitment and use in hostilities. The Protocol came into force in 2002 and has been ratified by India. Among other things, it is a commitment that States should prevent such recruitment through all possible measures, including legislation.

In India, both NSAGs and the government have been recruiting children. According to an estimate, about 5,000 children have been forcibly recruited by NSAGs, though the government has been denying these claims. According to a news article dated May 8, 2017, more than a thousand children have been abducted over the past few years and deployed as foot soldiers, couriers and sentries by Maoist groups in Jharkhand. Taking cognisance of the report, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Jharkhand government, seeking a report on the estimated number of children recruited into the Maoist cadre; action taken to trace such children; measures taken to educate and rehabilitate such children; and action taken against those involved in recruiting children. The government’s response is not known and is not displayed on the NHRC website.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act was recently amended and came into effect from January 15, 2016. Section 83(1) of the Act now criminalises the use of children by militant groups. It states: “Any non-State, self-styled militant group or outfit declared as such by the Central government, if recruits or uses any child for any purpose, shall be liable for rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to a fine of five lakh rupees.” Any adult or adult group using children for illegal activities will be liable for the same punishment. The government, in its periodic report to the UN relating to Article 4 of the OP-CRC, has tried to avoid the issue, stating that “India does not face either international or non-international armed conflict situations”. It maintains that the ongoing conflicts in certain parts of the country are a law and order problem.

The government also recruits children to the Army, Air Force and Navy, with sixteen-and-a-half as the minimum age. However, it maintains that there is no forced and coerced recruitment, and that the recruits undergo compulsory training and are sent to the operational areas only after turning 18. Researchers have established, however, that children in the age group of 16–17 are emotionally underdeveloped and should not be put through military training, which conditions them to unquestioningly obey any order, including that to kill. Compared to adult recruits, child recruits are at greater risk of death, injury and long-term mental health problems. Thus, the government must increase the minimum age of recruitment to 18 years.

The future of a nation hinges on the health and all-round development of its children. The government has the duty to protect vulnerable children. The recruitment of children by armed groups is a reality. Instead of denying the fact, the government must take a positive stand to put an end to the use of child soldiers and prosecute those who brutalise children.

The author is a retired Wing Commander. Views expressed are personal.