Niños usados como soldados en el Perú: Informe presentado a la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) en su 138 período de sesiones

Children used as child soldiers in Peru: Report submitted to The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) during its 138th period of sessions, by the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDDHH) with support from Save the Children.
The recruitment of minors into armed forces or non-state armed groups violates their most basic human rights and contravenes the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The report draws attention to the 105 cases of children enlisted to serve in the Peruvian Armed Forces and the three children who were killed in clashes between the armed forces and the Shining Path rebel group (Sendero Luminoso) in 2009. For the Shining Path rebel force, children are instruments of war – boys and girls are being held in camps where they are trained in the use of weapons to fight government forces.
Recommendations to the Peruvian State to address the forced recruitment of children by both sides include:
– Request the State to adopt necessary measures to prevent the recruitment of children by terrorist organisation the Shining Path;
– Request the State to adopt necessary measures to guarantee that minors will not be enlisted to serve in the security forces;
– Request the State to adopt all possible measures to ensure that children recruited or enlisted in contravention of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict are demobilised and provided with all suitable assistance for their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration;
– Request the State to provide a ‘protective environment’ to children who are demobilised, including effective strategies to avoid recruitment, long-term investment in education, professional training and support to families and communities;
– Request the State to bring its domestic legislation in line with its international obligations, modifying its Children’s and Adolescents’ Code to cover the provisions of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
– Request the State to bring its domestic legislation in line with international obligations, changing its Penal code to criminalise the recruitment and enlistment of under-18s; and
– Request the State to establish an inter-institutional mechanism to follow up the above points with the participation of civil society.