From Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)， as the world's conflicts become more brutal， intense and widespread， children are finding themselves increasingly vulnerable to recruitment and deployment by armed groups， the United Nations warned today.

In a joint press release marking the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers， observed every 12 February since 2002， the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict called for “urgent action to end grave violations against children” and appealed to all parties of conflicts to meet their obligations under International Law.

According to the UN， tens of thousands of boys and girls are associated with armed forces and armed groups in conflicts in over 20 countries around the world. In Afghanistan， for instance， children continue to be recruited into national security forces and， in some extreme cases， used as suicide bombers. Meanwhile， in the territories of Iraq and Syria controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)， children as young as 12 are undergoing military training and being used to carry out suicide bombings and executions as well.

At the same time， a number of conflicts in Africa have witnessed a rise in the use of children for military purposes. In the Central African Republic， where sectarian violence continues to ripple across the country， boys and girls as young as eight years old have been recruited and used by all parties to the conflict.

According to the press release， the DRC has witnessed a similar phenomenon in child soldier recruitment with boys being dispatched into conflict while girls are reportedly commissioned as sex slaves. In South Sudan， some child soldiers have been fighting for up to four years and many have never attended school.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50065#.VPgIvD9rE_w