Introduction: Everyday Zones of Militarization

Abstract

In its various manifestations, the campaign to end child soldiering has brought graphic images of militarized children to popular consciousness in recent years. In little more than a decade, this NGO-led movement has made significant strides in terms of educating and spreading awareness amongst global publics as well as contributing to the formulation and implementation of international legal instruments prohibiting the use of children in war. The London-based Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, an umbrella organization of NGOs that came together in 1998 to focus their various efforts opposing recruitment of children for armed conflict, has established a highly effective and coherent program of advocacy with global reach. Besides its important contributions to research—periodically producing comprehensive and voluminous Global Reports ¹ in addition to other publications on more focused themes—the Coalition fulfills a vital monitoring role and has been active in the creation and subsequent implementation of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, expanding the scope of the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.