Barnsoldatens rättigheter

Sammanfattning: The child soldier issue is complex in many different ways. Taking into account the different ideas of childhood, the concept of human rights in general and child rights in specific the question about the child soldier and its rights appears to be far from easy to understand. In this thesis I will try to illustrate the complexity by comparing relevant international law applicable to the child soldier phenomenon and analyse the conclusion using a normative method. The theoretical perspective of this study is wide and will be based on an interdisciplinary onset. The purpose of the study is to answer the question whether the protection of the rights of the child soldier between ages 15 and 18, regarding the principle of the best interest of the child and the presumption that a child is every human being under the age of eighteen, is satisfactory within the international judicial framework targeting the question of the use of child soldiers. The study is based on the rights set up in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which is the most comprehensive international document regarding children’s rights. Article 38 of the convention deals with child rights in armed conflict. However, since the article only refers to persons who have not attained the age of fifteen, it is not applicable to all children and does therefore not deal with what is best for the child per se and its rights.