Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps has launched a campaign aimed at recruiting children as young as 12 for the “defence of the homeland”. More than a month into the war triggered by the US and Israel, rights groups highlight the life-threatening risks for Iranian children and stress that the use of minors in the military constitutes a war crime.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps has launched a campaign aimed at recruiting children as young as 12 for the “defence of the homeland”. More than a month into the war triggered by the US and Israel, rights groups highlight the life-threatening risks for Iranian children and stress that the use of minors in the military constitutes a war crime.
In late March, a month into the Iran war, a deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards for Greater Tehran, Rahim Nadali, announced on state television the launch of a campaign to recruit citizens “aged 12 and over” to become “volunteer fighters” and “defend the homeland”.
The campaign is aimed at both boys and girls, according to Iranian news agency ANA, which says young recruits could take part in intelligence operations, “identity checks and patrols”, as well as carrying out logistical tasks such as preparing meals and distributing equipment and supplies. However, several NGOs have warned that children are already being used in operational missions on the ground, including deployment for military objectives – such as at security checkpoints – that put them in the line of fire.
On Thursday, Amnesty International said eyewitness accounts and verified audiovisual evidence showed child soldiers being deployed at Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) checkpoints and patrols, armed with weapons, including AK-pattern rifles.
“As US and Israeli strikes hit thousands of IRGC sites, including Basij facilities, across the country, including through drone attacks targeting security patrols and checkpoints, the deployment of child soldiers alongside IRGC personnel or in their facilities puts them at grave risk of death and injury,” said Amnesty’s Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.
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