The Protection of Child Soldiers under the Ethiopian Law

Abstract

The proliferation of civil wars in different parts of the world has enabled us to witness the participation of children on the front line. Among the measures taken to prohibit the recruitment of children and their participation in hostilities is the endorsed international humanitarian and human rights standards prohibiting child soldiering. This article aims to examine the legal frameworks of Ethiopia in protecting children against recruitment and participation in armed conflict. The issue of protection was scrutinized from the perspective of pre and post recruitment or participation of children in hostilities. To do so, primary legal sources, such as FDRE Constitution and other subordinate laws are analysed. Further, officials working in different institutions were interviewed to better analyse the adequacy of the laws in protecting children against recruitment and participation in armed conflict. This article argues that while Ethiopia has tried to protect child soldiers by enacting different laws with direct and indirect relevance to their participation in armed conflict, these laws are limited to governing national armed force. In other words, the recruitment of children by armed groups in Ethiopia is not criminalized as per existing laws.