Reimagining Child Soldiers in International Law and Policy

by Drumbl, Mark A.

• ISBN13: 9780199592654
• ISBN10: 0199592659
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-04-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The international community's efforts to halt child soldiering have yielded some successes. But this pernicious practice persists. It may shift locally, but it endures globally. Preventative measures therefore remain inadequate. Former child soldiers experience challenges readjusting to civilian life. Reintegration is complex and eventful. The homecoming is only the beginning. Reconciliation within communities afflicted by violence committed by and against child soldiers is incomplete. Shortfalls linger on the restorative front. The international community strives to eradicate the scourge of child soldiering. Mostly, though, these efforts replay the same narratives and circulate the same assumptions. Current humanitarian discourse sees child soldiers as passive victims, tools of war, vulnerable, psychologically devastated, and not responsible for their violent acts. This perception has come to suffuse international law and policy. Although reflecting much of the lives of child soldiers, this portrayal also omits critical aspects. This book pursues an alternate path by reimagining the child soldier. It approaches child soldiers with a more nuanced and less judgmental mind. This book takes a second look at these efforts. It aspires to refresh law and policy so as to improve preventative, restorative, and remedial initiatives while also vivifying the dignity of youth. Along the way, Drumbl questions central tenets of contemporary humanitarianism and rethinks elements of international criminal justice. This ground-breaking book is essential reading for anyone committed to truly emboldening the rights of the child. It offers a way to think about child soldiers that would invigorate international law, policy, and best practices. Where does this reimagination lead? Not toward retributive criminal trials, but instead toward restorative forms of justice. Toward forgiveness instead of excuse, thereby facilitating reintegration and promoting social repair within afflicted communities. Toward a better understanding of child soldiering, without which the practice cannot be ended. This book also offers fresh thinking on related issues, ranging from juvenile justice, to humanitarian interventions, to the universality of human rights, to the role of law in responding to mass atrocity.

Author Biography

Mark A. Drumbl is the Class of 1975 Alumni Professor at Washington & Lee University, School of Law, where he also serves as Director of its Transnational Law Institute. He has held visiting appointments with a number of law faculties, including Oxford, Paris II (Pantheon-Assas), Trinity College-Dublin, Melbourne, and Ottawa. Drumbl has lectured and published extensively on public international law, international criminal law, and transitional justice. His first book Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law (CUP, 2007) has been widely reviewed and critically acclaimed. He initially became interested in international criminal justice through his work in the Rwandan genocide jails. Drumbl holds degrees in law and politics from McGill University, University of Toronto, and Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements	p. vii
Abbreviations	p. xiii
Coming of Age in Atrocity	p. 1
Defining the Terms	p. 3
Images of Child Soldiers	p. 6
Social Realities of Child Soldiering: Circumscribed Action	p. 11
An Emergent Legal Fiction and its Effects	p. 17
Conclusion	p. 25
Children Who Soldier: Practices, Politics, and Perceptions	p. 26
Then, Recently, and Now	p. 27
Helping Hands, Humanitarian Handiwork, and Victim Purity	p. 35
From Victimhood to Victimcy	p. 36
It's Not Your Fault	p. 37
New Wars	p. 41
Too Much, Yet Too Little	p. 43
Universal Childhood	p. 44
Too Few Perspectives?	p. 50
Humanitarian, Human Rights, and Child Welfare Reports	p. 51
Child Psychology and Trauma Models	p. 53
Conclusion	p. 60
Not So Simple	p. 61
The Association of Children with Armed Forces or Armed Groups	p. 62
Abduction and Escape in Northern Uganda	p. 66
Militarization in Sierra Leone	p. 70
Recruitment Elsewhere: Some Vignettes	p. 74
Summary	p. 79
Child Soldiers and Acts of Atrocity	p. 80
Not Many Child Perpetrators	p. 82
Juveniles Can Understand the Laws and Morals of War	p. 85
Resistance, Refusal, Zeal: The Exercise of Residual Discretion	p. 86
Diachronic Changes	p. 89
Delinquency in Peace, Atrocity in Conflict	p. 92
Individual Child Soldiers Are Not Interchangeable Equals	p. 93
Summary	p. 94
Alternatives to Victimhood Discourse	p. 94
Conclusion	p. 101
Child Soldiers and Accountability	p. 102
International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law	p. 103
Hard Law	p. 103
Soft Law, Policy, and Best Practices	p. 107
Summary	p. 116
International Criminal Law	p. 116
From Nuremberg and Tokyo to the Ad Hoc Tribunals	p. 117
International Criminal Court	p. 118
Special Court for Sierra Leone	p. 122
Other Internationalized Tribunals	p. 124
Summary	p. 126
Torsions and Distortions	p. 128
Conclusion	p. 133
Unlawful Recruitment and Use of Children: From Proscription to Prevention	p. 134
International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law	p. 136
Hard Law	p. 136
Soft Law, Policy, and Best Practices	p. 140
Summary	p. 143
International Criminal Law	p. 143
Special Court for Sierra Leone	p. 144
International Criminal Court	p. 149
Criminal Sanction	p. 149
Victim Reparations and Trial Participation	p. 158
Summary	p. 161
Whither Deterrence?	p. 162
Conclusion	p. 167
Rights, Wrongs, and Transitional Reconstruction	p. 168
Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration	p. 168
National Penal Law	p. 175
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions	p. 180
South Africa	p. 181
Sierra Leone	p. 182
Liberia	p. 185
Summary	p. 187
Endogenous Restoration and Reintegration Mechanisms	p. 188
A Need to Inquire and for Further Inquiry	p. 192
Conclusion	p. 206
Reinvigorating the International Legal Imagination	p. 209
Fears of Retributive Creep	p. 210
Endnote: Broader Implications	p. 212
Bibliography	p. 216
Index	p. 235
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