The Recruitment of Children into the Cameroon Anglophone Conflict

Abstract

The recruitment and use of children in armed conflict represents a critical violation of human rights with profound societal consequences, yet gaps persist in understanding the structural drivers, rehabilitation challenges and prevention strategies. While international frameworks like the UN Convention on the rights of a child condemn this practice is still prevalent, occurring in countries like; Columbia, Afghanistan and Syria but the issue of child recruitment is most prevalent in Africa in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Somalia. Cameroon has added to that list with its ongoing Anglophone conflict. Children serve as combatants, spies, sex slaves and much worse. Current research emphasizes psychological trauma and legal accountability but often overlooks; recruitment patterns, systemic failure and post conflict reintegration. The research makes use of the qualitative research approach with a thematic and content analysis of the work so as to collect data beyond statistics while imploring a trauma-informed approach to build trust and collect quality data all while giving victims a voice. The findings of the study holds that weak governance is the reason for the recruitment of children into armed groups but this is not the only reason being provided in the study as other factors such as societal breakdown, poverty, ongoing conflict and lack of education come to play. The work also provides insight on how children find themselves being recruited by armed groups and the implications it has not just for the child but also for the country. The findings suggest that the international community should be more intentional about upholding laws ensuring the protection of children.