Amnesty International has received testimony from children as young as 14 who have been sexually assaulted in Turkey while in police custody. For the vast majority of children, the reality of juvenile justice is not rehabilitation and special care, but punishment, intolerance and greater marginalization. The CRC prohibits the imposition of the death penally for crimes committed before the child turned 18. Yet in the 1990s, Amnesty International has documented 19 executions of persons convicted for crimes committed whilst under the age of 18 in Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the USA and Yemen. More than 70 people remain on death row in the USA for crimes committed under the age of 18.
War is an everyday reality for millions of children.
14 million children are refugees or internally displaced within their own countries as a result of conflict beyond their making. Over a third of modern war casualties are estimated to be children. Over 300,000 children under the age of 18 are thought to be fighting in conflicts around the world, including in Afghanistan, Angola, Colombia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Uganda, while the UK is the only European country which routinely deploys under-18s into combat situations. Many children are forced to join by intimidation or abduction, others volunteer because they seek food, shelter, employment and security. Casualty rates among children are generally high because of their inexperience, fearlessness and lack of training.