ABSTRACT
This chapter also discusses the impact of these young people, “child soldiers,” on the local peacebuilding and development process. The chapter identifies the child soldiers’ age group (15–17 years old) who are considered youth in some Arab culture and contexts. The phenomenon of child soldiers in the Arab World such as in Iraq, Libya, and Yemen have become a serious danger and could threaten the peace process and post-war stability. This is the age group who will be the “youth” in a couple of years and are considered a serious challenge for peacebuilding. Most of the Arab countries are not ready to deal with this age group; governments do not have any future plans for the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programmes. In different countries like Iraq and Libya, child soldiers are being treated like criminals, and the authorities keep them in detention without trial. The chapter analyses how restorative justice (RJ), which is a method used within criminal matters to achieve justice, can be used as an effective way to help communities accept, understand, and forgive child soldiers to achieve peace.
