Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 - South Africa
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 20 May 2008 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 - South Africa, 20 May 2008, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/486cb1305.html [accessed 24 October 2017] |
| 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: 47.4 million (18.4 million under 18)
Government Armed Forces: 62,400
Compulsary Recruitment Age: no conscription
Voluntary Recruitment Age: 18
Voting Age: 18
Optional Protocol: signed 8 February 2002
Other Treaties: GC AP I, GC AP II, CRC, ILO 138, ILO 182, ACRWC, ICC
There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces. Large numbers of under-18s were members of criminal gangs.
Context:
Political violence in the run-up to the March 2006 municipal elections in KwaZulu-Natal led to the deaths of a number of African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) candidates.1 Criminal gangs linked to political parties or their members were reportedly associated with the violence.2 It was not known whether under-18s were involved.
In 2005 South Africa National Defence Force (SANDF) troops operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of the UN peacekeeping mission were accused of sexual misconduct towards women and girls. Eight of the allegations were substantiated, and the soldiers responsible were returned to their country.3 There were two cases of South African soldiers under trial for sexual misconduct in peacekeeping missions in the DRC and in Burundi.4
Government:
National recruitment legislation and practice
There was no general conscription, although the Defence Act No. 42 of 2002 provided for the possibility of mobilization during a state of national defence. Article 90 stated that "after declaration of a state of national defence, the President may, by proclamation in the Gazette, authorise the mobilisation of persons for services in the Defence Forces if it is necessary."5
The 2002 Defence Act established 18 as the minimum age for voluntary recruitment to the SANDF, military training and mobilization, including in times of emergency (Articles 52, 82 and 91).6
Developments:
Criminal violence remained high and tens of thousands of under-18s belonged to armed gangs.7 The number of people involved in gangs was not known, but current membership was believed to be high, not least because these gangs had expanded their operations into rural areas. Activities included involvement in the drugs trade, prostitution and control over local economic activities. Gang members deliberately targeted vulnerable young people for recruitment. Young gang members were reportedly used to carry out attacks because, if arrested and tried, they were less likely to face a long prison sentence. Initiation rituals included rape or killing rival gang members, and gang members adopted particular styles of clothing and were encouraged to have gang tattoos and learn the gang's history. Attempts to leave a gang could be punished by death.8
South Africa had the second-highest HIV prevalence in the world9 and AIDS was the main cause of death among children under five (40 per cent of deaths). More than 1 million children had lost one or both parents to AIDS.10
During 2006 the number of people applying for asylum in South Africa noticeably increased, the majority seeking refuge from armed conflict in the DRC, although the number of Zimbabwean asylum seekers rose significantly.11 Hundreds of child migrants, some as young as ten, arrived in South Africa from Zimbabwe, risking being robbed or raped by trafficking gangs if they were unable to pay them.12
At a February 2007 ministerial meeting in Paris, South Africa 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 Amnesty International Report 2007.
2 "South Africa: Province hit by spate of political killings", IRIN, 4 April 2006.
3 US State Department, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2005, www.state.gov.
4 Treaty body Monitor, UN Committee against Torture, 37th session, 6-24 November 2006, www.ishr.ch.
5 Defence Act 42 of 2002, Article 90.
6 Government Gazette, Vol. 452, No. 24576, 20 February 2003, www.gov.za/gazette.
7 "South Africa: Gang culture in Cape Town", IRIN, 27 February 2007.
8 Andre Standing, "The threat of gangs and anti-gangs policy", Occasional Paper 116, Institute of Security Studies, August 2006, www.iss.co.za.
9 UNICEF, "At South Africa's third national AIDS conference, all eyes on rising child mortality", www.unicef.org.
10 UNICEF, Saving Children, Enhancing Lives, Combating HIV and AIDS in South Africa: Second Edition 2006, www.unicef.org.
11 Human Rights Watch World Report 2007.
12 "Zimbabwe: Child migrants seek a better life in South Africa", IRIN, 3 September 2007.
