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Putting Children First - Background Report
Stohl, R. Powell, S.
Stohl, R.
Powell, S.
Publication Date
2001
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© 2001 The Authors, British American Security Information Council (BASIC), International Alert and Saferworld. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/uk).
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to identify how the presence, proliferation, and misuse of small arms
and light weapons (SALW) negatively impact children in conflict and post-conflict societies. It
examines the impact of these weapons on children's well-being, rights and development,
drawing on primary research in Cambodia, Mozambique, and Colombia. It was prepared in the
context of the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its
Aspects in July 2001 and the UN Special Session on Children. Both are key opportunities to
examine fully the impact of SALW on children at the international level and to agree global action
to prevent and reduce the spread and misuse of the weapons that endanger the safety and
undermine the potential of children.
While UN agencies, international governmental organisations, human rights and development
organisations have documented abuses committed against children, to date there has been no
systematic analysis of the numerous ways in which SALW negatively affect the lives of children
in conflict and post-conflict situations, let alone in societies at peace. However, the information
that has been collected paints a terrible picture of devastation wrought by SALW. The use of
small arms by and against children has both direct effects, which include death and injury,
human rights abuses, displacement and psychosocial trauma, and indirect effects, which include
insecurity, loss of health care, education and opportunities. These direct and indirect effects have
both short and long-term impacts on the well-being, rights and development of children. This
paper highlights these direct and indirect costs by drawing on the personal testimonies of youth
affected by small arms in Cambodia, Mozambique, and Colombia - countries that have felt the
devastating impacts of small arms and are currently at different phases of the recovery process. It is often extremely difficult to separate the impact of conflict from the impact of small arms on
children but the human suffering caused by small arms is ultimately immeasurable. Indeed, the
United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has called small arms 'weapons of mass
destruction' . These weapons often prolong and deepen the consequences of war and also
impede post-conflict resolution and reconstruction. If many small arms remain behind after a
conflict ends, they can promote insecurity, which in the extreme, may result in a return to conflict.
Even in societies at peace, the presence of SALW can fuel crime and violence, and they can
also be used by security forces for the facilitation of human rights violations against the civilian
population. These weapons have several characteristics that make them ideal for contemporary
conflicts and, in particular, the targeting and use of children in war. Many are so lightweight and
simple that a child as young as eight can operate and repair them without difficulty. Equally, they
can last over 40 years, meaning they can be exported from conflict to conflict through porous
borders and lax national, regional, and international controls.
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published version paper
Citation
Stohl R et al (2001) Putting Children First - Background Report. In: Powell S (Ed.) Biting the Bullet Briefing Papers. Briefing 11 (Background). London: British American Security Information Council (BASIC), International Alert and Saferworld.
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Briefing Paper