Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 - Romania
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 20 May 2008 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 - Romania, 20 May 2008, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/486cb128c.html [accessed 18 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Population: 21.7 million (4.4 million under 18)
Government Armed Forces: 69,600
Compulsary Recruitment Age: 20 (conscription suspended)
Voluntary Recruitment Age: 18
Voting Age: 18
Optional Protocol: ratified 10 November 2001
Other Treaties: GC AP I, GC AP II, CRC, ILO 138, ILO 182, ICC
There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.
Government:
National recruitment legislation and practice
The 1991 constitution, as amended, stated that "Citizens may be conscripted from the age of 20 and up to the age of 35, except for volunteers" (Article 55).
Under a new law of December 2005, the last conscription was to take place in October 2006 and compulsory military service was suspended from 1 January 2007 (Article 2). Military service remained compulsory in times of war, mobilization or siege (Article 3).1 Law 446/2006 stated that in the case of war, mobilization or siege, military service became mandatory for men aged 20 to 25.2 Men aged between 20 and 35 had previously been liable for military service of 12 months and higher education graduates for six months, and during times of war the minimum age of conscription was 18.3
Male and female citizens could perform military service on a voluntary basis.4 The minimum age for voluntary military service remained 18. From October 2006 all volunteers were contracted for an initial five-year term of service. Subsequent voluntary service contracts were for successive three-year terms up to the age of 36.5
The 2004 Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of the Child stated that in armed conflicts the authorities were required to ensure the demobilization of child soldiers, to remedy the physical and psychological effects of conflict on children and to promote their social reintegration.6
Military training and military schools
Young people between the ages of 15 and 20 could volunteer for pre-military training, which aimed to provide "knowledge and orientation in the military and technical field" and to cultivate "ethical and civic values".7
Military high schools were open to both male and female students. Postgraduate education for all military personnel, male or female, could be undertaken at the National Defence University as well as at various civilian universities.8
Developments:
At a February 2007 ministerial meeting in Paris, Romania and 58 other states endorsed the Paris Commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups and the Paris Principles and guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups. The documents reaffirmed international standards and operational principles for protecting and assisting child soldiers and followed a wide-ranging global consultation jointly sponsored by the French government and UNICEF.
1 Parliament of Romania, Law on Delay of Compulsory Military Service and Passing to Voluntary Based Military Service, No. 395 of 16 December 2005.
2 Information from the Romanian embassy, London, 12 June 2007.
3 Law on the Preparation of the Population for Defence, No. 46 of 1996, Article 11; Bart Horeman and Marc Stolwijk, Refusing to Bear Arms: A world survey of conscription and conscientious objection to military service, War Resisters International, 1998, www.wri-irg.org.
4 Law on Delay of Compulsory Military Service, above note 1, Article 1.
5 CIA, The World Factbook 2007.
6 Law No. 272 of 2004, Article 78(1); Information from the Romanian embassy, above note 2.
7 Law on the Preparation of the Population for Defence, above note 3, Article 45.
8 NATO, Romania – National Report, www.nato.int.
