Law and reality
Countries shall take all necessary measures to ensure protection and care of children affected by armed conflict, "this is what establishes the Article 38 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (pdf, 1MB), which was agreed onNovember 20, 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations. Nearly all countries in the world have ratified this agreement and pledged to stick to it. onMay 25, 2000, the UN General Assembly added the agreement by Additional Protocol to the UN Convention, which came into effect on February 12, 2002,prohibiting governments and armed groups to recruit and use children and adolescents under 18 in armed conflict. Yet government armies can recruit young volunteers are over 16 years old. to date, over 100 countries have ratified this agreement. yet children are still being recruited, for example, in Rwanda, Uganda, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.