Children Recruiting And Exploiting By Terrorist Groups

Yıl 2022, Sayı: 16, 109 - 129, 31.12.2022

Zehra Can Eroğlu

Öz

A large number of children are being trafficked by terrorist and
violent extremist groups. Determining the childhood age limit for children
exploited by terrorist organizations is important. Determining the boundary
between childhood and maturity is a contentious issue. There are various
points of contention over determining when childhood ends and adulthood
begins. In international law “child” is defined as “every human being below
the age of eighteen years.” Terrorist Groups prefer recruiting children due
to visibility and propaganda, economic considerations and effectiveness,
easy control and tactical advantages. The methods of terrorist groups to
recruit children could be summarized as, forcible recruitment, economic
enticement, transnational recruitment, use of schools (education),
propaganda and online recruitment. The children in terrorist groups
face to extreme violence and as a result they could easily have physical
and mental harm, so rehabilitation and reintegration programs are main
milestones in their new life. Governments ought to support transnational
and multidisciplinary cooperation to create and carry out programs taking
care of instances of children having been presented to terrorist groups.
Sustained reintegration activities involve deradicalization, re-education,
reintegration and community outreach jurisdictions.

Anahtar Kelimeler

children, recruitment, terrorist groups, reintegration, rehabilitation