February 12: International Day of Child Soldiers

Manuel Van den Broucke, sports, society and politics correspondent, February 12, 2026

What is the International Day of Child Soldiers?

The International Day of Child Soldiers, also called Red Hand Day, takes place every February 12 to denounce the enlistment of children in armed conflicts. It was established in 2002, after the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the use of children under 18 in combat.

Causes of child recruitment in armed conflicts

The recruitment of children into armed conflicts is mainly due to poverty, lack of education, and ideological manipulation. In countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, children from poor families are abducted by armed groups such as M23 or the Anti-Balaka militias, since they are easier to manipulate and do not demand pay. In Somalia, Al-Shabab exploits political instability to recruit young people under the pretext of training them for a religious cause. In Syria and Iraq, ISIS created training camps, such as the "Cubs of the Caliphate," where children were indoctrinated from a young age to carry out suicide attacks. Some children voluntarily join these groups after seeing their families massacred, seeking protection and revenge, as was the case with the FARC in Colombia.

Where are child soldiers today?

In Mali, jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State still recruit children today to plant homemade mines and carry out suicide attacks. In Somalia, Al-Shabab recruits boys as young as 10 to train them for attacks against the army. In Myanmar, despite the official end of forced recruitment by the regular army, rebel groups such as the Shan State Army and the Arakan Army still exploit child soldiers. According to the UN, at least 250,000 child soldiers are still active worldwide.

Physical and psychological consequences for child soldiers

Physically, many suffer from untreated injuries: in the Central African Republic, children recruited by the Anti-Balaka and Seleka militias have survived with bullets still lodged in their bodies due to lack of access to care. In Colombia, young people recruited by the FARC were given hormone injections to prevent girls from becoming pregnant. Psychologically, the trauma runs deep: in Uganda, former LRA members report uncontrollable hallucinations and panic attacks due to the atrocities they committed under the influence of drugs. Upon their return, these children are often rejected by their families, as in the DRC, where former M23 child soldiers are accused of betraying their people, pushing them toward marginalization and, sometimes, back into violence.