The Center for Defense Information
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| January 14, 1999 |
| January 14, 1999 |
Ban on Child Soldiers Delayed Again
Rachel Stohl, Research Analyst, Center for Defense Information
rstohl@cdi.org
The plight of child soldiers is still with us.
A working group of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, which is tasked with drafting the language for an Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, was unable to reach a consensus this week. After meeting only one day, the working group adjourned, delaying further action until it reconvenes next January.
The chair had proposed delaying the negotiations to give countries more time to consult on the Optional Protocol language. The Protocol would allow the 191 signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child an option to raise to 18 years the minimum age for recruiting, conscripting, and participating in armed conflict. The United States, which has not ratified the Convention and would therefore not be eligible to participate in the Optional Protocol, nonetheless is blocking progress of the working group. The U.S. stance is driven by two considerations -- retaining the option to enlist individuals who are 17 years old, but not wanting to appear out of step with the international community on yet another issue (as with landmines, the international criminal court, etc.). The United Kingdom, which recruits 16 year olds, has also opposed raising the minimum age.
Advocates of the Optional Protocol are hopeful that next year's session will bring progress on the minimum age issue as well as begin to offer some sort of protection for children fighting the world's wars. Many hope that a consensus can be reached by next year in time for the Convention's tenth anniversary. "This is the year in which we should make a breakthrough. But I can't predict for you now if [an age limit of 18] will be the outcome," said Olara Otunnu, the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict.
The fact that the international community cannot reach consensus about creating a voluntary agreement is baffling and reprehensible. The facts about child soldiers are startling and clear. There are currently more than 300,000 children participating in armed conflicts around the world. Both boys and girls are used by guerrilla groups and state armies. Children are used as cooks, messengers, sex slaves, spies, and front-line combatants as well as in many other horrifying roles. Over 50 countries currently recruit children into their armed forces. In 1996 and 1997, children participated in over 30 armed conflicts.
The problem of child soldiers is not unique to the developing world. As already noted, the United States recruits children under the age of 18 for combat-ready forces. Additionally, the Pentagon sponsors JROTC programs for approximately 4,000,000 high school boys and girls. These programs teach children to march, shoot, act, and think like soldiers.
In response to the horrors children in armed conflict face, a number of efforts have been developed to stop the use of child soldiers. An international coalition of NGOs has been established in Geneva (see "International Efforts Address Use of Child Soldiers," Weekly Defense Monitor, July 9, 1998 ). The International Coalition is working to raise awareness of the issue of child soldiers -- both on the part of national governments and the general public -- and to achieve a ban on the use of child soldiers.
To address the child soldiers problem within a U.S. context, a U.S. Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has been organized. The goals of the U.S. campaign are to 1) develop U.S. support for a "straight-18" international ban on child soldiers; 2) raise the U.S. enlistment age to 18; and 3) eliminate U.S. military aid that facilitates the use of child soldiers by other governments or organizations. The initial steering group members of the U.S. Campaign are American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International USA, Center for Defense Information, Human Rights Watch, and Youth Advocate Program International.
For further information on the U.S. Campaign to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, please contact rstohl@cdi.org, or check CDI's Children and Armed Conflict webpage at: http://www.cdi.org/atp/childsoldiers/index.html
Pentagon, Congress Prepare to Go Another Round over Base Closures
Chris Hellman, Senior Research Analyst, Center for Defense Information
chellman@cdi.org
As the Administration puts the finishing touches on its annual federal spending request -- due to be released on February 1 -- Members of Congress and the White House are preparing themselves for a renewed struggle over whether to proceed with new rounds of military base closures.
Last year, at the urging of the Pentagon, the Administration requested authority for two additional rounds of base closures. Congress not only rejected the proposal but included in the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 language that made it more difficult to close existing facilities.
Despite congressional opposition, base closures continue to be a priority for the Pentagon and are integral to the Administration's goal of adding $110 billion in new spending to the military's Future years Defense Plan (FYDP). In fact, the White House is already putting pressure on Congress for the authority to perform additional closures. In announcing the Administration's plans on January 6, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Robert Bell stated, "Our budget projections assume that we'll win approval of [two additional rounds of base closures]. So it's going to be incumbent on Congress to cooperate and give us that authority."
Last April, in an effort to build its case for additional closures, the Pentagon released "The Report of the Department of Defense on Base Realignment and Closure." According to the report, the military currently has 23 percent excess base capacity. The Pentagon expects the closures already approved will produce savings of $25 billion through 2003 and $5.6 billion annually thereafter. The additional closures are forecast to save a further $21 billion from 2008- 2015 and $3 billion in every successive year.
Now, a new report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) is providing further justification for more closures. The report, released in December, concludes that while there have been problems with the base closure process, particularly in the areas of property disposal and environmental restoration, significant savings will result for further closures.
According to the report, as of September 1998 DoD had completed actions on about 85 percent of the 451 recommendations included in the four base closure rounds already held. By 2001, DoD estimates that it will have spent $23 billion on base realignments and closures and saved $37 billion, for a net savings of $14 billion. Beyond 2001, when the last of the four rounds of base closures and realignments is complete, DoD expects to save $5.7 billion annually.
GAO concluded that while the Pentagon estimates that the total cost of environmental clean-up, a major cost associated with closures, is roughly $9 billion, the actual costs will likely be higher. Even so, GAO believes that ultimately the savings with exceed the associated costs.
The report also concludes that the majority of communities that have experienced closures are economically out-performing the national average, a cause of significant concern to Members of Congress with bases in their districts that might be selected for closure. According to the report, as of 1997, 68 percent of communities that had experienced closures had unemployment rates that were average or lower than the national average and that incomes in 63 percent of the communities were growing faster than the national average.
Despite the presence of a budget surplus and the prospect of higher budgets, the Pentagon remains committed to eliminating unneeded infrastructure. It will be interesting to see if Congress can put aside its parochial concerns and permit closure of additional bases, or whether politics will again carry the day. Hopefully, it will not be "business as usual" on Capitol Hill.
For additional information on the status of the military's base closure and realignment program, see the GAO's report "Military Bases: Status of Prior Base Realignment and Closure Rounds" (NSIAD-99-36), December 11, 1998. For background on last year's Congressional debate over base closures, see "Pentagon Faces Uphill Battle in Efforts to Close Additional Bases," CDI's Weekly Defense Monitor for April 23, 1998, at http://www.cdi.org/weekly/1998/Issue16/#1
America's Defense Monitor: "War for Oil in the Former Soviet Union."
The Center for Defense Information announces the release of an new episode of America's Defense Monitor entitled, "War for Oil in the Former Soviet Union." The program offers a critical look at the West's quest for oil in the Caspian Sea basin. It examines the possible export routes for Caspian oil and their impact on existing conflicts in this region, U.S. - Russia relations, and NATO's role in the Caucasus.
The list of experts appearing in the program includes:
Ambassador Richard L. Morningstar, Special Advisor to the President and
the Secretary of State on Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy
Ms. Julia Nanay, Director of the Petroleum Finance Company
Ambassador Robert Hunter, U.S. Ambassador to NATO (1993-97)
Mr. Patrick Clawson, Director for Research of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Mr. Charles Fairbanks, Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
Mr. Paul Goble, Publisher of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline
"America's Defense Monitor" is a weekly television series broadcast on PBS and cable stations across the United States. Now in its twelfth season, the series presents critical information on the military's impact on the political system, the economy, the environment, and society as a whole. Other topics include foreign policy, international affairs, armed intervention, and nuclear and conventional weapons. Individual episodes of America's Defense Monitor have received awards in major film competitions.
Copies of this program are available by calling 1-800-CDI-3334. For more information, contact Tomas Valasek, Research Analyst, tvalasek@cdi.org