More results from previous research! Today their UN Children's Rights Committee has presented their concluding observations on the OPAC (child combatant) situation in the Netherlands.
They conclude, based on the OPAC report that we wrote for Defence for Children and Unicef, which was based on my MA thesis findings, that:
- The Dutch government has to ensure that VeVa courses (for 15-16 year olds) do not include physical and mental training that might be harmful to children's wellbeing
- The Dutch government has to establish regular monitoring of VeVa courses
- 17 year olds should not be military trained
- Voluntary military recruitment should be raised to age 18
"The Committee is concerned that children as young as 15 years of age who are enrolled in the Security and Skills (VeVa) vocational course are subjected to harsh mental and physical training modules that may be harmful to their health and development."
