REHABILITATION OF CHILD SOLDIERS:A MOVE TOWARDS TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE – PROCESS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract In the light of increasing involvement of children in armed conflicts, the problem of child soldiers has become a major cause of concern for the international community. It is the most egregious forms of human right violations that pose a challenge for the international humanitarian, criminal and human right legal regimes. Most of the countries have been privy to this form of incivility in spite of having ratified plethora of international legal instruments dealing with child soldiers. Moreover, these countries are parties to some of the key human right conventions and have enacted legislations to implement them within their national jurisdiction but still the gravity of the problem has been underestimated. This is evident from the fact that there are about 300,000 child soldiers serving in both government as well as non-government armed groups. These 300,000 child soldiers not only serve as combatants but also as medics, spies, porters, laborers, cooks, domestics, bodyguards and sex slaves. Is the phenomenon of child soldiering an end itself ? Can child soldiers be assured of a decent life and can they be effectively reintegrated into society?This paper attempts to address these questions and underscores the importance of transitional justice in the life child soldiers in post-conflict scenario. The paper will further address the most important challenges faced by the child soldiers during the rehabilitation process that comes in the way of achieving the most laudable goal of transitional justice