Armed gangs can 'represent community' for children seeking out a 'sense of belonging'

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00:00Well, this February 12th is the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers, also

00:05known as Red Hand Day.

00:07It's commemorated around the world to raise awareness about the widespread use of children

00:11and teens in war.

00:13Now, that's currently the case in Haiti, where the number of children being recruited

00:17into armed groups and gangs has spiked by 70 percent over the past year.

00:22Solange Mougin and Yohan Dedera have more.

00:27What happens when the terror of gangs is so widespread that going to school becomes a

00:32danger?

00:33Or when sexual violence, such as gang rapes of girls and teens, is rampant?

00:39In Haiti, hundreds of schools have shut their doors because of the armed violence, putting

00:43at risk the education of over a million children, according to the UN.

00:48Many of those children are then roped into gangs.

00:51Eighty-five percent of the capital of Haiti is controlled by armed groups.

00:57It's an astounding case of insecurity for a capital city.

01:01Last year alone, child recruitment surged by 70 percent.

01:06So right now, up to half of all armed group members are children.

01:11With Haitian authorities struggling to fight the surging violence, Haiti is slipping into

01:15a state of chaos.

01:18International missions are underfunded and understaffed.

01:20And children are paying the price, and not only from extreme poverty.

01:25Many are taken by force, others are manipulated, many are driven by extreme poverty.

01:30It's a lethal cycle.

01:32Children are recruited into the groups that then fuel their own suffering.

01:37And in Haiti, that suffering is immense.

01:391.2 million children live under the constant threat of armed violence.

01:43According to UNICEF, 30 to 50 percent of the gang members are now children.

01:47Despite becoming targets themselves, many schools nonetheless try to keep their doors

01:51open.

01:52Education is going to be the sustenance of Haiti, so support and stability gets all the

01:59kids here in Port-au-Prince, all the kids in Haiti, back into a classroom.

02:03In a report released Wednesday, Amnesty International collected testimonies of dozens of Haitian

02:09children.

02:10Their stories are harrowing.

02:12Rape, abduction, famine, indiscriminate killings, and being left no choice but to submit to

02:18the gangs.

02:20We're going to talk more about the situation of child soldiers around the world with Rebecca

02:24Smith, the global head of child protection at Save the Children.

02:27Rebecca, thanks so much for taking the time to speak to us.

02:30Let's just start first with a question on the situation in Haiti.

02:33I mean, we just heard there that an estimated 30 to 50 percent of gang members are now children.

02:38Why is the situation so dramatic in Haiti at the moment?

02:41Well, I mean, you know, around the world, I think there are many reasons why children

02:47continue to be targeted by armed groups.

02:50And we tend to think about recruitment as either being voluntary or involuntary, when

02:55actually it's much more complex related to the situation.

02:59If you look at, you know, the poverty in the area or violence that's happening in communities

03:06where children and young people might be looking for, you know, trying to protect their family

03:12members, there's many reasons why children are seeking, you know, are going into armed

03:19groups.

03:20And by really understanding those reasons, then we can plan more effectively.

03:25We were just focusing there on Haiti with that report.

03:28I mean, what other countries are worst hit by the situation of child soldiers at the

03:32moment?

03:33I mean, the use of child soldiers is on the rise.

03:37In last quarter, in 2024, 15 operations of conflict were tracked by the Protection Cluster

03:44and reported children being recruited and used.

03:48Colombia and other countries have also seen dramatic increases recently.

03:53How many child soldiers are there in the world today?

03:56Do we have any concrete numbers?

03:59You know, in 2023, there were 7,751 verified cases of recruitment.

04:07And that's a slight increase from the cases recorded before.

04:10But obviously, there is a huge amount of underreporting globally.

04:13And we know that, you know, one in six children globally is currently living in conflict-affected

04:18areas, which is one of the most, the highest numbers that we've seen since World War II.

04:23Rebecca, what is your organization, Save the Children, doing to try and help all of these

04:27child soldiers that are still out there today?

04:30We have a very long history of working to address both the recruitment and use of children

04:35globally.

04:37In really making sure that international law and human rights law is respected.

04:42But also in really coming up with a comprehensive support to stop recruitment from happening

04:47in the first place, looking at what are those risks to children.

04:51And then also for children coming out of armed forces and groups, how do we reduce the stigma

04:56around that?

04:57How do we support life skills?

04:58How do we support the reintegration with families and their community members?

05:02It's a complicated process, but it's incredibly important if we're going to support children

05:09as rights holders.

05:10Well, give us some more concrete examples.

05:11I know Save the Children has helped hundreds of kids in the DRC, for example.

05:15I mean, what did you do exactly?

05:16How did you help these children get out of these fighting situations and transition into

05:21more normal lives?

05:23I mean, one of the things that we end up doing is really trying to understand what is causing

05:28in this situation, in this place, the reasons for children joining armed groups.

05:34What are changes, what are differences, for example, with girls and with boys or other

05:38members of the community?

05:39Who's most at risk?

05:40How are we preventing that from happening?

05:42How are we really supporting case management, which is helping to transition children out

05:48of armed forces and groups?

05:50How are we supporting the kind of rehabilitation they need before placing them in family-based

05:54care?

05:55And then looking at their educational needs and trying to make sure that they are integrated

06:00in the community.

06:01It is a long-term process, but something we've been doing all over the world.

06:04Right.

06:05And I can imagine it's really two-pronged.

06:06I mean, there's not just the process of helping them find a new way to earn a living.

06:10There's also psychological help, which I imagine is massive.

06:13I mean, concretely, how are you dealing with those two aspects?

06:17So one of the things that we've been doing is really engaging community members and trying

06:22to make sure that they are understanding that children are children.

06:26There's a lot of stigma if you've been involved in a group and the stigma if you've been pregnant

06:32or been really associated with those groups.

06:35So really trying to engage community members in a concrete way.

06:41Reintegration needs to be sufficiently resourced so that we can get that longer-term support

06:46and that we can really try and work with community leaders to help them speak out against

06:52this and to really recognize that the children and young people need to be a part of this

06:56community.

06:57It's not a one-time event.

06:58It's a long-term process.

07:00And why are children, just to wrap up, why are they being targeted by so many of these

07:04armed groups?

07:05And what can they bring to these armed groups?

07:07Well, I mean, a lot of them are looking for community.

07:11I mean, if you think about joining a gang in any country, like how are you, you know,

07:17someone who is looking for the ability to do something or they want to feel important,

07:22they want to feel that sense of belonging, they might be easily influenced.

07:26You know, teenagers are still trying to, their frontal cortex is still developing.

07:31And so it is an easy target in many countries, unfortunately, which is also why they need

07:36special protection.

07:37All right, Rebecca, thank you for that.

07:39And thank you for all of your work with Save the Children, Rebecca Smith.

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