Child soldiers in the armed confl ict in Sierra Leone: human rights, international humanitarian law and / or international criminal law

Abstract

This article discusses the role of international law in the characterization of children as perpetrators, victims and witnesses in the armed confl ict in Sierra Leone. Th e fi rst part of the article situates the establishment of the Special Court for Sierra Leone among the eff orts to combat impunity. Th e second part considers the extent to which the criminalization of forced recruitment and forced slavery by the Statute of the Special Court is in agreement with the protection aff orded to children by international human rights conventions and international humanitarian law treaties ratifi ed by Sierra Leone. Finally, the third part of the article discusses the possible attribution of criminal responsibility to children as provided in the Statute of the Special Court. Th is possibility is examined in light of the defi nition of the crime of forced recruitment and the personal jurisdiction of the Special Court. It is arguedthat the international community provided a space for contradictory understandings of the experience of child soldiers in the Statute of the Special Court. As a result, it prevented the coherent development of international law as an instrument capable of ensuring the protection of children during armed confl icts.