Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Georgia
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 2001 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Georgia, 2001, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805f828.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| 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. |
Mainly covers the period June 1998 to April 2001 as well as including some earlier information.
- Population:
– total: 5,006,000
– under-18s: 1,362,000 - Government armed forces:
– active: 26,000
– reserves: 250,000
– paramilitary: 6,500 - Compulsory recruitment age: 18
- Voluntary recruitment age: 18
- Voting age (government elections): 18
- Child soldiers: none indicated
- CRC-OP-AC: not signed
- Other treaties ratified: CRC; GC/API+II; ILO 138
- There are no indications of under-18s in government armed forces. Children were reportedly recruited forcibly during the civil war in Abkhazia.
CONTEXT
There is low-level conflict in the breakaway region of Abkhazia, where approximately 1600 Russian peacekeeping troops have been stationed under the auspices of the United Nations.
GOVERNMENT
National Recruitment Legislation and Practice
Article 101 of the 1995 Constitution states: "1. The defence of Georgia is the duty of every citizen. 2. The defence of the country and the performance of the duties of military obligations is the duty of able-bodied citizens of Georgia. The form of military obligations is determined by law."
Pursuant to the 1992 Law on Military Service, as amended in 1996, all men of 18 are liable for two years of military service. In its 1997 report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the government asserted that the law "does not provide for the possibility of accepting volunteers in the army at a lower age [than conscripts]".742 UNICEF confirmed in 1999 that the recruitment of children under the age of 18 and their participation in military activities in Georgia is prohibited by law.743
Military Training and Military Schools
There are reportedly three military schools in Georgia with a minimum age for entry of 15 years. Up to 400 children are attending these schools where they receive military training but they are not considered part of the armed forces. They are not allowed to participate in any kind of military operations, and are not obliged to continue military training upon graduation.744
Child Recruitment
It is alleged that during the civil war in Abkhazia, illegal recruitment methods, including press-ganging, were used by the armed forces when legal forms of recruitment failed to achieve the necessary number of recruits. There were reports that children under 18 were among those forcibly recruited.745 According to UNICEF, there are currently no under-age recruits in the country.746
OPPOSITION
The Abkhazia Forces of the self-proclaimed state of Abkhazia, under the leadership of Vladislav Ardzinba, are estimated to number 5,000 men.747 The South Ossetia forces are estimated to have 2,000 men.748 It is not known whether either of these opposition forces use child soldiers.
742 Initial Report of Georgia submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/41/Add.4/, 26/5/97, para. 18.
743 Information provided by UNICEF, 25/6/99.
744 Ibid.
745 Horeman and Stolwijk op. cit.
746 UNICEF op. cit.
747 www.rb.se.
748 Ibid.
