Omar Khadr and Child Soldiers

Critical Response

Child Soldiers’ Personal Battles: Enlightening a Perspective of International Justice and Politics through the Cases of Omar Khadr and Dominic Ongwen

Wars and conflicts always take the greatest of its tolls among the most vulnerable sectors of society; the children are definitely one of these sectors. Particularly upon the establishment of new war conventions such as the Geneva Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children are sought to be protected in any form of detriment to their ideal state (Pais n.pag.). Unfortunately, the conventional definitions of children’s rights and the barriers it should have set against the potential harmful elements in a child’s life are not followed as reverently as it suggests. In a very dramatic and even theatrical description of the current state of children when it comes to wars and conflicts, they are helpless and hopeless. Children in conflict zones are helpless because policy makers and governments appear to grow too comfortable with the existence of these conventions that little work is needed to be done. In a similar way, they are hopeless because children in conflict zones appear to be a mostly affected sector in a comprehensive network of loops- an unbreakable cycle of wars and conflicts. It should be noted that this critical response would not focus on the dramatic and theatric accounting of children in conflict zones. Instead, this critical response will integrate the value added of the literature pieces- the journal article “Complex Political Perpetrators: Reflections on Dominic Ongwen” and the case “Canada (Prime Minister) v. Khadr 2010”. These differently natured literatures are deemed more than enough to shed some light on the perspective that the issue of children in conflict zones is not just a welfare issue; it also raises the possibility that inconsistencies are present when it is set against international justice and politics. Ultimately, this critical response would direct its discussions in answering a central question of argumentation “Does the perceptions and applications of children’s rights evolve when crossing international boundaries and into the realm of international justice and politics?” It is also fair to lengthen the discussion by putting emphasis on the possibilities that the general conception of human rights are being set aside when it comes to sensitive issues such as those discussed in these literatures.

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The case of Omar Khadr’s detention by American authorities in the secluded Guantanamo Bay gained popularity in the international community. The popular response to this action by the American government is that it is against the right of Khadr to be held in a facility especially in his juvenile stage (Jurist n.pag.). A Canadian citizen, Omar Khadr was only fifteen years of age when American forces caught him in a firefight in Afghanistan (Human Rights Watch n.pag.). After being captured, he was detained and alleged to be the one who threw the grenade that resulted to the death of an American soldier. In return, he was violently interrogated for seven years that even involved deprivation of sleep or the frequent flyer program; due to this, international human rights advocates took active participation in the appeal of Khadr as seen in the long list of interveners in the case. Even if the reason for his detention appears to be valid and well-grounded, the treatment he received in detention and the participation of the Canadian government in institutionalizing such treatment raise the concern that Omar Khadr might have been victimized by the system that should be protecting him. The final trial of Khadr is scheduled at the end of this year; being the only Guantanamo prisoner with “hot war” case (actual combatant), his trial does not only insight intrigue but also vigilance. The case file numbered 33289 or Canada v. Khadr 2010 ended on the remark that Omar Khadr was truly violated not only by the American government but also by the Canadian government with its participation in the interrogation of Khadr. The Canadian government mobilized its Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS) and Foreign Intelligence Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) to aid American intelligence and counterterrorism agencies in getting information from Khadr (Canada (Prime Mnisiter) v. Khadr). The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada found ground on the inhumane treatment received by Khadr even if he is a minor in a conflict area, which entitles him to access his rights as a child and as a human as stated in international conventions.

The comprehensive journal article written by Erin Baines (2009) captured the same picture on how children are involved with conflicts and how they become excluded from the international laws. His characterization of Dominic Ongwen, a high-ranking officer of the Lord’s Resistance Army or LRA, systematically illustrated the making of a child soldier. From recruitment to combat, child soldiers are secluded from the people that he grew up with and are continuously trained to obey without questions (Baines 170). Dominic Ongwen grew up on this environment. As a result, he became one of the most decorated LRA fighters that soon yielded him higher positions in the rebel group. With the full swing of operations of the International Criminal Court, Dominic Ongwen became one of the most notorious and wanted criminal by international justice courts (Baines 177).

In line with these events, Erin Baines presented an alternative venue of understanding the actions taken by Dominic Ongwen. The author stood firmly on the ground that instead of solely being treated as a criminal, Dominic Ongwen should also be treated as a product of a long enduring process of child abduction for troop building in Southern Africa (Baines 180-182). Due to this argument, Baines implied that trying the case of Ongwen would only be in vain if criminality would be the sole qualifying mark in understanding the multi faceted lives of child soldiers (Baines 177). As stated and implied earlier, the cases of Dominic Ongwen and Omar Khadr warrant inquiry on the validity and accordance of the treatments they received given their present conditions such as that they are juveniles when they committed their crimes.

Going back to the main question of argument rose at the beginning parts, leads to this critical response’s adaptation of the generalization presented by Baines. This move is not because of the defaulted validity of the result of Omar Khadr’s appeal but because the materials available for Khadr are only narrative as compared to the reflections specified by Baines.

First, the cases of Omar Khadr and Dominic Ongwen should also be put into context with the possibility that they are victims turned perpetrators. Omar Khadr was brought into Pakistan then to Afghanistan by his father; his role in the campaign can be seen to be the result of paternal loyalty and adherence (Human Rights Watch n.pag.). As seen in the trial proceeding and even during his detention, the detainers undermined the juvenile status of Khadr and even his rights as a child (Jones n.pag.). In the same way, the ICC treated Dominic Ongwen as a criminal due to the acts he committed regardless of the fact that he was abducted and was forced to become a part of the LRA (Baines 180). The punitive stance of existing judicial mechanisms towards the likes of Khadr and Ongwen does not only unfairly put the victims into trial but also institutionalizes the cyclic process of victim to perpetrator.

Second, the cases of Khadr and Ongwen reawakened the need to put new laws in context with existing parameters, conventions and laws. The judicial confusion particularly seen in the case of Omar Khadr signifies a potential problem in the manner by which international justice systems coincide with conventions on human rights, as for these cases- children’s rights (UN News n.pag.). The United Nations put strong assertion that the role of international tribunals and military tribunals should exercise full discretion not to put child soldiers in the stand (UN News n.pag.). The lived realities of Dominic Ongwen presented by Baines in his article justify this stand of the United Nations through the details of the process on how children are victimized by conflicts and how exiting systems can victimize them more.

Finally, this critical response would like to stress that articles such as that provided by Erin Baines are necessary in insuring that victims such as Omar Khadr and Dominic Ongwen have a fair chance of being reintegrated to the normal world and excluded from the world of violence. The decision to state that the detention of Omar Khadr is unconstitutional is a victory for all child soldiers (Hajjar n.pag.). In the same way, this also marks the start of a possible paradigm shift with the way international tribunals see and respect the children in conflict zones (Hajjar n.pag.).

Considering all of these points, it is just logical to answer the central question of the argument that indeed children rights evolve in line with international justice and politics. Even if it is not commendable, the cases of Dominic Ongwen and Omar Khadr proved how international justice and politics could go in the way of promoting one of the most vital conventions of humanity- human rights.

Works Cited

Baines, Erin K. "Complex Political Perpetrators: Reflections on Dominic Ongwen." Journal of Modern African Studies (2009): 163-191.

Canada (Prime Mnisiter) v. Khadr. No. 33289. Supreme Court of Canada. 29 January 2010.

Hajjar, Lisa. Waiting for History: A Meditation on the Trial of Omar Khadr. 19 September 2010. 14 December 2010 <http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/157/waiting-for-history_a-meditation-on-the-trial-of-omar-khadr>.

Human Rights Watch. Ohmar Ahmed Khadr. 2 November 2010. 14 December 2010 <http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/12/04/omar-ahmed-khadr>.

Jones, Keith. Canada’s role in the persecution of child soldier Omar Khadr. 30 October 2010. 14 December 2010 <http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/oct2010/pers-o30.shtml>.

Jurist. Torture as Foreign Policy: The Omar Khadr Decision . 11 February 2010. 14 December 2010 <Torture as Foreign Policy: The Omar Khadr Decision >.

Pais, Marto Santos. International law and children’s rights: a critical review and a wish list. 2010. 14 December 2010 <http://www.coe.int/t/transversalprojects/children/justicespeeches/SantosPais_en.asp>.

UN News. UN envoy warns of implications of trial of last child soldier held in Guantánamo. 10 August 2010. 14 December 2010 <http://www.speroforum.com/a/37974/UN-envoy-warns-of-implications-of-trial-of-last-child-soldier-held-in-Guantnamo>.