Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
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The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers was formed in June 1998 to "advocate for the adoption of, and adherence to, national, regional and international legal standards (including an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child) prohibiting the military recruitment and use in hostilities of any person younger than eighteen years of age; and the recognition and enforcement of this standard by all armed forces and armed groups, both governmental and non-governmental." (source: official website) The Coalition was widely criticised for its erroneous claim that no evidence was found of the use of child suicide bombers within Palestinian terrorist groups.
The Coalition was founded by six international non-governmental organisations:
- Amnesty International
- Human Rights Watch
- the International Save the Children Alliance
- Jesuit Refugee Service
- the Quaker United Nations Office - Geneva, and
- International Federation Terre des Hommes
and later joined by
- Defence for Children International
- World Vision International, and
- regional non-governmental organisations from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
