Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - South Africa
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 2004 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - South Africa, 2004, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4988062b23.html [accessed 27 May 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. |
Republic of South Africa
Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.
Population: 44.8 million (17.8 million under 18)
Government armed forces: 55,750
Compulsory recruitment age: no conscription
Voluntary recruitment age: 18
Voting age: 18
Optional Protocol: signed 8 February 2002
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, GC AP I and II, ICC, ILO 138, ILO 182; ACRWC
There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces. Large numbers of young people joined criminal gangs that were sometimes deployed by political groups to intimidate their rivals.
Context
Violent crime increased, much of it perpetrated by alienated young people operating in street gangs. There were estimated to be more than 60,000 gang members in Cape Town alone. Children were able to apply for a firearms licence from the age of 16.1
A number of children from Zimbabwe sought refuge in South Africa to defect from Zimbabwe's national youth service training program or to avoid conscription into the armed forces at 18. Even in South Africa, they continued to fear the Zimbabwean intelligence services.2
Government
National recruitment legislation
South Africa informed the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1999 that under the constitution "no child below the age of 18 may be used directly in armed conflict. Although this right may be limited during a state of emergency, no limitation can be applied to a child under 15 years old".3 A large number of births were unregistered or registered late, increasing the risk of underage recruitment. From 1994 the conscripted armed force of white males recruited from the age of 16 was replaced with a volunteer force with a minimum recruitment age of 17, which was inconsistent with the 1996 post-apartheid constitution.4 The Defence Act, No. 42 of 2002, brought the law in line with the constitution by establishing 18 as the minimum age for voluntary recruitment, military training and mobilization, including in times of emergency (Articles 52, 82 and 91).5
Armed groups
Political violence was largely "replaced by an upsurge in crime in which many young people have become involved".6 However, armed gangs, whose members often included children, were used on occasion by political groups to intimidate their opponents. In KwaZulu Natal there were a number of political killings in 2002.7 Difficulties arose in programs aimed at reintegrating militarized children and young people affected by armed conflict in the apartheid era. One study found that former members of self-defence groups linked to the African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) had not acquired employable skills or undergone attitudinal change after a technical training course in the East Rand in 1996, possibly because the project was too short-term.8 "Wilderness programs" were developed by another organization; these programs focused on rites of passage and aimed at providing an alternative sense of ritual and belonging, in a non-conflict environment, to that provided by gangs.9
1 Initial report of South Africa to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/51/Add.2, 22 May 1999, http://www.ohchr.org; Angela McIntyre and Taya Weiss, Exploring Small Arms Demand, A Youth Perspective, Institute for Security Studies, Occasional Paper 67, March 2003, http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Papers/67/Paper67.html; Don Pinnock, "Rites of Passage: Creating alternative rituals for gang members", Track Two, Vol. 7 No. 3, 3 July 2002, Centre for Conflict Resolution, http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za.
2 Solidarity Peace Trust, National youth service training – "shaping youth in a truly Zimbabwean manner": An overview of youth militia training and activities in Zimbabwe, October 2000 – August 2003, 5 September 2003, http://www.zim-movement.org/docs/SPT_htm_0903.htm; IRIN, "Zimbabwe: 'Green Bombers' deserting poor conditions in camps", 23 January 2004, http://www.irinnews.org.
3 Constitution, Articles 28 and 37, http://www.info.gov.za/constitution/1996/96cons.htm.
4 Initial report of South Africa to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, op. cit.
5 Government Gazette, Vol. 452, No. 24576, 20 February 2003, http://www.gov.za/gazette/acts/2002/a42-02.pdf.
6 Initial report of South Africa to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, op. cit.
7 Amnesty International Report 2003, http://web. amnesty.org/library/engindex.
8 "Top Priority – The urgency of youth development", Track Two, Vol. 7 No. 3, 3 July 2002, Centre for Conflict Resolution.
9 Don Pinnock, op. cit.
