Child Soldiers: A Detestable Phenomenon Marc Gilker Child Soldiers: A Detestable Phenomenon Conflict affects every person on the planet, whether it is a smaller conflict, such as at home or in the workplace, or a large conflict like War between two nations, it is safe to say every person on Earth has been affected by some sort of conflict. Civil War’s have been occurring throughout history, and the issue I am going to be discussing in this paper is, the use of child soldiers in civil and international conflict, and why it is inhumane. A Child soldier can is defined as: a person who has not attained the age of 18 years taking part in direct conflict(1). The use of Child Soldiers in the modern world can be dated back to WWII, where Jewish children during the holocaust voluntarily fought, just as means of survival(2), to present day where child soldiers are currently being used for lethal combat(3). The media has given two different, and completely contradictory views of child soldiers, one, as exploited victims of adult abuse of power and, two, as enraged, virtually uncontrollable killers(4). By examining specific cases, such as Congo, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Sudan, former soldiers testimonies, and what the international community is doing to prevent the exploitation of Children as means of war, evidently the exploitation of child soldiers is not only inhumane, but physically, emotionally and socially damaging. First, I must evaluate other positions taken on child