The Relationship Between Offender and Victim Rights: A Case Study of Juvenile Involvement in Armed Groups

Abstract

This article is part of a thesis on Children's Rights in the Context of Violence in the Southern Border Provinces Region of Thailand: A Case Study of Children at Risk of Joining Armed Groups. The legal status of children involved in, and at risk of joining, armed groups is analyzed. The question examined is whether children engaged in armed groups should be attributed the status of offender or crime victim, insofar as children so involved may later commit crimes as offenders. In addition to studying action and its consequences, this article offers a retrospective look at the origins of juvenile involvement in armed groups. Results show that children involved in armed groups and assigned to perform actions have been abused by the groups because enlistment or solicitation of children is a crime under international law. Children involved in armed groups have two overlapping statuses: offenders and crime victims, each of which affects their entitlements differently. From the issue of determining the status of children involved in such armed groups internationally, a central basis for assessing the status of such children should be considered a dual identity with undefined status, with one status solely attributed to the child.