Vacancy at Guantanamo

[Wezil]

Isn't it the way it works in Canada?

Only for persistent anti-abortion protesters.

[giblets]

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 38, (1989) proclaimed: "State parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities." However, people who are over the age of 15 but still remain under the age of 18 are still voluntarily able to take part in combat as soldiers. The Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict to the Convention that came into force in 2002 stipulates that its State Parties "shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons below the age of 18 do not take a direct part in hostilities and that they are not compulsorily recruited into their armed forces".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children#International_law

Where is this international convention that says 15 year olds can be child soldiers?

[Kidlicious]

Only for persistent anti-abortion protesters.

I'm glad that you are making it so obvious that you are trolling.

[DinoDoc]

A kangaroo court doesn't mean he's automatically condemned to die.

Where the **** do you get that idea?

He's a terrorist, murdered an American, and likely had little to no intelligence value. It's a simple equation. I would have given him to the Northern Alliance forces.

[Wezil]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militar...ernational_law
Where is this international convention that says 15 year olds can be child soldiers?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optional_Protocol_on_the_Involvement_of_Children_in_Armed_Conflict

[Wezil]

I'm glad that you are making it so obvious that you are trolling.

Do you accuse anyone of anything besides trolling? I'm a drug using fornicator as well. Expand your weaponry would you.

For the record:

Gibbons was profiled in a 1996 Toronto Star article, which described her as having spent thirty-two months in jail since 1989 for taking part in illegal protests. The article noted that she had obstructed police and disobeyed court orders, and that she sometimes carried a plastic replica of a human fetus outside abortion clinics.[18] A 1997 article in the Globe and Mail noted that Gibbons would usually resume her illegal protests within days of being released, leading each time to another arrest and conviction.[19] Gibbons has described herself as a political prisoner and has described abortion as "a crisis as much as black slavery was."[20]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Dale_Gibbons

[Wezil]

He's a terrorist, murdered an American, and likely had little to no intelligence value. It's a simple equation. I would have given him to the Northern Alliance forces.

There is no greater sin than to be invited to a country then go on to fight against a foreign invasion.

[DinoDoc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optiona...Armed_Conflict

The US never signed onto the Convention on the Rights of the Child so any changes to it by the UN General Assembly are non-binding.

[Wezil]

The US is a signatory to the protocol DD.

[giblets]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optiona...Armed_Conflict

They can ask states to not recruit below the age of 18 if they wish, but it's not like a 15 year old can't volunteer to fight for the Taliban with a full understanding of what that entails.

[Wezil]

Btw, I'm no Omar fan. I think he was raised with the worst of role models and was indoctrinated into an odious ideology. That said, I'm not surprised how he turned out (it would be surprising if he wasn't broken).

I do enjoy watching right wing heads explode at the mention of his name however. The conservative right in this country is foaming at the mouth about his return and the PM held off on his repatriation as long as possible (Obama wanted Khadr gone a year ago but the Cdn government foot dragged to appease their rabid followers). Their pain is going to continue for several years to come as Khadr seeks his legal redress.

The comments section at the National Post are awesome reading.

[Wezil]

They can ask states to not recruit below the age of 18 if they wish, but it's not like a 15 year old can't volunteer to fight for the Taliban with a full understanding of what that entails.

It recognises children under 18 as child soldiers. The point of your objection, no?

[DinoDoc]

The US is a signatory to the protocol DD.

GA resolutions aren't binding international law. As the UK for instance still recruits soldiers under the age of 18.

[giblets]

It recognises children under 18 as child soldiers. The point of your objection, no?

It's like saying someone's a pedophile if they have sex with a 16-year-old. The kid wasn't conscripted and knew full well what he was doing.

[Wezil]

GA resolutions aren't binding international law. As the UK for instance still recruits soldiers under the age of 18.

So why sign?

Bonus question - What other signatory does not follow it?

The United Kingdom, which recruits citizens into the army who are under 18, clarified its position in an explanatory memorandum, stating that "whilst Army personnel under the age of 18 may continue to undertake a limited range of duties with resident units in Northern Ireland, they do not participate in activities in direct support of the civil powers; UK military personnel under the age of 18 are not deployed as aircrew; and in line with UN policy, personnel under the age of 18 are not deployed on UN peacekeeping operations".[5]

Note - This doesn't say how they would treat a captured combatant under the age of 18.