MELBOURNE DECLARATION TO STOP THE USE OF CHILD
SOLDIERS
Participants in the Australian Conference
on the Use of Children as Soldiers, held in Melbourne, Australia
on 8-9 September 1999 declare that:
Being appalled that there are now 300,000 children fighting and
dying in adult wars in over 36 countries around the world;
Acknowledging that children as young as 7 are suffering abduction,
starvation, sexual abuse and psychological trauma as well as injuries
and death from participating in combat. Further, recognising that
the trauma associated with this problem is not only an individual
one but a trauma experienced by whole communities which can manifests
for generations;
Recognising that it is often the poorest and most marginalised children
who are at greatest risk of being recruited;
Welcoming and supporting the work of the Special Representative
of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict to prohibit
the recruitment of children as soldiers;
While regretting that the definition is limited to forced recruitment,
welcoming the inclusion of children as soldiers in ILO Convention,
No. 182, on the Worst Forms of Child Labour;
Welcoming the UN Security Council Resolution 1261, August 25 1999,
which strongly condemned the targeting of children in situations of
armed conflict;
Recalling and welcoming the Maputo, Montevideo and Oslo Declarations
on the Use of Children as Soldiers;
Recognising that an important step in halting the use of children
as soldiers is to raise the minimum age of participation and recruitment
into armed forces from 15 to18 in international law. Acknowledging
that change must be affected at the international level but further
that it is paramount that these changes are also reflected in domestic
law;
With regret acknowledging that currently in Australia there is no
law preventing those under the age of 18 from participating in armed
conflict and that the Australian Defence Force currently recruits
below the age of 18.
Being determined see an end to the use of children as soldiers,
this Australian Conference;
- Calls upon the Australian Government to give effect to the straight
18 line through the proposed Optional Protocol, to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, on the Involvement of Children in Armed
Conflict, which will then enable Australia to play a leadership
role in our region and globally.
- Urges amendment to Australian law to comply with this new standard,
by making provision in the Defence Force Act (1903) to prohibit
the deployment of those under the age of 18 to areas of conflict.
- Condemns all recruitment of those under the age of 18 into the
Australian Defence Force and further calls on the Australian Government
for an immediate cessation of this practice.
- Calls upon the Australia Government to make it unlawful for any
person or group to recruit or train those under the age of 18 for
armed service in Australia or elsewhere within the borders of Australia.
- Calls upon the Australian Government to support all international
and regional efforts to prohibit the use of children under the age
of 18 years in hostilities, including the development of international
law.
- Calls upon Australia to ratify the statute of the International
Criminal Court
- Calls upon the Australian Government to place greater emphasis,
through the Australian aid program, on sustainable, culturally appropriate,
locally based trauma, health and educational programs, both at the
individual and community level, which deal with the effects of the
use of children in armed conflict.
- Calls upon the Australian Government and all governments outside
Australia to provide on-going funding for programs that seek to
alleviate the suffering of child soldiers globally, in particular
by focusing on the following areas:
- programs for educational opportunities (domestic and international)
- peace-building initiatives
- rehabilitation and victim support
- awareness raising (domestic and international)
- analysis of the causes of conflict
- monitoring and evaluation of protocols of international law.
- Urges the Australian Government and governments outside Australia
to use their influence to bring pressure to bear on any governments
or armed opposition group which recruits or uses children as soldiers
and to refrain from providing them, whether directly or indirectly,
with arms, military equipment , training or personnel.
Finally, this Australian Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers
express their appreciation to the Australian Coalition to Stop the
Use of Child Soldiers for organising the conference.
Adopted in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 September 1999.
If you would like to support this declaration, view
the pdf file here, print it out, sign it and post it to:
The Hon. John Moore, Minister for Defence
and/or
The Hon. Alexander Downer, Minister for Foreign Affairs
c/o Parliament House, Canberra, ACT 2600
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