Statement made on 28 October 2010 by Senator Roméo Dallaire
Hon. Roméo Antonius Dallaire:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
In the past — and I say that because it has been at least 10 years — we signed certain conventions, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the protocol on child soldiers, which was signed in 2000.
In signing this document, the government agreed to the definition of child soldier, which states that no human being below the age of 18 years must be used in conflict, either in training or recruitment for training, or in armed forces. They cannot be used in these conflicts.
In the context of Canada's involvement in armed conflict in Afghanistan since 2002, could the leader tell us whether someone under the age of 18, who is involved in this war, on our side or the other side, would be considered a child soldier?
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