Terrorist organizations attract children, Yemeni law as a model: Study

Militant Islamic organizations have been targeting and using children to carry out their terrorist schemes, especially in the Middle East region, this shows clearly in the way the Houthi and ISIS militias are using children in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. These organizations have provided military and combat training to children to use them in their malign schemes and plans.

Generally speaking, children are the most vulnerable to the dangers and threats of armed conflicts, especially psychologically.

In his study regarding the international legal aspects in relation to using children in armed conflicts, entitled “International Protection for Children during Armed Conflicts”, researcher Abdul-Malik Abdu Qassim stresses that the international community must pay a special interest to the protection of children against witnessing or taking part at conflicts and wars.

The study also sheds the light on the necessity of protecting the psychological and mental wellbeing of children involved in such violent events in order to preserve the future of the Arab nation, which is represented in these children. He also highlighted the international laws and customs that are being resorted to in order to protect children during armed combats, and the roles played by international organizations to protect them.

While conducting the research, Qassim set the Yemeni law as an example to define the mechanisms and procedures necessary to protect children during armed conflicts and against compulsory recruitment by terrorist groups and militias.

Qassim divided his research into four sections, dealing with the historic development of laws regarding children protection during armed conflicts and combats in unstable countries, and the roles played by regional and international organizations in this regard. The third section of the research also highlights rules of protecting children during conflicts and unrests, while the four section projects how the Yemeni law dealt with child protection during armed conflicts in comparison to international laws and regulations.

The researcher also pointed out to the difficulty of protecting children involved in armed conflicts by terrorist organizations, regionally and internationally, the matter that makes them criminals by forcing them to commit crimes for these organizations without any awareness or guidance.

The writer also stressed the necessity of enforcing child protection laws in Yemen, in addition to taking urgent international decisions to stop the use of children by the Houthi militias,          to preserve and protect their lives and future