Conscription in Compulsion and Liberty with an Emphasis on Necessity of Awareness about Stance of International Law on Children’s Roles as Soldier

The number of soldiers plays a key role in providing the national security of a country. Despite advances in technology and acquaintance with the use of arms, human beings still feel a tangible need to maintain a reasonable number of soldiers. The answer to the recent need is possible to a certain extent through the service of the soldiers. The implementation of conscription is considered among the sovereign rights in each state, and no regulations of the international law have prohibited states from exerting force or granting discretion in this process. However, this does not mean that sovereignty has absolute freedom to enforce the aforesaid right and is free to employ soldiers in any ways possible. The main question of the present research is that what are the positions of international law regarding the mandatory and optional role of children as soldiers and what is the need to know about these positions? The authors used a descriptive-analytical method for finding a thorough answer based on legal standards. The general research results emphasized that states and unofficial armed groups should abide by the stances of international law on children’s roles as soldier. Moreover, the research results warn all children worldwide that participating in the armed forces can make them subject to abuse.